Friday's Life Drawing Class

You ever have a day when you feel "on" artistically? That was today. I REALLY enjoyed drawing today - the drawings came out very well and I liked the color choices. Our model was the most tired model I've ever seen in the four years that I've taken life drawing classes. She literally looked like she was falling asleep during every pose. And every pose except the first three involved her lounging. Get some sleep, girl!

Friend of the blog Anne asked why all the pictures of naked women. Great question Anne! Life drawing means drawing from life, and art schools encourage prospective students to submit portfolios of 10 - 20 pieces of their best work from life, animals and people. When you draw from life, you train your eye to actually see what's really in front of you, as opposed to drawing something from your own imagination which may or may not be anatomically correct. The reason why all of my life drawings have been of nude women is because women make up the bulk (if not all) of the models at ASLD.

When I was in ASIFA-EAST in NYC we had a wider variety of models - black, white, Asian, younger adults, older adults, men and women. There is less of a variety here in Colorado for reasons unknown to me, at least at the Art Students League. Or maybe the fellas are more shy to show themselves. (Coincidentally my favorite model of all was a woman at Parsons School of Design's life drawing class. She weighed close to 250 lbs. She was great. Skinny people are not as fun to draw - there's not a lot to really work with.)

Looking at the drawings now that I am out of class, I feel better about them. It's hard not to compare yourself to other artists in the room. I watch others paint and draw and think "Wow, they're good." I have not yet reached the level I would like to be at yet. That level is Glen Keane, Walt Disney, John Lasseter, Jim Henson. I look at their work and think "I have so far to go."

My goal is to be in art school by Spring 2010. I would like to go to CalArts, although MCAD and KCAI are also great choices. Some days I draw and think that I am not progressing, but everyone has those days where you feel like no matter how much work you do you're not getting anywhere. It's like you've reached a plateau, and then BAM! You realize that you have improved. I'm waiting for that "BAM" moment. Soon, very soon.