Skull study paintings

Artists have studied anatomy for centuries. The human form is the most complex and offers endless possibilities to draw ideas from. To convincingly portray a portrait or figure it is key to understand the anatomy and requires a great deal of practice to hone this skill. I set up skulls in the corner of the studio to study the form and structure. I prefer to angle and light the skulls dramatically so that I am forced to confront the challenge of drawing dramatic foreshortening and deal with different lighting situations.