I don't draw, I won't say 'can't draw' because yes I can physically draw vague shapes and lines, I just don't draw very well! So tonight I braved a brand new frontier, drawing classes but not any old mundane drawing of plastic fruit in the stock standard cut glass fruit bowl borrowed from Aunt Flo's 70's wooden veneer paneled display unit! No nothing quite so boring for moi, I have joined a life drawing class! Ok so I only joined the life drawing class because it was the only art class that wasn't booked solid but the art teacher assured me that it was a suitable class for absolute beginners such as myself through to the more seasoned artisan.
So off I toddled this evening not knowing quite what to expect, telling myself not to giggle and expose myself as a complete novice, hoping and praying the class wasn't full of perverts and sleazebags or a brood of 20-somethings on a hen's night (I've been told life drawing classes are quite popular for a bride's last single soiree these days, a bit more upmarket than an all-male review granted!). But in fact it wasn't anything like I feared it might be! There were was a healthy mix of at least 25 people, a reasonably equal mix of both male and female students, their ages ranging from their early 20's up to 60's. The atmosphere was laid back and casual with some nice chill-out music playing in the background, someone even had their scruffy little pet dog with them.
Our classroom was large and there was a ring of chairs and tables around a platform in the middle of the room. Behind the initial ring of table and chairs was a secondary ring of easels for those students who like to stand and draw. The platform was nicely decorated with crushed velour rugs, pillows and cushions in deep gem stone colours, slightly reminiscent of old 70's style-porn classics ... mmmmm not belongings of Aunty Flo's I hope?!
Our model for the evening was a very respectable looking lady in her late 40's / early 50's, a rather petite lady, a size 10 I would guestimate, but still a lovely rounded soft figure that only ladies with a bit of age and child-bearing can attain. Yes, I was jealous but that's a natural state when one is aesthetically challenged as myself ... yes, I may have been blessed with ginormous boobs but with them come a ginormous belly much to my eternal despair! Her perky neat little boobs even seemed to defy the laws of gravity, my melons gave up the fight years ago, sigh!
So what happened the very moment our muse disrobed? Did I giggle embarrassingly? Did I clear my throat nervously? Did I guffaw with gusto? No, I did none of the above. Our model was obviously an old hand at this naked modeling lark and she just shrugged off her kimono-style floral dressing gown stood upon the platform and immediately struck a pose, and then another, and another, and another in quick succession. .
Our aim, so my art teacher informed me, was to just draw the form, the shapes, the movement. I didn't have time to get or feel embarrassed, it was go, go, go! Also maybe the fact that our model was female went a long way to easing my discomfort after all I've seen many a naked female form in my time from the fact that I myself am female and have shared communal showers and dressing rooms with other females of all ages and sizes over the years. Perhaps I will blush when the time comes for me to draw the naked male figure?
Did I learn anything? You bet your 4B's I did! I learned that I need to soften and relax my hand when I draw, I learned that I need to just rough sketch an outline to begin with, I learned I need to dissect the naked human body into shapes like a puzzle, I learned that I need to find the movement and there was much more than that but I'm a little overwhelmed by information overload at this very moment. I also learned that there are so many incredibly talented people out there, and I think they were all in my class this evening! I also learned thanks to my fellow elderly gentleman classmate sitting next to me, and from my art teacher, that I will improve with practice. Thank heavens for that!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.