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Artist:
Artists David Acevedo and Michael Damico invite all progressive, fresh, contemporary and edgy artists to join in these Live Figure Drawing/Painting sessions to be held every 2nd Thursday of the month starting in July, 2007.
WANT TO MODEL? Models will be paid $80.00 per session!
Interested? Contact us:
239-980-1394 Acevedo
352-638-3829 Damico
FOR NEXT SCHEDULLED SESSION AND LOCATION SEE CALENDAR FURTHER DOWN ON THIS PAGE
7:00PM - 9:00PM
Fee: $18.00 per session
or $55.00 for pre-paid month (Save $17.00!)
Complete the message form by clicking on the link below:
LIVE FIGURE DRAWING/PAINTING SESSIONS (Click here to request more information)
Date |
Time and Location
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Fee
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Canceled
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7:00PM to 9:00PM Frame & Art Gallery - 3334 Cleveland AVE Fort Myers, FL (One mile north of Edison Mall on US-41)
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$18.00 per session or *$55.00 per month (4 sessions)
|
Canceled
|
7:00PM to 9:00PM Location to be announced soon.
|
$18.00 per session or *$55.00 per month (4 sessions)
|
Canceled
|
7:00PM to 9:00PM Location to be announced soon.
|
$18.00 per session or *$55.00 per month (4 sessions)
|
* Guaranteed spot with pre-paid monthly fee
Some of the benefits of live figure drawing/painting are:
1.Maintaining the practice (and discipline) of the artist.
Just as a musician, dancer, or athlete must practice and train to maintain a level of excellence, drawing the figure from life on a regular basis keeps an artist's visual and spatial abilities in good form-calisthenics for the artist's craft, if you will. Moreover, attending sessions regularly affords an excellent means to develop a better work ethic. And just as one is more apt to continue an exercise program with companions, drawing in the company of a group provides a real incentive to stick with it. There is no overstating the value of a regimen that simply keeps one in the activity of drawing, circumventing any number of distractions at home or simply overcoming a case of artist's block. Once you find a drawing group or workshop that meets regularly, there are no excuses not to draw. (Information on how to find figure-drawing workshops and artist groups is included at the end of the article.)
2.Improve overall drawing skills.
"If you can draw the figure, you can draw anything," is an oft-repeated (and very true) adage. Draftsmanship is traditionally regarded as the foundation of painting, cartooning, and sculpture; with the figure recognized for centuries as the benchmark challenge of the working artist. The great range of movement possible, together with the anatomical and structural complexity of the body, including the effects of perspective (foreshortening), require special demands of an artist's abilities.
The group experience of drawing the live model accelerates the process of training the eye, especially in terms of gauging proportion. In my figure classes, I encourage students to compare all of their drawings to see which bear the strongest resemblance to our model. Without exception, the most proportionally accurate drawings of the model evoke a portrait-worthy likeness. Although some of the students' drawings may appear as plausible figures, they do not look like our particular model, a distinction that even the novice can detect. When drawing in the company of others, such objective comparisons can be made without an instructor's assistance.
An improved ability to assess figure proportion extends to drawing other subjects where proportional discrepancies may not be so obvious. Moreover, in addition to strong anatomical
parallels with many animals, the body can be conceived as analogous with the manifold living and nonliving forms of the natural landscape: It's no coincidence that we speak of the trunks and limbs of trees, and find in hilly terrain the undulating forms of a reclining nude.
3.An authentic experience in a digital era.
Drawing from the life model, you will see and understand your fellow human beings with greater sensitivity and acuity. In an electronic age of increasing disassociation from authentic sensation, the direct experience of drawing from the live, human subject yields important insights unattainable by other means. This time-honored practice promotes greater empathy for the human subject in both its physical and psychological dimensions, offering insights into how these two aspects combine to portray emotion and convey meaning in figurative art.
4.Better than photographs.
No photograph-no matter how good-offers the advantages of an actual spatial encounter with a living subject. Photos are static, momentary documents that lock in a pose from a single, monocular position; the photo does not offer the subtle variations in vantage point possible when working from life that enable an artist to grasp the three-dimensional form of the body. Even the best photographs provide mostly an abundance of surface detail, but not the essence of a pose: its weight shift and gesture.
I require my students to walk around the model before beginning a drawing, observing from many different angles in order to better understand the pose. I remind them the life model is a subject in-the-round and that the students are not confined to the stationary position of their easel to gather vital information about the subject.
Finally, in terms of light perception, the camera cannot approach the optical latitude of the human eye, which can adjust instantaneously to a wide range of lighting conditions over the entirety of the subject; an ability that is essential to effective tonal description in drawing and painting.
5.Draw better from photographs (and memory).
Conversely, having had the repeated experience of drawing from life, one learns how to use photographs when it is necessary, or for convenience. Frequent practice with drawing the life model imparts knowledge; successful observational drawing is not simply about seeing, but understanding what is seen. I explain to my students that the accomplished artist considers that it is more difficult to get a good drawing from photographs than from life-usually the exact opposite for the novice. The experienced figure draftsman realizes well what information is missing from photos; he or she has the skills, and also the ability, to employ memory to compensate for this.
