Two weeks left till we roll out to the summer hours and I can't wait. As much as I enjoy being in school I am soooooo looking forward to this summer and not being on as much of a grind.
I'm posting my second pass at the large pastel drawing I have going on in Life Drawing and a quicker, one session drawing from life drawing with Sidney Goodman this morning. I was much happier with this quicker study done in pastel on Ingres paper.
It seems this semester I had a lot more male models than any previous semester which was a different challenge in some aspects.i think the male models were less graceful that the females and this makes doing an interesting drawing a bit more of a challenge at times. I'd want more dynamic poses than dudes standing or sitting.
I plan on working more from private models this summer and trying some more interesting poses.
Your comment about male models captured my attention. You say the males were less graceful than the females, but I think your point is that their poses were less appealing. Dynamic poses are good, but can't be held as long, so for a painting, it would mean more frequent breaks. Adding some feeling of body language and expression can add interest as well. I think what it boils down to is that there is more to art modeling than just disrobing. Some creativity is required.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, no my point is that the male models were less graceful. Pose or not, they are not graceful models, so many are in fact 'artless' in pose or manner.
ReplyDeleteI think you have to be aware of yourself physically to be a good model. Lumping down like a meat sack will not lend itself to any dynamics. Now I also must say I had little or no choice in model or pose--this was set up by the teachers so what you are left with is trying to work with 'what ya got"
We had graceless ladies too, but some of the female models seemed a lot more aware of the pose and their body--I think its the luck of the draw sometimes.
In my experience, I think there is a little more to it than "grace". I have often found that male artists often seem disinterested in male models( yes I do model). I have heard them state that they just don't want to do male nudes. Even to the point of walking in to a session, finding me the model and walking out. I don't think female artists confronted with a female model would react the same way. I think that male artists sometimes feel their sexuality is a little threatened or troubled if they do enjoy the male nude. Often they omit the genitals entirely.. Which objectively is a little strange, I don't really believe it's because they don't find them interesting, but again more out of some kind of hetero/homo identity issue. I often notice that they even circumcise me( I assume either because they don't actually look, or because it's just not what they are used to. ( I am not saying this is your issue so please don't misunderstand, I am just sharing some observations and impressions). There are certainly numerous sculptures-"David" "The Dying Gaul" etc, and countless beautiful drawings and paintings, that capture grace, and strength, flexibility and spirituality in the male nude. It seems a shame that artist cannot find the beauty if all subjects and genders regardless of their own sexuality.
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