“Muscle Memory”

During weeks 6 through 9 in Ecorche with Rey Bustos at LAAFA we added “musculature” to our ecorches. Using “chocolate” Sculpey, we crafted each muscle according to helpful guidelines Rey provided for us.

 

With Rey’s detailed drawings and demonstrations to lead us in the right direction, we worked our way up the body, all the way from lower leg, through the abdomen and upper body to the facial muscles.

 

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Ecorche with Rey Bustos at LAAFA in our upcoming Week 10 blog post.

 

 

One of the most transformational parts of Ecorche with Rey Bustos at LAAFA was spray painting the baked ecorche.  I was careful to mask the hand and foot that I wanted to remain the fleshy color of Sculpey with aluminum foil before painting.  You can see below how a light coat of off-white spray paint really shows off all the sculpting work that goes into the skeletal portion of the ecorche.

In class, Rey had a “varnishing station’ set up for us. We lightly brushed varnish over our spray painted ecorches. We only applied the varnish to the left side, the side that will remain as exposed skeleton. We left the right side coated with spray paint only, so the clay we apply to represent muscles will stick. The effect of the varnish over the spray paint is fantastic- don’t you think?

I can’t believe we have already reached the halfway point- week 5 in Ecorche with Rey Bustos at LAAFA!  Class number five focused largely on process, as this week’s tasks were to complete the skeletal body and “bake” the ecorche to permanently harden the Sculpey.

In class, Rey demonstrated how to finish the delicate bones of the lower arm, the radius and the ulna.  Rey recommended stringing the tiny finger bones onto the wire like beads. This simple technique creates a sophisticated skeletal model of the
human hand.

For the fleshed out right hand, Rey drew us a diagram of the palm. He encouraged us to make our ecorches’ hands expressive, and to add creases, or flexure lines, for a lifelike effect.  Everyone had more than enough armature wire to support the fingers on each hand.
We just cut off what we didn’t need after
completing both hands.

The next lecture topic was Rey’s favorite bone: the scapula.  I have to admit, floating like wings on the human back, scapulae are beautiful bones.  Rey showed us how to mold the organic protrusions that define the scapulae. He also showed us how to attach the left scapula so that only the socket, or glenoid fossa rests against the head of the humerus. As you can see, this was a well-documented moment of the class. 😉

Back at home, I carefully followed the written instructions Rey gave us on baking our ecorches. Behold! Five weeks of sculpting permanently set in polymer clay! Now, before adding the muscles, all I have to do is paint and varnish the bones.
I’ll post an update on the painting and finishing process soon!

Week 4 in Ecorche with Rey Bustos at LAAFA was action-packed!

During the first part of class, Rey led students in bending wire to create five-pronged armatures for the right and left hands.  

The design of Rey’s ecorche features a moveable left elbow joint, so we made the wire armature for the left forearm and hand as a separate piece. I taped mine to my ecorche’s ground for safekeeping.

After a series of neat accordion bends and just one snip with wire-cutters, we had the armature for our ecorches’ right hands in place as well.

With the final armature building behind us, we moved on to the triple topic of the day: vertebra-thorax-humeri. In English, that’s spine-ribcage-upper arm bones.  
Rey showed us his neat technique for representing the vertebra in a believable way as a group.  Rey guarantees that this “grouped” approach poses less of a risk to mental health than attempting to sculpt each vertebra individually. I can vouch for the technique, but you’ll have to take the class to find out what it is. 😉

Rolling out the ribs and building the support surfaces for future “muscles” on the right side of our ecorches filled the rest of the class.

The support clay on the right side of the ecorche does not represent any anatomical structures in the human body. However, for our ecorches, this support will be necessary when we begin to add muscle to the figures in two weeks. Rey made sure each student’s ecorche was on track before dismissing class.


Our homework for the week was to install the support clay, complete the humeri, and finish the ribcage with a sternum. Here’s the result of my best efforts:

Want to watch the amazing Sean Cheetham demonstrate his approach and techniques in Contemporary Portraiture Painting or Head Painting?

Interested students may purchase a demo pass starting from $50.00. Please contact our business office to take advantage of this special opportunity.

LAAFA is proud to feature Michael Siegel as our current Spotlight Artist.

A limited number of demonstration passes are available starting at $50.00 for students who want to observe Michael demonstrate his masterful technique in Still Life or Portraiture/ Figure Painting. Please contact our business office to purchase demo passes.

 

Congratulations to Michael Siegel, LAAFA’s Spring Quarter 2012 Spotlight Artist!  Reading Michael’s humorous and insightful Spotlight Artist interviewgives you an idea of what it’s like to take his classes. Here’s a sample of his wonderful work.

You can see more of his paintings on his website www.siegelfineart.com.

Michael’s Spring Quarter classes start 4/2/2012. Don’t miss your chance to sign up!

 Students now have the opportunity to view a demonstration in the following select classes prior to enrolling in the class. Please note: We require an RSVP and payment for the demonstration. Please call to RSVP during our normal business hours, 818-708-9232.
  
Aaron Westerberg – January 23rd – Head/Figure Painting Demonstration, 10am to 3:30pm.

Vadim Zanginian – January 23rd – Contemporary Head/Figure Demonstration, 7pm to 10pm.

Sergio Sanchez – January 24th – Life Painting with Focus on Light Demonstration, 11am to 4:30pm.

Cost of demo: $50.00/3-HRS and $65.00/5-HRS (Tuition rate for class will be adjusted to include the demo cost if student registers for the full quarter.)

 

 

 

We are happy to announce Sergio Sanchez as our winter quarter spotlight artist. Sergio has taught at LAAFA for many years and is very dedicated in teaching his craft to students who are enthusiastic in learning how to create meaningful artwork. Sergio is passionate and gives his students the skills to reach their individual goals. Sergio will be teaching a 3-HR and 5-HR 10-week Life Painting with Focus on Light class starting January 24th. Learn more about the talented Sergio Sanchez in our Spotlight Artist feature!

LAAFA’s latest info on our Art Show. Stop by & purchase a little piece of heaven with artwork from talented artists! http://ow.ly/3pnPP