Forbidden Territory

[rowyn]

When I was a sophmore in college, I decided to take a figure drawing class. "Artist" has always been on my list of things I'd like to be good at, though it's never ranked high enough for me to be very ambitious about it. But I took classes in all kinds of things in college, because my major and minor combined took up less than half of my required

Comments

[beetiger]

I've done some nude modeling myself, though mostly for photography, which is a fairly different skill. But I always enjoy it, and strangely, I enjoy it more now than I did when I was younger/thinner/more classically attractive. I've rarely felt concerned about whether the photographer found me attractive, even when I did it for fetish photography where providing that was kind of the point. But I've always felt it to be a lovely and intimate experience.

[rowyn]

You make a good model: I've enjoyed the photographs I've seen of you.

Photography is a different skillset but it's got the same sort of feel between photographer and model. I've done a little nude photography and it was a neat experience.

[detroitfather]

Your experience in the Figure Drawing class mimics almost exactly my experience in a similar class I took when I lived in California. I ended up moving to Texas before the class concluded, but while I was there we had perhaps 5 or 6 models, just as you describe. We had a guy in his sixties, too.

(I only recently brought myself to throw out all the drawings I did in that class, even though that was in 1991!)

The ones with muscle were more interesting to draw, more complex.

I experienced validation while reading that sentence.

[rowyn]

I remember there was a pretty blonde woman, probably more conventionally attractive than the first model I described in this post. But I liked the first model better: her body had more tone and personality than the blonde's, who had curves in all the right places but ... yeah. Not as much light and shadow to play with.

I still have several of the charcoal drawings I did for this class, even though it was from 1990. :)

[koogrr]

Yes, roughly that.

Very few nude models in my experience, and the ones that were, were friends and male. It did have that intimacy and 'special sharing' quality you described.

[rowyn]

I haven't worked with a live model in, I don't know, 15 years or so. I miss it, thinking back on it now.

[koogrr]

Now I remember, I got Natasha, Silfur and Alex to do some nude posing for a bunch of us in my yard. Took a bunch of photos, maybe some video, not sure. It was an invite-only, artist thing, and very cool but slipped my mind because I organized it.

I've run a couple at conventions too, but they were tight clothing versions. Moonwolf and SK FTW!

[rowyn]

I remember seeing those pictures, but I figured if you weren't mentioning them there might be a reason so I wasn't gonna bring it up. :)

[shockwave77598]

Heh. Modeling for folks would be exciting. I have a tiny outgoing streak in me, deep down. One thing I've always wondered about male models though is how they keep the standard male reaction from occurring?

[koogrr]

From what I've seen...

Some didn't...

Sometimes people giggle quietly, and that'll kill it...

It's cold...

and muscles cramping after five minutes in a rough pose will kill it too...

[rowyn]

I ... actually don't remember. If it bothered my models, I didn't notice, and it didn't bother me. :)

[octantis]

Varies from person to person, I think. I've never actually seen it happen. I think most treat modeling nudes with the same clinical detachment that many artists treat drawing nudes, though I imagine it'd be more difficult.

[octantis]

I think I remember you talking about this some with a poll that I started a while back. It was interesting. I've since been thinking of making a project of taking and posting pictures of body parts for reference, like I did with the hands some time ago. Hands, feet, knees, elbows, back, etc. I just worry that it'd look exhibitionist or attention hungry.

A model who is old, heavy, out of shape, or otherwise not the physical ideal can be a great subject. There's some things about how the body changes and weathers that you can't learn from anyone else, and it broadens your artistic repertoire a lot.

[rowyn]

I think a series of body parts would be cool. Hee, I've been vaguely considering doing the 90-day self-portrait-a-day project, but haven't because I thought it'd be too vain/attention-hungry. :)