Getting Naked

Life drawing is something I have done for a quarter of a century and more. It’s the best thing I do. I find the level of concentration required really focusing. I find the level of seeing required exhausting but really enervating – it’s really an exercise in seeing, not in drawing. Sometimes I am absolutely knocked out by the results – it’s instant gratification. I like the discipline of a two-minute drawing, and none of the drawings here took longer than 30 minutes. Sometimes the line that comes out of one’s hand seems to come from somewhere else. “How did I get that so right?” Sometimes it comes from somewhere else again. “How did I get that SO wrong?”

The thing is, if you want to be an athlete – a runner, a boxer, a cyclist – fitness training is essential to your wellbeing and feeds the engine that powers your cycling, running, or boxing. For me, that’s what figure drawing does – it’s a workout that hones ALL your muscles. It makes you see better, it makes your line better, it tones up your tones.

One of the reasons why it’s so important is that there is no hiding place. If I draw you a tree, chances are it’ll look enough like a tree to convince you that it represents a real tree. If I paint you a sunset, the colours will tell you it’s a sunset. But if I draw you a figure and get it hopelessly wrong – head too big, legs too short – you’ll spot it in a second. For the artist, there’s nowhere to hide. A bit like the model in front of you, you’re completely naked.

And that’s a good thing. If a little chilly…

This is a twenty-minute drawing:

Sometimes I like to draw without looking at the page, which really tests that your hand is doing what your eyes tell it do. Sometimes I draw with the "wrong" hand - my left - and that really tests that your hand is doing what your brain is telling it to do. Sometimes the left hand drawings please me more than the right hand ones. This sheet is a mixture of "not looking at the paper" and drawings done with the wrong hand:

Three-minute poses really pump up your drawing and seeing muscles. You don't have much time to put right what is wrong - it's drawing "right" first time. Here's a page of these from a recent session:

So, if you're not already doing it, get yourself down to your nearest art shop and ask them if they know of any life classes locally, and get yourself naked in 2017!