At the end of March, I was lucky enough to have a spot in Colleen Barry’s week-long Anatomy of the Figure class at Gage Academy in Seattle. Colleen (colleenbarryart.com) is classically trained and IMHO, Greatest in the World of contemporary classical artists. She is based in Brooklyn, NY, but travels for teaching.

I first took the class in June 2014, and it was revelatory. I had never heard of Bargue drawings, sight-size, and the other classical methods she taught. I was trained to construct the figure beginning with ovals and cylinder shapes.

How did I have 7-½ years of art training and miss the day my instructors talked about the Russian and French Academies? Answer: They never did!

Colleen’s class taught me a whole new way to approach drawing that works not only with the figure, but with plants and landscapes. We started with measuring and blocking in — creating a “constellation” of points and lines. Then we spent a couple of days of defining shadow area shapes, followed filling in the “twilight” zones where dark turns to light. Finally, we gave the figures a “flickering flame,” strengthening certain lines of light and dark.

My anatomy background definitely gave me a jump start, and I really like the look obtained with the Academy methods. My first effort, the male model, was better than this year, the female. Beginner’s mind.