WHY LIFE DRAWING?

 by JoAnn Frekot

NOTE:  To sign up for email alerts concerning our weekly Life Drawing sessions, please click on LIFE DRAWING AND PORTRAIT PAINTING, on the panel to the left of this posting.  

OT Artists offers weekly Life Drawing (and occasional portrait drawing) sessions, open to the artistic community for a nominal fee, and has done so for many years.  

I was introduced to Life Drawing at the first session I monitored.  Having never tried it before, I was curious what the opportunity to draw the human figure might teach me.  I've since asked some of my studio mates why they participate in the life drawing sessions.  Here is what some of us had to say.

Jean Everson

Jean Everson

One of the reasons I do Life Drawing is because of the practice of drawing or painting.  It keeps me in practice or gives me the ability to do other artwork.  The time restriction helps me make me decide what I want to create.

I used to do more watercolors of the model.  Now, if I sit with a drafting table and look down, I have neck pain.  Standing at an easel helps a lot with my neck.

Another advantage to Life Drawing is looking at the other artists' creations.

Tom Winterstein

Tom Winterstein

Look up "nudes in art" on the Internet and you'll come across pages that have statements like these:

"The Nude in Art:  the most natural expression of humanity," and "Capturing the nude form has been the ultimate goal in art."

I think these statements are hyperbole and may be justifications for looking at naked people and at naked people in art.  I've been drawing from the nude figure, life drawing, almost weekly for over 30 years and I have five reasons to draw from the nude figure.

1.  First, to acquire the knowledge and skill to draw, paint or sculpt the human figure, clothed or unclothed.  The figure is a difficult subject to portray because it is complicated...over 200 bones and several hundred muscles determine our appearance.  As we move muscles, they bunch and flatten.  We are constantly in motion, which changes our appearance.  Knowledge of the nude figure is important even if the figure is clothed.  Sometimes, even though a person is clothed, they are essentially nude (for instance, superheroes in tights or persons who are swimming).  But even fully clothed, the folds and shapes in the clothing are caused by how the fabric drapes over parts of the body, and how it is supported by the body underneath the clothing.

Tom Winterstein

2.  To learn to portray what we see accurately and with precision.  If we don't paint a branch of a tree accurately, no one will notice because our painting will still look like a tree, as long as we get the general shape right.  But everyone notices if we get the shape of the model's nose wrong.

3.  To sharpen and maintain our skills.  Drawing from the nude figure on a regular basis is like a musician practicing scales; it keeps the artist proficient at their craft.  Drawing the nude figure is ideal practice because the artist doesn't become bored with the subject.

4.  To develop the ability to rapidly capture gesture.  The model is often asked to hold short poses one after another, for instance, for 30 seconds, one minute or two minutes in length.  With practice the artist learns to draw the pose efficiently and elegantly.

5.  Finally, because it is enjoyable.  Some artists like painting landscapes, some like painting still life, and others like painting figures.

Pat Cleary

You ask, what does or did Life Drawing do for me?  Not sure, but nearly every successful artist has sat in front of nude human beings for hours throughout history.  To be sure, the motives to study and replicate the lines, shapes and shadows of a naked figure are complicated, and probably as different for each of us as the forces of chemistry that direct how we feel toward one another.

My adventure in art started with sculpture, abstract figures lines that reflected the human body.  I was young, full of desire and energy, and believed that the lines and shapes displayed by a nude model would provide meaningful sculptures.  The couple of sessions of Life Drawing that I attended did spark an interest in drawing, and confirmed that I need to learn to put my ideas down on paper before I started chopping a block of wood.

Those early efforts were interrupted by life's many challenges, so it wasn't until I found OT Artists that I began to invest the time it takes to translate what I see in my mind's eye on to a piece of paper.  An accurate rendition of an object requires intense focus and concentration.  I believe that the psychological intrigue associated with sitting in front of a stranger in the buff drives one to concentrate on the model.

I can't say I feel an emotional connection to the model, as has been suggested by some art editors.  Note that during OT Artists' figure sessions, it's incredibly quiet with barely a word spoken.  The artists are intensely focused, no matter the model's gender or age.  Moreover, clothes and jewelry can distract from the essence of humanness, beautiful lines, shadows and shapes that define what it is to be human.

My drawing skills have improved, but there is still room for growth.  This requires practice, which is why I occasionally attempt to draw or paint a naked body at our Life Drawing sessions.  So why attend our life drawing sessions?  Is it the artist in me, or something else?  I don't know. 

JoAnn Frekot

JoAnn Frekot

As a relative newcomer to the experience of Life Drawing, I started with a curiosity about the entire experience.  What would it be like, sitting in a room of other artists, with a nude model on the stage in front of us?  After participating in about a dozen sessions, I've realized that Life Drawing has enhanced my ability to capture an image, human or otherwise, in real life onto a piece of paper.

As I draw the model, I have learned to focus on drawing what I actually see, not what I think the image should be.  Foreshortened arms, legs, hands and feet give me plenty of practice.  I look at the angle of an arm and extend a line from one side of the angle to line up with another part of the model.  Did I capture the proportions accurately?  I study light and shadow intensely.  I ask myself, what is the darkest shadow on the model?  Where is the light the strongest?  How does the model's body translate into rough shapes... circles, ellipses, and rectangles?  

I especially like the short poses the model assumes at the beginning of the Life Drawing session.  I tend to be pretty methodical when rendering images, so the short poses force me to stop thinking so much and to loosen up.  I've learned it's OK if what I draw isn't perfect!  That's the point...to practice and learn from what works and what doesn't.  

JoAnn Frekot

I also enjoy seeing how the other artists capture the model and their poses.  Everyone has a unique style, and I love the variety and beauty of the results.  While I am not able to participate every week, I find that I gain artistic skill, knowledge and confidence from every session I attend.  

NOTE:  To sign up for email alerts concerning our weekly Life Drawing sessions, please click on LIFE DRAWING AND PORTRAIT PAINTING, on the panel to the left of this posting.