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.

Hello, again!

Hello, art lovers.

It's been awhile and much has happened. I was out of the loop for about two months following a motorcycle accident where I broke my left clavicle and three ribs. That sort of put a kibosh on figure modeling for awhile.

I'm back to it, though, and I'm looking forward to a productive year. I hope I get to work with many new artists as well as some old friends.

Watch this space- more to come!

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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Summertime Modeling...

So summer is here and regular universities and classes are out. Modeling work is a bit harder to come by this time of year but I'm still drawing work with individual artists and studios.

It's a been awhile since I've posted which was mostly due to the fact that I was modeling quite a bit at a number of the venues where I regularly model. The last part of the spring semester at universities can get quite hectic as students try to get in as much work as possible. I love having the opportunity to model at that time because I feel that this is when most of the budding artists for whom I am modeling work their hardest.

Luckily some of the places I model like Northern Illinois University run a number of drawing clusters and art camps during the summer so I can continue modeling at places where I have an established relationship. I'm still modeling for The Galaxie and POE.M Art House which are fantastic local art outlets for artists looking to get access to life models.

Hopefully I can line up enough gigs this summer to keep a roof over my head and food on the table...

Location is everything...

I had the opportunity to model at a new venue today:



It was a community arts and activity center known as "The Galaxie." I had seen their website in the past but it wasn't until I set foot in the place that I realized what a fantastic facility The Galaxie really is.

The Galaxie is a converted warehouse/industrial building which now houses a community multi-use space. While I was at The Galaxie they had dance classes and martial arts classes in addition to the open figure drawing session for which I was modeling. The building has wonderfully high ceilings and excellent light.

The Galaxie exists to provide a place for the promotion of the arts and artists. This includes performance art as well as the more traditional fine arts. I was quite impressed with the range of activties covered at the Galaxie. I feel fortunate to have had the chance to be involved with the goings-on at The Galaxie.

The Saturday Morning Figure Drawing sesson held at The Galaxie is moderated and organized by Megan Gallagher, an independent artist. Allison Rae Butkus The Galaxie's creative-in-residence charged with securing models for the Figure Drawing session which takes place every Saturday at The Galaxie from 9:30am to 12:30pm. Attending artists need to supply their own paper stock and drawing supplies. Drawing horses are provided by The Galaxie. Free coffee is also available to those who like a little caffeine with their art.

It was a young group at the session- I don't think any of the artists attending the Figure Drawing session were over 30 (though I could be wrong.) I walked the horses during breaks and discovered that some of the artists were quite advanced. One gentleman was doing all his drawings in pen to force himself to work on making confident lines. I'm sure doing value wasn't easy in pen....

We started with a series of one-minute poses, then five minute poses, then half-hour poses. For the longer poses I did standing, seated, seated, and reclining. I think if I'm asked back I will definitely try some more of my aerobatic poses. I do love to torture myself....


Photo courtesy of M. Gallagher.

I really liked The Galaxie and I really enjoyed modeling for the Saturday morning figure drawing group. I hope to be back at The Galaxie soon.

School's in....

Schools back in session and I'm back to modeling.

It's nice to be collaborating again.

Monday's Model

Monday afternoon in room 400 at the art building on the platform again. That's a good bit of location information...

It was the usual drill of warm - ups: blind contour, mass gestures, scribble drawings. This was followed by a few longer poses (a few 10 minute poses) and then a long seated pose.

This week promises to be better than last- I had no modeling gigs last week. Sadness. I was originally scheduled just for this Monday but then Professor Giese requested me for Wednesday as well. My need to inspire shall be sated for this week.

I'll update with more details on Wednesday....