Oops!

My apologies for not posting recently...

As usual I've been trying to model as frequently as possible and trying to keep bread on the table...

I have been back to modeling at some of the usual places. I've been modeling at the Galaxie and at Northern Illinois again the last two months. I've also started modeling for Kishwaukee College where I am currently enrolled as a student in Horticulture. I've done a few sessions for Elgin Community College, as well, where I worked for a nice instructor named Eddwin who is quite an accomplished artist.

This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to model at Tojo Gallery a wonderful little art gallery and studio on Division St. in Chicago. Aaron who runs Life Drawing sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays is a phenomenal artist who actually paints during the life drawing sessions. Modeling for him is always a pleasure as he really appreciates the work models do for him. If you're in Chicago and want some quality time with your drawing pad come check out Tojo.

My collar bone is mostly healed but sometimes I can still feel that it's not the same as it used to be. I sometimes feel pops in my shoulder or in my sternum (to which the clavicle is connected) similar to the pops one would feel when cracking their knuckles. I do what any good life model would do- I hold the pose.

I feel like I'm still coming up to speed with my physical condition. This is partly due to my intermittent exercise schedule (which is more a factor of my school and modeling schedule) but I'm hopefully working up to a more stable timetable.

I am somewhat disappointed that one of my favorite places to model, Waubonsee Community College, is not going to be holding any life drawing classes until NEXT spring. Greg, the instructor and my friend tells me that this is due to the economy. A lack of drawing classes doesn't help anyone's economy (including mine.) Greg is still teaching but he just isn't doing any life drawing classes at the moment.

So now I'm just waiting for Spring. I'm hoping to do some outdoor modeling this year- I like working in the open air. That and I'm really looking forward to riding my motorcycle again. I'll try not break anything when I do.

Alex @ the Galaxie 6.28.2009

I modeled at the Galaxie on a Saturday again... it was a bit hot and stuffy in the drawing studio but the moderator and the staff were nice enough to get me a fan so I wasn't completely drenched in sweat.

One artist was working digitally- he had an Apple Macintosh laptop with a drawing pad connected to it. He mentioned that the calibration was not always dead on so he had to ignore where his stylus was and just pay attention to the pointer on his screen. It was fascinating to see him work and look at his resulting drawings. This was the first I had seen anyone working digitally during a drawing session.

Here's a few more views of the session:

Pictured above you can see an artist working digitally. People work in many different mediums- it's all just different avenues in the process of creation.

Here is a sample of the artist's digital artwork:
It was interesting to see how well represantional/figurative art could be produced digitally. I like the results...

I hope I get to see more art being produced in this fashion. It's quite interesting....

See you at the next drawing session...!

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Skulls and Portraits

Monday afternoon in room 400, the life drawing studio in Jack Arends Hall. Time to pose. Time to draw. Time to be drawn.

I arrived early with my water bottle and egg timer in hand. I went to the model's corner, changed into my robe and flip flops, and headed to the posing platform to stretch a bit. The instructor arrived and explained that we were going to start with some warm-ups and then move on to some portrait work today. I was actually going to get to pose draped today... just in my robe but it was a bit of a change. Until today every time I had modeled at the state U it had been nude modeling...

We started with the some the usual warm ups- blind contour drawing, a bit of scribble, and then some line gestures. We followed it with a 10 minute seated pose. Then the instructor took the class out into the hall to look at some portrait drawings done by one of the other, upper-level classes. I took the opportunity to grab a few pics of the student's work with my digital camera:

Quite a wide range of style here...


I don't think I'm quite this beefy...

Photos by exbrun2@yahoo.com

I spent a few more minutes scrutinizing the student's work before they returned, the instructor following with some cast, plastic human skulls in her hands. She told me to take a 15 minute break while the students worked on drawing the skulls. I spent the break watching them work, something I don't often get to do. Some of them were quite good- it was fascinating to watch their drawings go from a toned canvas with some charcoal smears on it to some quite interesting views of skulls.

After drawing the plastic skulls, it was time for the students to draw my skull. I took the posing platform (still robed!), took a seated pose, and spent the last 50 minutes of class having my visage put to paper by the class. The instructor left the skulls flanking me on either side of the posing platform on draped stools to remind the student about the structure under my flesh. I had a brief chuckle before we began- I felt like I was part of some odd, voodoo ritual, seated like a shaman between the (reproduction) skulls of the dead.

At the end of class the instructor announced we would probably repeat the same class format on Wednesday- warm ups (minus skull drawings) followed by more portrait drawing. I'll let you know how it goes.

Full House

Back in Room 400 at the State U. I guess Mondays are better for life drawing.... the class seemed to be full today. The instructor was took the class to show them some slides in another room so I was left on my own in the drawing studio for the first 30 minutes of class. I took the opportunity to do some stretching and meditate on what kind of poses I was going to do.

