Gesture and Presence

Amidst the isolation of the pandemic, I discovered online figure drawing groups from all across the world. Some of these groups had existed previously but were unknown to me. Others formed because of the pandemic. Figure drawings models were a huge part of this effort, as they had lost an income source once in-person work was not possible. So, like so many other activities, figure drawing went online in force.

I was skeptical of drawing from a flat screen, but much to my delight, the experience of online figure drawing was not that removed from in-person. In fact, it had some advantages. I had access to several sessions offered at various windows of time on a given day, and the models often had multiple camera angles to choose from and varied their lighting. This added some more complex foreshortening and color challenges. Then there was conversing with and seeing the work of fellow artists from across the world during post session reviews. This was an interaction that became a creative lifeline for me. I realized how alive the field of contemporary figure drawing is, and that there are incredible artists of all ages and places working within this. I was perhaps most impressed by artists who used colors to capture light and form in a decisive way. This was something my work had touched at but never quite achieved. 

My love of drawing the human figure intensified as a result. I drew as often as I could and felt a freedom to experiment due to the sheer quantity of work being done. I wanted to push the sense of movement and the idea of presence in my work. One goal was to capture the entire figure on the page as quickly and as large as possible in scale. To continually push the speed at which I drew, the economy of lines and marks; with the goal of a greater sense of gesture and personal expression that would add an increased sense of life to my drawings. Post-pandemic I continued to work online but also went to in-person sessions here at Artlink. 

The nature of drawing within a timed pose forces urgency on the artist, and thus the quality of work can be random from one to the next. For every seeming home run, there are dozens of strikeouts. This is humbling but it also inspires me to do better. The momentum that only continuous work can bring is needed to break through and raise the bar. I believe I have done this over the past five years.

About the Artist

Christopher Ganz is a professor of drawing and printmaking at Purdue University Fort Wayne. Ganz received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1995, and a Master of Fine Arts from Indiana University-Bloomington in 2001. His work has been displayed across the nation and at international art fairs, and his work is represented by Gallery Victor Armendariz in Chicago.