Nothing like the real thing... Life Drawing with a LIVE nude in the middle of a room, enticing curvaceous lines into action with a stick of charcoal on newsprint!
Drawing 'life nudes' is an important tradition of an artist's learning curve in developing observational skills with techniques. Drawing in a group could be the toughest challenge but think it to be the most profound experience for anyone beginner to professional to shiver at the challenge of a nude in the room! I recommend that anyone embarking on an art career, no matter what STYLE or medium you work with, everyone should embrace the challenge of a LIVE nude.
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Drawing a figure from a photograph is frozen in time. It doesn't show all the goodie bits hiding in the shadows and light blasts out the skin texture, blanking out subtle reflections that grace the unique skin tones. Photography gives little feedback energetically from the muse.
Drawing from LIFE is the most important step. BEING in the moment, right there before our eyes and easel, the nude model emanates their personality which the observing artists try to capture in their drawings. A perfect rendering may be beautiful in its execution but finding a drawing that expresses the nude with just a few lines expertly is a master.
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1980s pencil portrait from a photograph of me as a child. |
Like most people who start out in a drawing, I used photographs to draw. It is a great boost to the ego when you first start out drawing and people say to you with their optimistic responses, that your portrait looks just like the photograph.
I wanted more from my art-making process than to rely on the photograph. Don't get me wrong, I love photography and come in handy for references, but I was aiming to paint mindscapes using my own imagination. An artist develops a skilled eye for SEEING more than what a photograph communicates.
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Robert Genn in his custom-designed, Plein air painting boat THE MACKENZIE. R.I.P. Robert passed away in 1936- 2014. |
Starting out with my painting journey I developed an artistic friendship with Robert Genn. He is an internationally well-known landscape artist living in Crescent Beach, British Columbia. Read here to view Robert Genn's paintings.
While Robert liked my fresh approach to painting figures with lots of colorful imaginary nudes, he did say to me, it was time to study and work from real nudes. I laughed with him saying how I have been trying to get friends to pose naked for me and was not having my way!
While Robert liked my fresh approach to painting figures with lots of colorful imaginary nudes, he did say to me, it was time to study and work from real nudes. I laughed with him saying how I have been trying to get friends to pose naked for me and was not having my way!
Robert offered me the opportunity to join a private drawing group with professional artists in the lower mainland of BC. Intimidating as it was for me to be in a room with experienced artists, WOW, I was blown away by the experience and was HOOKED to do more life drawings of nudes.
Checking around the Lower Mainland, I discovered there were several non-instructional groups that hired professional life nudes, and for about $15.00 drop-in fee or for a better deal buy 10 sessions. I attended various art schools, animation schools, and art community groups that had a public space rented for non-instructional life drawing.
WHAT SUPPLIES? All you need for drawing nudes is a large sketch pad like Strathmore ACID-FREE newsprint 24"x 36" for about $10.00. I like charcoal pencils, Conte, and vine charcoal for active sketching and making quick shadows. Bull Dog clips will be useful to clip the sketch pad to the drawing board for a secure surface to draw.
The drawing room will be set up surrounding the nude which can be centered in the room so everyone will get some kind of view. In these cases, it is possible to get a rear end aiming for your vision but at the end of a drawing session, it is all about shapes and difficult poses are actually good challenges!
For Canada life drawing groups... go here to reference locations where life drawing groups will offer professional nudes to draw...
The pace of the life drawing sessions will start off with warm-up sketches of 1-5 minutes called gesture drawings which give us time to get our eyes & arms warmed up, get familiar with the nude in the room, and BREATH. The model can only stand or sit for a short duration on certain poses which will last 10-15 minutes and the last pose will be where the model can hold themselves relatively comfortably for 30 minutes. There are short breaks throughout the drawing sessions. Before you know it, 3 hours is GONE.
In the drawing above, our model Melanie will go into a meditative state, holding her poses for long periods, sitting very still but one day in this above drawing, we had to say to her that her legs are turning purple and to take a break!
It's not EASY to hold positions or even sit still. I found true for many pro models, that they take up YOGA and meditation so they can perform the pose.
The nude model at times will bring in props, clothing, and even music to set the mood. Sometimes the drawing group makes requests for certain poses and supplies the model with items such as long poles to help them hold a more active stance.
You do not have any control over what nude shows up in this ' pay as you go' group. It's good to draw all body types and ages including male and female nudes.
