Life Class

I'm talking about a sketching class where you draw a nude model. Though sometimes it would be awesome to have a class about Life and how not to fuck it up.

A facebook friend, occassional acquaintance invited me to a life class where she would be modeling. I wasn't sure if I would go. It didn't cost much, but does it look weird? She doesn't know me well...

I love Art. I think if I weren't acting I would be sculpting things out of steel or bronze or clay. Maybe painting or drawing. Photography? I am in awe of figures that I see when bumming around the museums of Europe. In Scandinavia there was a statue so life-like and life-sized the gloves on her hands had stitching. Astounding detail. For the play QED I did 2 years ago, I created a sketchbook of a few nudes to use as a prop. I hate it when I go to a play and someone holds up and obviously blank sheet of paper and reads a letter. It throws me out of the play. I did 6 nude drawings (tasteful nudes found on line.) for the prop sketch book.

So I went to the life class. I got there just as the 2 models took off the fabric concealing them and they climbed up onto a pedestal in the center of the studio. I felt awkward and seemed noisy as I came in and found a spot. And I felt myself blushing for just a moment like I was caught being naughty.

I had a medium sized sketch pad. Many people had huge pads and were working in charcoal. I had #2 pencils and an eraser... I felt like I was kind of a fraud. I kind of hid what I was drawing. Because even as I was drawing I was trying to find the right proportion and line and wanted to get it RIGHT. I wanted to be Picasso. No Pressure.

I started to lighten up and loosen up as I worked. One model stayed in the same pose all 4 hours (with breaks) and the one I am FB friends with changed every 20-30 minutes with a small breaks in between. I would draw from different angles and sides since I had a small pad and could move around. I looked at the others works. There were some people that were very good. Some that were ok. And a couple that were not so good. But they were there, so kudos. I saw one guy holding 2-4 pencils in his hand as he sketched. It struck me as odd, and the drawings were strange lines at the beginning, but they would eventually come together in a picture that had some similarities to the model. An interesting technique I never would have thought of.

I stayed for almost 3 hours and got a few drawings I liked out of it. I think I will come back to sketch. It was a fun challenge to try to get what was in my head out on the paper. It'd be cool to practice sketching, but I don't know any nude women.