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Modeling for an Art Class

Discussion in 'LGBT Later in Life' started by greatwhale, Feb 25, 2015.

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  1. greatwhale

    greatwhale
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    Greetings,

    A few weeks ago, I attended and drew in a drawing workshop with nude models (my fave medium is charcoal on newsprint), the cost is very low because the models are volunteers. The person in charge announced that if any of us wanted to volunteer, we were welcome to. She also said that many people expressed an interest, but that there were spaces left for new people.

    So...in the interest of my need to do scary things from time to time, I gave her my name and e-mail address. I kept it in the back of my mind expecting that I would be contacted in April or even later. This was partly the reason I started working out in December...

    Well, I got a text from her yesterday evening stating that they needed a male model for this Sunday morning, and asking whether I was still interested. Upon reading it, I immediately got the ol' butterflies in the abdominal region (an excellent sign that I'm doing the right thing) but, with trepidation, I accepted to be there. :eek:

    It's a full 3-hour session, with men and women artists of all skills, from beginner on up. I've been brushing up on certain "interesting" poses and, well, I suspect that this will be a memorable experience! :grin:

    The idea behind the classes is "Acceptance of the body by drawing", but I am most curious to see what it is people will see and choose to emphasize when drawing my 54-year old body (apart from the obvious parts).

    I suspect this will be a lot of fun (provided there are well-placed heaters in my immediate vicinity)! :grin:
     
    #1 greatwhale, Feb 25, 2015
  2. bingostring

    bingostring
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    Kudos … for a fascinating personal barrier breaking exercise
    you are a braver man than I am!!
     
    #2 bingostring, Feb 25, 2015
  3. Chip

    Chip
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    This is absolutely awesome!

    When I went to the Daring Way training (professional training program for therapists and coaches in Brené Brown's shame resilience work), Brené said that, from the research, the 4 things most people describe as being the most vulnerable (scary) to them are, in order,

    1. Public nudity
    2. Public speaking
    3. Public singing
    4. Public dancing

    And from my own experience in teaching about body image issues... I think exercises like this, while extreme, can be some of the most transformative experiences one can have in terms of changing your sense of self and self-acceptance.

    Let's hope the temperature in the room is set pretty high :slight_smile:
     
    #3 Chip, Feb 25, 2015
  4. TheStormInside

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    Good luck! As someone who has done many life drawing classes (as a student, not a model) I can say that none of us were too worried about the person's body, we were much more concerned with depicting it properly in our own art. I will say some (though not all) do glaze over *certain* parts, too. :lol: Just don't walk around naked looking over everyone's shoulder while they work on their sketches of you (like one of our models did) and you'll be fine!
     
    #4 TheStormInside, Feb 25, 2015
  5. Choirboy

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    Wow, I'm totally comfortable singing and speaking. never much enjoyed dancing because I'm a klutz, but it's much more scary to the people I'm dancing WITH. Geez, I guess it's time to strip. Beware, world.
     
    #5 Choirboy, Feb 25, 2015
  6. Yossarian

    Yossarian
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    Nude modeling in Montreal in February, during a record-setting cold wave? Either you are so well-endowed that "shrinkage" doesn't concern you, or the studio has steam heat. :slight_smile:
     
    #6 Yossarian, Feb 25, 2015
  7. SonicBoom

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    I thought of a whole litany of inappropriate things to say, but I will say none of them because this forum is PG-13

    :roflmao:
     
    #7 SonicBoom, Feb 25, 2015
  8. skiff

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    Man...

    I hope you pick a comfy pose.

    Sitting still in same pose for three hours (with breaks) sounds exhausting.
     
    #8 skiff, Feb 25, 2015
  9. FreedMan

    FreedMan Guest

    Makes me feel like tackling this list more intentionally -- like you, Greatwhale. It's one thing to be nude at a nude beach or locker room - although even there there's always some first time self-consciousness of varying degrees, but being the only naked person in a roomful of clothed folks staring at you and your every nook and cranny -- well that takes some courage - and self-esteem with each curve, lump, bump and sag - which we all have, even the most perfect. But as you know from being a student in the class, the model is being looked upon with the exactness of examining a specimen - not unlike when the dermatologist goes over you with a magnifying glass. Kudos, GW on celebrating your fleshly form. Then enjoy seeing yourself through the eyes of others.
     
    #9 FreedMan, Feb 25, 2015
  10. Yossarian

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    I suspect that it is less embarrassing if you have a really great looking well-endowed body, but most of us don't have magazine-cover bodies.
     
    #10 Yossarian, Feb 26, 2015
  11. TreeClimber

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    Always wanted to try a naked bike ride. But suppose that comes under safety in numbers
     
    #11 TreeClimber, Feb 26, 2015
  12. greatwhale

    greatwhale
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    I did it, and it was a blast! :grin:

    And yes, the room was warm enough (quite toasty) to avert the dreaded "shrinkage" (actually the artists themselves had to start undressing a little :grin:). The sun even shone in, casting some nice shadows...I brought a sturdy broomstick (quiet, you dirty minds!) and a dollar-store plastic red rose. A couple of props helps, the broomstick became an oar, a fencing foil, or a hockey stick to lean on.

    I'm trying to figure out how I feel...I am amazed at how easy it was for me to just disrobe in front of 9 people, half men, half women. No mental preparation, no freaking out (some excitement actually) and off came the robe!

