Lessons Learned ...

Well, for those of you who didn't stick around last night ... you missed a lot of drama. For the first time in over 2 years, the scheduled model didn't show and I was left scrambling. Our thanks to Ed King for sitting in until the replacement model arrived. I was unfamiliar with the model and well, let me just say, it could have gone better. It has given me a lot to think about in regards to life drawing and what makes a great artist's model.

I read recently that "drawing the human figure for an artist is like a musician practicing scales". Figure drawing has been carried out for centuries and is arguably the most difficult process which an artist will encounter. You have to read expressions, body language and tension in an instinctive way. It's why I think a "prop" in a pose is a distraction from the task at hand and obscures or detracts from the figure, particularly in a timed pose. Life drawing teaches us that tiny errors can cause massive distortions, and this is most clear in the human form.

In regards to the artist's model, in as much as their work is largely physical, it also relies on their ability to remain still and pass time. The best model knows that unless it is absolutely vital to speak (comfort, etc.), they should remain silent.

We all appreciate (even more so) how fortunate we are to have models who are inspired, thoughtful, and work in concert with us to produce works of art.

Please check back for the upcoming model schedule.

Bruce Day

Bruce Day

Ed King

Phyllis Graudszus

Sam Szymanski

Sam Szymanski

Sam Szymanski

Sam Szymanski

Susan Ishii

artist maintain the copyright to all images posted