Light and shadow, apples and pears

Karén Nikgol is one of Norway's major new artists. He has graduated from both Bournemouth and Trondheim Academy of Arts and has had several exhibitions in Trondheim, Oslo, London and Bergen. Alongside his career as an artist he holds drawing courses for undergraduates in the arts, and this weekend also for the anticipatory group attending one of ISFiT's last events.

Nearly 30 eager learners convened at Klubben on Sunday, A3-sketchbook and pencil set at the ready. The first few pages are either removed or folded away after they were filled with drawings the day before. They have already learned about drawing realistic depictions of their surroundings and drawing from their mind and ideas, about light and shadow, and about understanding the concepts drawing is built upon. Today, they tackle the favorite topic of many artists: the human body.

-Art obsesses about the body, explains Karén. Leonardo da Vinci once said that understanding the body is about understanding the creation of god, and drawing it helps in understanding and explaining its function. Karén proceeds to give a short account of art history and the importance of the body as a central image. In some eastern cultures, understanding the body is often analogous to understanding the cosmos.

Foto: fg.samfundet.no

Moving on, it is time to put the pencil to the paper. -The first important thing you must learn is to understand the proportional size of each part of the body, says Karén and proceeds to explain how to do this easily by dividing the parts of the body into separate blocks with given relative sizes. -Right now, we're not thinking about how the body really looks. We simplify it to understand it and add more detail later.

Half way through the three hour long session, the group takes a break to digest what they've learned and to prepare for the final part of the course. -It's fun and engaging to learn this so quickly and easily, says one enthused participant who, like most of the attendees, is at his first ever drawing course. Karén, at the same time, is similarly enjoying the experience. -It's very rewarding both to see others' progression and to get an understanding of your own progression and skill through seeing what others can do.

The last participant attentively sits down in her seat and the break is over. I leave the happy bunch at it takes on drawing hands with vigor and joy. All in all, the course is a resounding success.