    The hardest part was holding the poses (except for the one where I lay on my back, I almost fell asleep...)! The first poses were very short, and the session ended with four 15-minute poses. They let me choose whatever pose I wanted, and they seemed to be pleased. I think it really helped that I have drawn figures myself, so I kind of knew what postures would be more interesting.

    Some of these amateur artists were quite decent at drawing, others...well they need a little more (ok, a lot more!) work. I am also amazed how difficult it is for people to draw facial likenesses, I was very surprised at how different I looked to different people (that's when they even tried to draw the facial features), quite eye-opening...I really was uninhibited, I just let things hang where they will and people tried to draw what they saw. It was weird being so thoroughly scrutinized, with eyes poking up and down continuously from the paper to me.

    The whole purpose of this class is essentially to allow art to happen in a place that allows people to challenge themselves to accept their bodies as they are. The head of the organization said it well: other than pornography or advertising (where Photoshop reigns) there are few other places where it is possible to just experience nudity with people as they are. I am probably in better shape than most 54 year-olds, but the signs of aging are there, the artists were first and foremost honest (with varying degrees of skill), and I am happy with that...
     
    #12 greatwhale, Mar 1, 2015
  13. Michael

    Michael
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    You mad canadian, you actually did it!... :eusa_clap

    I want to have that experience before I die, just once... I really do...

    Congrats! (*hug*)
     
    #13 Michael, Mar 1, 2015
  14. PatrickUK

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    Good for you greatwhale. I could post all manner of double entendres at this point, but I will refrain. :grin:

    :thumbsup:
     
    #14 PatrickUK, Mar 2, 2015
  15. TacobellKFC

    TacobellKFC
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    That's cool great whale.Carpe Diem!! :slight_smile:
     
    #15 TacobellKFC, Mar 2, 2015
  16. GrumpyOldLady

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    I took a nude drawing class, long ago. None of the models were "attractive" in the conventional sense of the word. They were obviously comfortable with their bodies, which was a revelation for me as an 18-year-old with serious body issues.

    Most of the models were women, we only had one male model. I remember the models walking around during their breaks (with bathrobes on) to look at the drawings, and how glad I was that they didn't talk to me (that would have been so embarrassing).

    Congratulations on getting through it!
     
    #16 GrumpyOldLady, Mar 2, 2015
  17. Horizon55

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    Kudos Greatwhale!

    After getting through the awkwardness of the 'reveal' and the posing, I can imagine actually a great sense of relief. Not in the sense of 'this isn't so bad after all', but rather... ok, this is me, this is my body, this is it bared. What a metaphor for baring who you really are, coming out and saying to the world: "take me as I am, this is me with my better features and the ones I struggle with". And what a relief that must be.
     
    #17 Horizon55, Mar 2, 2015
  18. greatwhale

    greatwhale
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    Thanks guys! :grin:

    I was wondering in my last post above how I felt about it, well, this morning I was in a particularly upbeat mood; very much like the high you get after doing something a little scary. I am no danger junky by any means, but I understand a bit better how alive they feel...quite extraordinary!

    Another thing that the person in charge said also rang true: the artists have to focus on certain details as well as the overall picture, but they are not cameras. The model may have wrinkles and folds that are not flattering, yet, after a while when everyone gets comfortable seeing you naked, they lose any judgment they may have had, and suddenly they start liking the model...before long they become selective as to what to emphasize and what to depict. The later drawings, although still very honest, really got into a beautiful groove and were quite good.
     
    #18 greatwhale, Mar 2, 2015
  19. FreedMan

    FreedMan Guest

    For 2 yrs of my young adult life I took Life Drawing class. Just the name right there - "Life Drawing" -- says a lot, doesn't it? What I remember is drawing women and men - equal numbers, varying types, shapes, sizes -- and each was appreciated for what they were -- a variety. The initial 'oh my god, there's a naked person on the stage in the center of the room - but of course, you're all their in the class for the first time - trying to act cool, cuz you're 18 and of course you want to act like you've done this dozens of times, and no one has. But all that initial buzz is quickly replaced with a refined version of energy: Appreciation. And sometimes Awe. And the awe is usually because of some physical endurance the model has shown. The students and models have a special, unique form of communication going on. Wordless. By eye and hand and paper and marker of choice. You draw this curve and how it relates to this angle - and the model dissolves perhaps into a series of unfolding geometric shapes -- But the most fun is when the lines of accuracy dissolve and the artist is drawing the energy of the model - the lift, or the heaviness - the lightness or the being dragged down. Gravity is all on display there and how it beats us down or how we lift ourselves out of it. So know, Greatwhale, there's so much going on in that moment - it's a gift you give them - yourself. Your raw, unadulterated self. Doesn't get more bare bones than that ---- other than, uhhhh, bare bones. But again, this is called "Life Drawing" -- and you're ALIVE, man! That's the joy of it you're feeling rocking through you today. Keep on drawing life and having life drawing you. It looks good on you.
     
    #19 FreedMan, Mar 2, 2015
  20. tscott

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    Well, I have give you credit for having the fortitude to put yourself on display. I have to say I wish I were that comfortable within my skin. Brava.
     
    #20 tscott, Mar 2, 2015
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