We are so lucky to have had Goh ballet student, Marsha Kwan with us today. In her beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy tutu, she held a series of poses for the students to sketch with careful observation drawing.

Students who are not accustomed to observation drawing can be nervous to begin. Once started, there is often a tendency to erase multiple times and want to restart. For some students it is difficult to commit to work that does not seem ‘perfect’. For that reason we used charcoal pencils which cannot be erased and long sheets of paper (20x60cms) to record a number of poses. We discussed the importance of observation and process and minimised the importance of the finished piece.

Marsha held her positions for 10 – 15mins and then moved a quarter turn and adapted her pose.

The students were able to maintain careful (and silent!) observation for over an hour, with ease. Their work shows a fluidity of line and sense of movement.

We will move forward with an introduction to Degas’ work and may further develop their sketches with some watercolour for emphasis

Working Title/Artist: Dancers, Pink and Green Department: European Paintings Culture/Period/Location: HB/TOA Date Code: Working Date: ca. 1890 scanned for collections

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