We hit a lot of the usual exercises- contour drawings, mass drawings, and line drawings. Today the instructor had them combine line and mass drawings. The finished pieces for that exercise were getting quite detailed.

After the break, the instructor had the students do some brush and ink drawings. This was my first time modeling for artists working in this medium. It looked potentially messy and the technique seemed difficult. The instructor had them try it with their non-dominant hand which seemed to be exceptionally difficult. And potentially messy....

After class I found the instructor and chatted about her class. I asked for an assessment of my modeling and she verified that I am doing a suitable job for her class. Apparently after seeing me model in her class the first time she went to the Fine Art Studio secretary and demanded a monopoly on my time so she could have me keep modeling for her class. I take that as a compliment. Apparently she likes my body type- she told me it was nice to see someone with definition so the students could actually see parts of the body working. Models lacking definition lead to the students drawing "tubes" (her terminology) for body parts. Muscle definition forces them to put more detail in their drawings...

Every easel and horse seemed to have an artist in front of it today- it was good to know the students make it to class for at least the first part of the week...

Shrinking Classes...

Apparently it's week 4 of the semester and the children have discovered they have better things to do than go to class. Like alcohol. As I rode into town to the state university I noticed the bars seemed to be doing brisk business and there was a mad exodus of students heading off campus to bars unknown. It's their tuition money, I guess... or possibly their parents'.

When I got to my life drawing session (with 10 minutes to spare) I noted I was the second person to arrive. No instructor yet (though I'm sure she was around) and one student. I went to the tiny changing room (a corner of the room with a shower curtain to insure my modesty,) took off my motorcycle jacket, disrobed, put on my light-weight blue robe (that fits much better in my motorcycle tail bag than my old, bulky, terrycloth robe), donned my flip-flops, and headed for the posing platform. Yeehah.

As 3:30 post-meridian rolled around only five or six students had filtered into the room. The instructor came in (her class was the first I'd modeled for at this university) and seemed pleasantly surprised to see me. Apparently she was expecting another model but had read the modeling schedule incorrectly. It was reassuring to know she had liked me during that first class and my presence as her model was a good thing.

We finally ended up with a class of about twelve which was much smaller than any class I had modeled for at the university the previous week. Obviously people were missing. The instructor called roll and at least six people were absent. Hopefully their beverages of choice were refreshingly intoxicating.

We actually started out with a six-minute, seated pose which was nice- it gave me a chance to cool off a bit. I was still sweating from rushing to class when I arrived so the six minutes gave all that a chance to evaporate. We moved on to short gestures for contour drawings,scribble drawings, and mass drawings. I had to self-time everything but I'm getting used to doing that- it still feels like it divides my energy a bit...

We moved on to some line drawings generated from longer poses. The instructor kept commenting on how my body was perfect for this exercise. I concentrated on the pose and timing refraining from dwelling on the compliments. I'm not good at taking compliments- I have to hold the world upon my shoulders like Atlas to feel I deserve a compliment. Don't get me wrong- I like getting compliments and I've even learned to say thank you when complimented. But I still feel like I need to do more to earn it.

The poses were not long- the longest one was six minutes but I managed to make them complicated and painful (as usual.) I just don't feel like I've done my job unless I put some effort into my pose. I did a fencing pose (a riposte) for seven minutes which actually fatigued my guard arm. Oddly my sword arm which was extended fully for that same amount of time didn't bother me.

We broke a bit early and the instructor wished the class a good weekend which seemed to be working ahead of the curve- I still had two days of the day job ahead of me before the weekend. I guess the student life is a bit different than the life of the working drone...

The instructor thanked me and complimented me some more as I got down from the platform. I went to the tiny changing booth to get dressed. I realized I was always calling the instructor "professor" and I didn't know if this was how she wanted to be addressed. I went to find her after I was finished dressing but couldn't find her. So instead I went and retrieved my motorcycle and went to Rammy's to get a sandwich.

I hope the twelve students who chose to come to class appreciated my efforts today. I hope those that chose to engage in other activities make it home safe tonight. To those who head to Rammy's to get a sandwich I recommend the "Sawhorse" sandwich. It has horseradish but it's mild. It's a special and not on the regular menu so you'll have to ask if you don't see it on the specials board.

The Local Venue Again...

Back on the platform at the community college - I made sure to get there with time to spare. It was time to do the second day of what had become a two-day pose.

We started with the usual gesture warm ups followed by two short poses to explore negative space. I hit a really dramatic pose with my last gesture supporting my upper body weight on one arm. It was a great pose but very difficult to hold. I was glad when the instructor called for the longer poses...

