The next step

I have worked from the live nude periodically since the early 1970's. This blog started August 9th, 2012 in my second year of working almost exclusively from the figure.

In the fall of 2015 I reintroduced still lifes and an occasional cityscape into my painting repertoire. Rather than abandon this figure blog or start a new one I decided to add them to the conservation.

All drawings and paintings posted on this blog were done entirely from live models or on location.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

The Destination

A local art space has started a new daytime figure venue. Attending the first session I was buoyed by the genuine excitement in the room. A broader group of artists was discovering the thrill of working from the live figure. Then to my dismay, as the formal session ended, multiple artists asked the model to recreate her poses and a smart phone photo shoot ensued.

That I am shocked by artists reflexively reaching for cameras exposes my naiveté. I contend, however, that nothing anyone produces using those pictures as source material will come close to capturing the collective experience we had all just shared. Working from life should be the destination, not just a stop on the way to a photo shoot.

Ballerina Study, oil pastel, 8 1/2" X 7", 2017



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