I moved into Vancouver city center and was living in a work/live loft and had a great space to organize a private drawing group with a few other artists. I was so happy to be able to hire some favorite pro nudes I met during the art school drawing groups. The going rate to hire a pro-nude was $25.00 an hour and had to book 3 hours minimum. I gathered a few others interesting in drawing from the nudes and split the cost. Much more relaxing atmosphere for all of us and no bad spots!
The models enjoyed coming to a nice LOFT with an intimate group of artists and so they would recommend us to other models. The models will have other jobs usually so getting one for our own time slot did prove to be tough at times. We enjoyed breaking in new models who were just getting into the circuit hired by art schools, photography schools, and private drawing groups.
To read and view more about how some of the drawings became final paintings...go here.
Matisse has always been one of my favorite artists' and here are a couple of quotes he stated that express something special about drawing from the nude form.
'When an artist or student draws a nude figure with painstaking care, the result is drawing, and not emotion.' Henry Matisse
Checking around the Lower Mainland, I discovered there were several non-instructional groups that hired professional life nudes, and for about $15.00 drop-in fee or for a better deal buy 10 sessions. I attended various art schools, animation schools, and art community groups that had a public space rented for non-instructional life drawing.
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Portable Art Case for drawing paper and surface. Read more here about my favorite art tools. |
Usually, there are easels offered but not always so had to check beforehand. Sometimes I would have to sit on the floor, cross-legged, as the room was full so used to bring the hard drawing case that my sister made for me, as it became my table and carrier of large pieces of newsprint.
The drawing room will be set up surrounding the nude which can be centered in the room so everyone will get some kind of view. In these cases, it is possible to get a rear end aiming for your vision but at the end of a drawing session, it is all about shapes and difficult poses are actually good challenges!
For Canada life drawing groups... go here to reference locations where life drawing groups will offer professional nudes to draw...
The pace of the life drawing sessions will start off with warm-up sketches of 1-5 minutes called gesture drawings which give us time to get our eyes & arms warmed up, get familiar with the nude in the room, and BREATH. The model can only stand or sit for a short duration on certain poses which will last 10-15 minutes and the last pose will be where the model can hold themselves relatively comfortably for 30 minutes. There are short breaks throughout the drawing sessions. Before you know it, 3 hours is GONE. 
In the drawing above, our model Melanie will go into a meditative state, holding her poses for long periods, sitting very still but one day in this above drawing, we had to say to her that her legs are turning purple and to take a break!
It's not EASY to hold positions or even sit still. I found true for many pro models, that they take up YOGA and meditation so they can perform the pose.
The nude model at times will bring in props, clothing, and even music to set the mood. Sometimes the drawing group makes requests for certain poses and supplies the model with items such as long poles to help them hold a more active stance.
You do not have any control over what nude shows up in this ' pay as you go' group. It's good to draw all body types and ages including male and female nudes.
I moved into Vancouver city center and was living in a work/live loft and had a great space to organize a private drawing group with a few other artists. I was so happy to be able to hire some favorite pro nudes I met during the art school drawing groups. The going rate to hire a pro-nude was $25.00 an hour and had to book 3 hours minimum. I gathered a few others interesting in drawing from the nudes and split the cost. Much more relaxing atmosphere for all of us and no bad spots!
The models enjoyed coming to a nice LOFT with an intimate group of artists and so they would recommend us to other models. The models will have other jobs usually so getting one for our own time slot did prove to be tough at times. We enjoyed breaking in new models who were just getting into the circuit hired by art schools, photography schools, and private drawing groups.
To read and view more about how some of the drawings became final paintings...go here.
To view in a slide show
Click on any image or scroll down to view.
Matisse has always been one of my favorite artists' and here are a couple of quotes he stated that express something special about drawing from the nude form.
'When an artist or student draws a nude figure with painstaking care, the result is drawing, and not emotion.' Henry Matisse
'The living model, the naked body of a woman, is the privileged seat of feeling, but also of questioning... The model must mark you, awaken in you an emotion which you seek in turn to express.' Henry MatisseGet ART, get naked! Minaz
2 comments :
Having just acquired 2 of your works.
A charcoal Devon and a oil Devon in Skirt
Fred, thanks for letting me know you are the new keeper of 2 of my artworks. I gather that Jo had passed them on to you. May you enjoy them. Devon was a professional nude model who came to pose for us at The Workshop loft in Vancouver years ago.
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