I Appear, I Leave

10/28/19 Gloria (10-min. pose)

My current reading is Ways of Drawing: Artists’ Perspectives and Practices, by the Royal Drawing School. It’s a collection of essays about the practice of drawing by students and faculty of this classical drawing school in London. While most of the essays are by artists, a notable exception is by a long-time art model, Isley Lynn. Not an artist herself (in fact, she’s a playwright), she has experienced a range of encounters with artists who spend many hours scrutinizing and interpreting her nude body. 

I appear, I leave, and the artwork is the trace of my visit. Thousands of people have seen me intimately without knowing me. They never see me, they see a reflection of me, a version of me, someone else’s story of me. And art to a model is like money to the dead – you can’t take it with you when you go. – Isley Lynn

20-min. pose

10-min. pose

10-min. pose