Following short pose, the instructor had me re-assume the pose I had started on Tuesday. My left ankle (which was folded under me), already sore from resting on the lip of the platform on Tuesday, was quickly overwhelmed with sharp pain as the rough edge of the platform dug in. By the end of the class I had deep, welted lines in my ankle. Ouch.

Luckily I seemed to be able to get the pose right almost from the get-go. One of the students seemed to find fault with my pose after each break but luckily the instructor just told him to work with the pose as it was. This student was dressed in exactly the same clothes I had seen him wearing on Tuesday. His facial expression was a mix of morose, confrontational, and human darkness. I saw him after class as I was walking to my car (the weather report said rain so no motorcycle) and said hello to him. He did not reply. He seemed to be waiting for someone to pick him up. I hurried away from his cloud of darkness.

This student brings up one point which some students and instructors seem to understand and others just never seem to get- this is LIFE drawing. Life is not static. Life moves. I will come as close as possible to keeping the pose but to duplicate it exactly would defeat the purpose of having a live model. As a life model, I live, I breathe, I am subject to the earth's gravity. I exist with my own inner energy and motion which is part of what I am giving the artist and part of what they should be trying to capture in their art. I didn't sign on to be a still-life. It wouldn't be "life drawing" if that was the case.

Another of the students commented that my abdominal muscles were giving her trouble in her drawing - I think this was her way of saying she liked my physique. Or perhaps she meant that I should lose weight. I'll have to ask her if I see her again.

I waited through the end of the class while the instructor gave a critique of all the students' drawings. Some of the drawings definitely showed promise- promise as both a finished artwork and the promise of a student's burgeoning drawing skills. The instructor took them out into the hall to hang up their drawings leaving me alone in the drawing studio. I took the opportunity to do something I almost never do- get dressed in the studio. It only took a moment but it felt odd to get dressed in that space.

The instructor let me know that he would call me and arrange another opportunity for me to model. I look forward to my next chance to model for his class. I'm hoping to see how they have developed as the semester progresses.

Pain and the Recliner

Back at the State University for my third stint as a life model for the Fine Art Studio. I worked with a new instructor. Following some minor scheduling confusion, I made it into class and went right to work.

The instructor started out with gestures which I threw myself into with gusto. It was a good warm up for the artists and for me as well. I was sweating pretty hard by the time we finished with gestures.

The instructor proceeded to put the long, step board to get on the posing platform part way onto the posing platform to form a long, forward-angled plank. He had me take a reclining pose on the plank which should have been an easy pose for me. I, of course, made it painful. I partially bent both of my legs as I twisted my body slightly left, put my left arm up high partially supporting me, and lifted my head so all the students could see my face despite the partial twist of my body.

The instructor mentioned we would take a ten minute break every 40 minutes or so which I thought would be manageable. In the 150 minutes of class, we took one break after the first forty minutes. This was to be the last break of the class. I ended up holding my self-inflicted pose for the better part of 100 minutes straight.

When we did get the one break I took a look at some of the students' work. Some of them were very good and had quite developed drawings after just 40 minutes. These were clearly more advanced students. I was impressed.

The last, 100 minute stretch of the class had me straining to hold the pose. My neck was throbbing from holding up my head. The right side of my abdominal muscles and my right side oblique muscles were also throbbing pretty hard. I was essentially doing an abdominal crunch on the right side of my body and holding it for an extended period of time. It was all complicated by the fact I had a sheet between me and the plank which kept gradually slipping downward with my weight. I had to keep pushing myself back up in tiny increments to maintain my position on the plank. By the end the pain was excruciating. The things I do for art.

I guess I could have called for a break myself but I was sort of hoping the instructor would do it. I guess on the positive side the students got 100 uninterrupted minutes to finish their drawings. Hopefully they appreciated my ability to maintain the pose for so long.

When I left the drawing studio my neck was throbbing intensely from the long effort of holding my head up. I thought riding my motorcycle home would be a bit of a chore as I have a sport bike which requires one to hold one's head up and forward. This actually put my head at the opposite angle of my pose which sort of helped ease the strain on my neck muscles. Small mercies are appreciated.

When I got home I could still feel the pain in my neck, abdominal muscles, and oblique muscles. Hopefully it will clear up because I model again tomorrow at the community college...

The Local Venue

One of my favorite places to model featuring one of my favorite instructors is the local community college around the way from my home base. It's not far, it's a pleasant campus, and motorcycle parking is right in front of the art building.

I've modeled at this community college more often than any other place I've modeled. I have a great rapport with the instructor who is quite dedicated to teaching the art of life drawing. He seems to like my style and presentation because he asks me back fairly often.