In my own highly developed, time-consuming portraits, I often use photos in conjunction with actual observation. I almost always begin my drawings from life, devoting one or more six-hour sessions to settling on a pose and redrawing and subtly adjusting proportions to suit pictorial and expressive requirements. I then make dozens of photographs, moving around my model and varying the camera exposure. This process of extensive photo-
documentation more closely simulates actual observation than a single photograph, but it is still best when used to supplement life drawing. I refer to the photos for rendering fine detail and perhaps color in a highly developed drawing or painting between sittings.
Please remember that professional figure models usually have different rate schedules for photography versus life modeling, charging a substantial premium for photographs. Never photograph a model without their express permission.
6.Learn from others.
At the beginning of the term, I explain to my figure-drawing students that they can expect to learn as much (if not more) from their classmates than they will from me. This is not an instance of false modesty, nor am I known to be a lax teacher (as my students will certainly attest). In truth, I have learned a great deal from my students over the years, which I have applied to my own work as well as to my teaching. Drawing with a group offers a variety of approaches to a single subject. Rarely does one have the opportunity to view an individual artist's process, let alone that of several others. Most attendees, some of whom are accomplished professionals, will be happy to share information about their working methods and if requested, to comment or give advice on another's drawing.
7.Network with other artists.
Few things are more crucial to an artist's viability than an affiliation with a creative community, yet negotiating the social dimension of the art world can seem baffling. If your aspirations include becoming more "visible," associating with other artists significantly increases the likelihood that invitations to exhibit, make presentations, and the like will be extended. Attending artists' drawing groups and workshops is an excellent way to access one's local art scene and make important contacts.
Participation in drawing workshops enables one to tap into the collective energy and expertise of a motivated group of individuals. It is not unusual for lifelong friendships to form in drawing groups. Working with others in the field builds confidence and creates a sense of belonging in a forum where news and information about events-even scuttlebutt-can be exchanged.
8.Produce a series of drawings quickly.
Workshop time-limits, coupled with various factors beyond one's control, means that drawings produced there will largely be learning experiences, which they truly are in the best sense of the phrase. Most drawings done in workshops are likely not exceptional, but some will invariably be of interest to family and friends and perhaps even saleable. Certainly, regular attendance at workshops enables one to quickly build a portfolio ranging from rapid sketches to a series of "resolved" drawings from longer poses. Begin by first attending sessions featuring shorter poses from three-minute gesture poses to a maximum of 25-minute poses. These shorter-duration poses are the fastest way to hone your basic figure-drawing skills.
9.Inspiration for personal work.
Through many life-drawing sessions over the years, I have met a number of models I have gone on to hire privately. Workshops are an ideal setting to discover prospective subjects for your own personal creative work. Skillful models may take poses that are especially inspiring, generating ideas for further exploration. The majority of models are happy to arrange private sittings, be it for figure or portrait. In the context of a workshop, you and the model will become familiar while working together in a comfortable group situation.
10.Experimentation/exploration.
Working from the life model affords an ideal opportunity to experiment with new techniques or unfamiliar media and, quite possibly, to expand your artistic range. The inherent "no-pressure" nature of the workshop, combined with an accessible and exciting subject on view in front of you, promotes risk-taking and exploration.
Just as a musician, dancer, or athlete must practice and train to maintain a level of excellence, drawing the figure from life on a regular basis keeps an artist's visual and spatial abilities in good form-calisthenics for the artist's craft, if you will. Moreover, attending sessions regularly affords an excellent means to develop a better work ethic. And just as one is more apt to continue an exercise program with companions, drawing in the company of a group provides a real incentive to stick with it. There is no overstating the value of a regimen that simply keeps one in the activity of drawing, circumventing any number of distractions at home or simply overcoming a case of artist's block. Once you find a drawing group or workshop that meets regularly, there are no excuses not to draw. (Information on how to find figure-drawing workshops and artist groups is included at the end of the article.)
2.Improve overall drawing skills.
"If you can draw the figure, you can draw anything," is an oft-repeated (and very true) adage. Draftsmanship is traditionally regarded as the foundation of painting, cartooning, and sculpture; with the figure recognized for centuries as the benchmark challenge of the working artist. The great range of movement possible, together with the anatomical and structural complexity of the body, including the effects of perspective (foreshortening), require special demands of an artist's abilities.
The group experience of drawing the live model accelerates the process of training the eye, especially in terms of gauging proportion. In my figure classes, I encourage students to compare all of their drawings to see which bear the strongest resemblance to our model. Without exception, the most proportionally accurate drawings of the model evoke a portrait-worthy likeness. Although some of the students' drawings may appear as plausible figures, they do not look like our particular model, a distinction that even the novice can detect. When drawing in the company of others, such objective comparisons can be made without an instructor's assistance.
An improved ability to assess figure proportion extends to drawing other subjects where proportional discrepancies may not be so obvious. Moreover, in addition to strong anatomical
parallels with many animals, the body can be conceived as analogous with the manifold living and nonliving forms of the natural landscape: It's no coincidence that we speak of the trunks and limbs of trees, and find in hilly terrain the undulating forms of a reclining nude.
