If you've been reading my blog you might have seen last week that I was wondering about going to a life drawing class. Well tonight I went, feeling absolutely terrified in case everyone spotted that I was an imposter and hadn't been to art school and had never even drawn a person before, and barely knew which was the pointy end of my pencil, and told me to get out of the room or they would beat me with their easels.
I could not have been more wrong.
There were about twentyish people in the class, which took place in a huge brightly lit room (which was WARM enough for me, which makes a change and is a huge bonus) with a circle of chairs with drawing boards and easels around the outside. Inside the circle was a pile of cushions and blankets and what looked like a futon, and this is where the model did her stuff. The model herself was a lovely, slender girl of about twenty five, and she did some quick poses (a couple of minutes each), one twenty minute pose, one thirty or forty minute pose (I lost track of time), and a few somewhere in between. The teacher wandered around making suggestions, giving a critique here and there and generally being nice and useful.
I wasn't prepared for how much I would love this class. When I used to do a lot of running (pre-arthritis) it was the only thing that made me completely zone out and forget all about life and work and the pile of laundry at home, and when I'd finished my run I was always on a high - the famous runner's high you hear tell of. It's not a myth. Life drawing is (for me at least) the same. Sitting for two and a half hours, not counting the tea and biscuits break, thinking about nothing except the shape of the model in front of you and the light and dark bits and your pencil (I did find the pointy end after all) is apparently very good for your mental health. I will definitely be back, and hopefully very soon.
Here are some of the drawings I did. Please bear in mind that these are my first people drawings ever!
I could not have been more wrong.
There were about twentyish people in the class, which took place in a huge brightly lit room (which was WARM enough for me, which makes a change and is a huge bonus) with a circle of chairs with drawing boards and easels around the outside. Inside the circle was a pile of cushions and blankets and what looked like a futon, and this is where the model did her stuff. The model herself was a lovely, slender girl of about twenty five, and she did some quick poses (a couple of minutes each), one twenty minute pose, one thirty or forty minute pose (I lost track of time), and a few somewhere in between. The teacher wandered around making suggestions, giving a critique here and there and generally being nice and useful.
I wasn't prepared for how much I would love this class. When I used to do a lot of running (pre-arthritis) it was the only thing that made me completely zone out and forget all about life and work and the pile of laundry at home, and when I'd finished my run I was always on a high - the famous runner's high you hear tell of. It's not a myth. Life drawing is (for me at least) the same. Sitting for two and a half hours, not counting the tea and biscuits break, thinking about nothing except the shape of the model in front of you and the light and dark bits and your pencil (I did find the pointy end after all) is apparently very good for your mental health. I will definitely be back, and hopefully very soon.
Here are some of the drawings I did. Please bear in mind that these are my first people drawings ever!
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