Most of the students are fairly new to life drawing but the classes are usually small so the instructor can give each artist a lot of attention. I feel with the smaller classes I "project and connect" with the group much better than I do at larger venues. There's usually a more congenial atmosphere than some of the larger universities and art schools where I model.

Today was my first time modeling at the community college for the fall semester which is already three weeks in motion. A whole summer had gone by since I last modeled at the college. I hadn't set foot on the campus since May. It felt like no time at all had gone by as I removed my robe and got on the posing platform in the life drawing studio.

The instructor had me start with some fast gestures as is his custom. I am conversant with his routine and it was nice to follow a familiar rhythm. I went for the dramatic as is my custom forgetting that my right knee had taken a nasty impact with the pavement a few weeks ago following a motorcycle mishap. I could feel the quadriceps in my right thigh start to shake a bit but I was able to get through most of the gestures. I didn't have this issue modeling last week so I'm guessing some of my poses must have aggravated it. I'll have to see the chiropractor soon...

Following the gestures the instructor had me take a leaning standing pose which proved to be real bothersome to my knee. He quickly changed it up in deference to my injury and put me in a seated pose, one leg folded under me. I still managed to get in a bit of lean on my left arm. This pose put my folded, left leg to sleep as well as my left hand which was partially supporting me on the box on which I was seated. My left ankle, pressed on the lip of the box, began to feel like it was being seared with a branding iron. Thankfully this was to be a one-day pose.

The instructor likes to go for fairly long periods before taking breaks. Typically the students draw for 30 minutes at a time before taking a ten minute break. The pose put the sleeping limb - searing joint at a level of about seven on a scale of one to ten. It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to block that out. I spent most of the time contemplating the figure drawing tableau in my mind. A lone, nude model on a platform surround by artists wielding charcoal sticks on acid-free paper in a furious attempt to record their interpretation of the model's form. This would be a scene most bizarre for the uninitiated.

The instructor liked some of what he was seeing of the artists' work and decided he wanted to give them more time to develop their drawings. He announced that the pose would now be a two-day pose as I was returning in two days for the next class. I had to give a mental sigh of anguish as I now had the opportunity to savor the anticipation of another three hours of sleeping leg, sleeping hand, and searing pain in my ankle.

The physical discomfort is only momentary. It only exists when I let myself be aware of it. It is the price to pay for being the catalyst for the generation of art. It is the price of being a life model. I pay it gladly. When I see the finished drawings hanging in the hallway of the art building I know I did my part in those drawings' creation. The collaboration with artists and new, original art is the return on my investment of pain. I think it's all worthwhile.

I'm looking forward to Thursday.

(Of course I have to get through tomorrow night at the state university where I'll be modeling for a much larger group. I'll tell you how it goes.)

Figurative Compendium

If you haven't seen this site, you should check it out:

Figuredrawings.com

It is all about figurative art. I think you'll like.

First night on a new platform....

Tonight was my first night at the state university. I almost was late as I had to wait for a very slow moving train while in route to the art building... I arrived in a panic to find the instructor wasn't there yet. That was a bit of a relief but it being my first time at this venue I went searching for the instructor to get the parameters for the class.

When I finally got on the platform it went rather well. Most of the students were beginning their figure drawing careers but there were a few who clearly had done life drawing before.

I tend to be rather energetic and put myself into complicated poses so I was a bit nonplussed to be put into a basic sitting pose by the instructor for my first pose. This quickly graduated to more dramatic gestures and short poses which I enjoy because I can put a lot of effort into such poses.

The instructor asked me to self-time which I'm not a big fan of- I feel like keeping the count in my head detracts from the energy of my pose over time. Plus I have a tendency to lose my count. On several occasions I called out pose end time for the instructor but she was focused on the students' work and didn't hear. I ended up turning a few three minute poses into five and six minutes poses because of this. The instructor didn't seem to mind.

Left unchecked I'll put myself into body-contorting, strenuous poses that leave me sweating, shaking, and heaving for breath. The instructor told me she liked my poses but reigned me in to more basic standing poses because the students were concentrating on mass drawings. She wanted me to avoid foreshortening so I kept it simple. It was nice to have some more relaxed poses but I still like to mix in poses that project energy. I'm probably going to be talking a lot about projecting energy in this blog....

The instructor cut the students loose about 15 minutes early which they seemed to appreciate. As I got off the posing platform the instructor let me know she liked having a model who presented himself with some energy. She commented that frequently many male models tend to stand there in simple poses giving a limp, modeling performance. Not THIS male model...! She went to let me know that if I wanted to make her class a regular gig she would be happy to have me. I'll have to see if my schedule permits.

Given the instructor's comments on my modeling, I'd have to say my first time on the platform at this venue was a successful one.


life-modeling