Shawna Chooses

11/11/19 Shawna (20-min. pose)

As I filled yet another Gage punch card Monday, I thought about how I used to feel in life-drawing sessions when I first began attending seven years ago. I would return home completely drained and exhausted, partly from the mental focus but also because I was entirely tense the whole three-hour session. Completely out of my comfort zone, I found life drawing stressful.

11/11/19 20-min. pose

I got over it after a few times, and fairly soon after that I started feeling relaxed and “in the zone” during many sessions. Don’t misunderstand – life drawing is still one of the most challenging and mentally focused drawing practices I engage in – but the relaxing part is that I don’t have to do anything to prepare.

Whenever I sketch on location, I have to consider the weather and temperature, the time of day, how to get there and where to park, and once I’m there, I must choose a composition. It’s all part of urban sketching, and I enjoy the process, but there’s always a bit of tension in not knowing exactly what I might sketch or the conditions I might encounter.

At life-drawing sessions, the conditions are completely controlled, including the lighting, and the model chooses the composition. All I have to do is show up and draw whatever he or she presents for two minutes or 20. In that way, I am completely passive, and my only active engagement is in the act of drawing. I wouldn’t want all my drawing to be this way – searching for and discovering my subject and composition are a large part of the fun of urban sketching – but once a week, it’s relaxing to let someone else decide.

11/11/19 20-min. pose

11/11/19 5-min. pose

11/11/19 5-min. pose