3.An authentic experience in a digital era.
Drawing from the life model, you will see and understand your fellow human beings with greater sensitivity and acuity. In an electronic age of increasing disassociation from authentic sensation, the direct experience of drawing from the live, human subject yields important insights unattainable by other means. This time-honored practice promotes greater empathy for the human subject in both its physical and psychological dimensions, offering insights into how these two aspects combine to portray emotion and convey meaning in figurative art.
4.Better than photographs.
No photograph-no matter how good-offers the advantages of an actual spatial encounter with a living subject. Photos are static, momentary documents that lock in a pose from a single, monocular position; the photo does not offer the subtle variations in vantage point possible when working from life that enable an artist to grasp the three-dimensional form of the body. Even the best photographs provide mostly an abundance of surface detail, but not the essence of a pose: its weight shift and gesture.
I require my students to walk around the model before beginning a drawing, observing from many different angles in order to better understand the pose. I remind them the life model is a subject in-the-round and that the students are not confined to the stationary position of their easel to gather vital information about the subject.
Finally, in terms of light perception, the camera cannot approach the optical latitude of the human eye, which can adjust instantaneously to a wide range of lighting conditions over the entirety of the subject; an ability that is essential to effective tonal description in drawing and painting.
5.Draw better from photographs (and memory).
Conversely, having had the repeated experience of drawing from life, one learns how to use photographs when it is necessary, or for convenience. Frequent practice with drawing the life model imparts knowledge; successful observational drawing is not simply about seeing, but understanding what is seen. I explain to my students that the accomplished artist considers that it is more difficult to get a good drawing from photographs than from life-usually the exact opposite for the novice. The experienced figure draftsman realizes well what information is missing from photos; he or she has the skills, and also the ability, to employ memory to compensate for this.
In my own highly developed, time-consuming portraits, I often use photos in conjunction with actual observation. I almost always begin my drawings from life, devoting one or more six-hour sessions to settling on a pose and redrawing and subtly adjusting proportions to suit pictorial and expressive requirements. I then make dozens of photographs, moving around my model and varying the camera exposure. This process of extensive photo-
documentation more closely simulates actual observation than a single photograph, but it is still best when used to supplement life drawing. I refer to the photos for rendering fine detail and perhaps color in a highly developed drawing or painting between sittings.
Please remember that professional figure models usually have different rate schedules for photography versus life modeling, charging a substantial premium for photographs. Never photograph a model without their express permission.
6.Learn from others.
At the beginning of the term, I explain to my figure-drawing students that they can expect to learn as much (if not more) from their classmates than they will from me. This is not an instance of false modesty, nor am I known to be a lax teacher (as my students will certainly attest). In truth, I have learned a great deal from my students over the years, which I have applied to my own work as well as to my teaching. Drawing with a group offers a variety of approaches to a single subject. Rarely does one have the opportunity to view an individual artist's process, let alone that of several others. Most attendees, some of whom are accomplished professionals, will be happy to share information about their working methods and if requested, to comment or give advice on another's drawing.
7.Network with other artists.
Few things are more crucial to an artist's viability than an affiliation with a creative community, yet negotiating the social dimension of the art world can seem baffling. If your aspirations include becoming more "visible," associating with other artists significantly increases the likelihood that invitations to exhibit, make presentations, and the like will be extended. Attending artists' drawing groups and workshops is an excellent way to access one's local art scene and make important contacts.
Participation in drawing workshops enables one to tap into the collective energy and expertise of a motivated group of individuals. It is not unusual for lifelong friendships to form in drawing groups. Working with others in the field builds confidence and creates a sense of belonging in a forum where news and information about events-even scuttlebutt-can be exchanged.
8.Produce a series of drawings quickly.
Workshop time-limits, coupled with various factors beyond one's control, means that drawings produced there will largely be learning experiences, which they truly are in the best sense of the phrase. Most drawings done in workshops are likely not exceptional, but some will invariably be of interest to family and friends and perhaps even saleable. Certainly, regular attendance at workshops enables one to quickly build a portfolio ranging from rapid sketches to a series of "resolved" drawings from longer poses. Begin by first attending sessions featuring shorter poses from three-minute gesture poses to a maximum of 25-minute poses. These shorter-duration poses are the fastest way to hone your basic figure-drawing skills.
9.Inspiration for personal work.
Through many life-drawing sessions over the years, I have met a number of models I have gone on to hire privately. Workshops are an ideal setting to discover prospective subjects for your own personal creative work. Skillful models may take poses that are especially inspiring, generating ideas for further exploration. The majority of models are happy to arrange private sittings, be it for figure or portrait. In the context of a workshop, you and the model will become familiar while working together in a comfortable group situation.
10.Experimentation/exploration.
Working from the life model affords an ideal opportunity to experiment with new techniques or unfamiliar media and, quite possibly, to expand your artistic range. The inherent "no-pressure" nature of the workshop, combined with an accessible and exciting subject on view in front of you, promotes risk-taking and exploration.