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 essential tradition of an artist's learning curve in developing observational skills with techniques. Drawing in a group could be the most formidable challenge, but think of it as the most profound experience for any beginner or professional to shiver at the challenge of a nude in the room! Anyone embarking on an art career, regardless of the style or medium they work with, should embrace the challenge of a live nude.
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View on YouTube a collection of Nude Painting accompanied by original music below.
Drawing a figure from a photograph is like capturing it in time. It doesn't reveal all the goodie bits hiding in the shadows, and the light blasts out, blurring the skin texture and obscuring subtle reflections that enhance the unique skin tones. Photography yields little energetic feedback from the muse.
Drawing from LIFE is the most crucial 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 the work of a master.
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1980s pencil portrait from a photograph of me as a child. |
Like most people who start out drawing, I used photographs as a reference. It is an excellent boost to the ego when you first start drawing, and people respond to you with their optimistic comments 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 it comes 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. |
Beginning 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 that 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 that 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, I was blown away by the experience and hooked on doing more life drawings of nudes.
Checking around the Lower Mainland, I discovered several non-instructional groups 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 sketchpad, such as 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 help clip the sketch pad to the drawing board, providing a secure surface for drawing.
The drawing room will be set up to surround the nude, which can be positioned in the center of the room, allowing everyone to have some kind of view. In these cases, it is possible to achieve a rear-end view that aligns with your vision. However, 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 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 breathe. The model can only stand or sit for a short duration in specific poses, which last 10-15 minutes. The final pose will be one 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 enter a meditative state, holding her poses for long periods, sitting very still. However, one day, in the above drawing, we had to tell her that her legs were turning purple and to take a break.
It's not EASY to hold positions or even sit still. I found that to be true for many professional models, who take up yoga and meditation so they can perform the poses.
The nude model, at times, will bring in props, clothing, and even music to set the mood. Sometimes the drawing group makes requests for specific poses and supplies the model with items, such as long poles, to help them maintain a more active stance.
You do not have any control over what nude shows up in this ' pay as you go' group. It's beneficial to draw a wide range of body types and ages, including both male and female nudes.
I moved into Vancouver's city center and was living in a work/live loft, which had a great space to organize a private drawing group with a few other artists. I was thrilled to be able to hire some of my favorite professional nudes that I met during the art school drawing groups. The going rate to hire a pro-nude was $25.00 an hour, and they had to book 3 hours minimum. I gathered a few others interested in drawing from the nudes and split the cost. A much more relaxing atmosphere for all of us, with no bad spots!
The models enjoyed coming to a nice loft with an intimate group of artists, and they would recommend us to other models. The models will have different jobs, so getting one for our own time slot proved 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 evolved into 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 several non-instructional groups 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 I had to check beforehand. Sometimes I would have to sit on the floor, cross-legged, as the room was packed, so I would bring the hard drawing case that my sister had made for me, which became my makeshift table and carrier for large pieces of newsprint.
The drawing room will be set up to surround the nude, which can be positioned in the center of the room, allowing everyone to have some kind of view. In these cases, it is possible to achieve a rear-end view that aligns with your vision. However, 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 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 breathe. The model can only stand or sit for a short duration in specific poses, which last 10-15 minutes. The final pose will be one 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 enter a meditative state, holding her poses for long periods, sitting very still. However, one day, in the above drawing, we had to tell her that her legs were turning purple and to take a break.
It's not EASY to hold positions or even sit still. I found that to be true for many professional models, who take up yoga and meditation so they can perform the poses.
The nude model, at times, will bring in props, clothing, and even music to set the mood. Sometimes the drawing group makes requests for specific poses and supplies the model with items, such as long poles, to help them maintain a more active stance.
You do not have any control over what nude shows up in this ' pay as you go' group. It's beneficial to draw a wide range of body types and ages, including both male and female nudes.
I moved into Vancouver's city center and was living in a work/live loft, which had a great space to organize a private drawing group with a few other artists. I was thrilled to be able to hire some of my favorite professional nudes that I met during the art school drawing groups. The going rate to hire a pro-nude was $25.00 an hour, and they had to book 3 hours minimum. I gathered a few others interested in drawing from the nudes and split the cost. A much more relaxing atmosphere for all of us, with no bad spots!
The models enjoyed coming to a nice loft with an intimate group of artists, and they would recommend us to other models. The models will have different jobs, so getting one for our own time slot proved 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 evolved into 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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