ISN’T IT UNCOMFORTABLE DRAWING A NUDE MODEL?
A question I’ve been asked a few times via email, and is one of the first things people say when you mention you go to Life Drawing class, is – “Isn’t it uncomfortable drawing a nude model?”
The short answer is no, not at all. I don’t mean any disrespect to the models, but you almost forget it’s a person. You don’t see the naked body as a naked body. All you see is a collection of shapes. Yes you’re taking in the fullness of the breasts. The curves of the legs. The cheekiness of the buttocks, but you’re so focused on trying to draw the shapes and tone, that any comfortableness you may have thought would be present, never even has a chance to materialise.
You don’t see the naked body as a naked body.
All you see is a collection of shapes.
The models seem so content and comfortable posing anyway, that you feel totally at ease and relaxed to draw them. If the only reason you’ve never made your way to a life drawing class is because of the nudity. I would urge you to go and see for yourself just how content you actually feel. I’m a member of two different classes, both offering very different models, yet every single session has always had the same vibe – Relaxed, Fun and Comfortable. Everyone’s there to draw. To Learn. To get better. Nudity isn’t an issue for anyone, it’s just part of the process, so don’t let it hold you back.
Life drawing is so important to me; I would maybe go as far as to say it’s the most important drawing exercise I do. You can’t put a price on how valuable having someone pose for you is. As I’ve spoke about before, I’m dealing with social anxiety, yet being in a room full of artists, with a nude model posing for us; I’m more at ease in this setting than I am walking down the street.
Life Drawing is the one thing I’ll never stop doing, no matter where this art journey takes me.
ART ENABLES US TO FIND OURSELVES AND LOSE OURSELVES AT THE SAME TIME
– Thomas Merton
