I finally finished "Tempus es iocundum," the first in the series of drawings based on Carmina Burana. It was done over a period of several days. The process, more or less, follows below.

The drawing above was the first drawing I did - after having done a series of quick sketches to select a pose. Once I found one I liked, I drew the figures in a landscape, so I could start visualizing the final painting. Than I had my assistant transfer the drawing to a large sheet of paper, minus the statue and the figure skulking in the trees to the right of the image, since I had not yet settled on a pose for either figure. The models than came in over the course of several days - I drew first Gregoire alone, than the two of them together, and finally, Mark alone, to work on his back. The drawing as it appeared two days ago, when I was largely done with the model, is below.

At this point, the figures were almost done, and I finished the entire landscape to the left. I had hardly touched the other side - the day before yesterday I set to work on the other figures to the right. The lower one I decided to model for - for the sculpture I used a sculpture by Antonio Canova, one of my favorite sculptors, now in the hermitage.

I usued a photo I downloaded off of their web site, and myself for details I couldn't make out in the photo. I made a slight alteration to the figure for my drawing as well, which I will discuss later. Finally, I did a drawing of myself as the voyeur, peeking out from behind the tree.

I was now ready to transfer my sketches to the drawing. After transfering them, I used a mirror to draw myself as the other two figures.

In the photo above I am adding details to the figure of cupid. Below, I am working on the figure behind the tree.

Finally, here is the drawing as it appeared at the end.

I will have musical instruments and scores scattered about all the images in this series to refer to its genesis in Carmina Burana. In the background, I drew cupid; blindfolded (in contrast to my distinguished model) to suggest that in love we are blind, ignorant and compulsive, and to show that love takes away our vision of the ordinary, our mistaken vision; naked, to make us transparent; winged, to move with speed from place to place; to abondon us but also to fly quickly to our side. He aides the boy who pleads and renders hopeless that of the boy who resists; blinded to ordinary vision, and opened to the sublime, they submit to their passion. (this, in fact, will be the subject of the final drawing, in which cupid will serenade a pair of amorous lovers with a violin)

Above is a detail of the drawing. My camera is not very good, and much detail is lost - my assistant will scan in a better version to share with you soon. In the mean time, thank you,

 

Felix