As every art teacher will tell you, drawing from
photographs is a bad habit. It is always better to draw from a live model. And
with so many nude photos readily available on the web it is very hard to resist
the temptation to use them.
Okay, fine, but when you’re an independent artist
and models are hard to come by what do you do? Yes, you can join a figure
drawing group with live models. I’ve done this many times but always found it
unsatisfactory because I could not pose the models myself and had to accept the
limited settings of a drawing studio when I would prefer to have my models in a
natural environment. Also, and most importantly, an artist has to find a model
with whom he has a rapport, one who inspires him and possibly has a good
understanding of what he is trying to accomplish. After all, the artist-model
relationship must grow out of trust and mutual understanding. You can’t have
that with a random model who is posing in a classroom or a studio with several
other artists present.
I use live models whenever I can, but I prefer to
photograph them and do my preliminary sketching from the photos rather than
have the models pose for hours in my studio. This approach has worked well for
me, and I have to admit that I have used photos for some of my best work.
San Miguel has a limited number of good models, so
if you’re a figurative painter, be prepared to use photos when you come to San
Miguel to work.
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