Nine Models for Life Drawing

 

12/13/25 varying durations (I used a white Derwent Drawing pencil in an Arteza black sketchbook, which isn't as black as the black paper in Uglybooks, but I brought it because it's larger. I think blacker paper looks better, especially when scanned.)

I’m disappointed that I got out of the life-drawing habit. For many winters, I used to go to Gage Academy’s open life-drawing sessions regularly. Then the pandemic happened, and afterwards, it just wasn’t the same. I enjoyed outdoor sessions at Gas Works Park for a couple of summers, but the organizer eventually ended that. When Gage moved to South Lake Union, I was excited by the new, modern facility (Comfortable heating and cooling! Functioning toilets!), but getting there just isn’t as convenient as Capitol Hill was. Other than Drawing Jam, I have not yet been to the new Gage for life drawing.

Derwent Drawing pencil in Canson XL mixed media sketchbook 

I’ve long been on model Shawna Holman’s mailing list for the various life-drawing events that she either coordinates or models for herself. She’s had a long-standing weekly series in the U-District’s Artist & Craftsman Supply store that I enjoyed once last year, but it didn’t become a habit. On Sunday mornings, the series often conflicts with Urban Sketchers, and somehow I haven’t made time for it on days without USk.

Her latest promotion was for something unusual: In addition to modeling herself (and she continues to be one of the best I’ve ever drawn), she also leads training workshops for new models. Last Saturday Shawna invited artists to draw the trainees following their workshop so that they would have an opportunity to practice. My calendar was clear, the situation was novel (nine models in one session!), and I was in the mood – I had no excuses!

The setup itself was unique and somewhat confusing: To give all nine trainees an opportunity to experience different pose durations, three models were on the platform at a time, each holding a pose for a different length of time. If I wasn’t paying attention to the duration assigned to the model I happened to be drawing, it might be a two-minute pose instead of 10 or vice versa.

At first, that was frustrating, especially because I was feeling very rusty, but I got over it quickly by developing my own plan: I stopped trying to pay attention to the pose duration and began each sketch as if the pose would last for only two minutes. If I had more time, I kept going, correcting proportions and adding shading. Or I simply moved on to a different model. So all the sketches shown here were of varying lengths, sometimes determined by the model and sometimes determined by whenever I decided to stop. It became fun and interesting due to the unpredictable nature.

This and the following sketches were done with Kuretake Brush Writer brush pens containing water-soluble ink.

The most fun were the last two sketches that I made on black paper (top of post). I had brought along a black Arteza sketchbook in case I had an opportunity to use it: A dark-skinned model sat in just the right position with a beautiful sliver of backlighting on his profile and arm. Then he turned his head slightly for the next pose.

Will the life-drawing habit stick again? I dunno . . . but I put a few Sunday sessions on my calendar.