Dominic
 

My first try with my new full set of pastel chalks from Terry Ludwig. This is Canson paper and 1/2 sheet size. I know most of my work is not portraits. I tend to do too much impression and not enough description, but I got a GREAT compliment from a fellow artist: "His mom would probably buy that..."

How good is THAT?!

Wow - great color!

Yea, I agree. Very spontaneous feeling and I get the sense that the likeness is very good. Bravo! :)

I notice that a lot of your open studio/figure drawings lately have been clothed. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it, but instead, I'm a bit curious. Have these been at local art studios, schools, or workshops? If the model is clothed is it cheaper or even free?

Jeremiah,

Even if nudes were done, they are not allowed on this Forum.

Cynthia,

I understand that nudes are not allowed in this forum. I've been looking at Debra's work for years though and noticed that the new work is clothed. Again, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just curious as to how the open studios function with a clothed model. Are they volunteers or fellow artists?

Jeremiah:

I think the answer is - it depends on the studio and sometimes on the very day!

At ASL in Denver they have models who pose nude and models who pose clothed - each present their own set of challenges.

I have been to other sessions at different places where it is clothing only based on the group preference or even city or county ordinances.

I think that models who are willing to pose nude do get higher wages in some places.

Perhaps Debra will step in here to elaborate...but at the Scottsdale Artist's School there are two 3-hour portrait open studios per week (draped). There are also two figurative (nude) open studio sessions per week, one of which is 3 hours of short life-drawing type poses, and one of which is a single 3-hour pose.

You know in advance which kind of open studio you'll have. When I was there the other night I heard the models have now gotten a raise to (Ithink) $12/ hour draped, with a dollar or two perhaps more for nude modeling.

The models are excellent, and you just can never appreciate them enough, it's very tough work. Even though I think I have a pretty good capacity for internal dialogue, even traffic ticket school can drive me right to the edge. I couldn't do it, that's for sure.

Debra, Great job!

Michael,

That does make sense. Sometimes at the BAC in Manitou they had clothed models if their attire was unique enough. There was one model that wore African clothing a lot and was a favorite among local artists who attended. It's a bit rare when they do have clothed models, though. I've been pleased with the way they do the open studios at Cottonwood Art Academy though. They've always had nude models there, but they always seem to find really great ones to work with.

I still don't know what's standard as far as pay goes though. I would think that clothed models would get paid less as you said.

Thanks for the input!

Chris,

There's no way I could model. I would be twitchin' and swayin' the entire time. Then there's the matter of my attention span, I'd see a bug or something and it would be all over with.

WOW, this is what happens when I leave town!
 

I stepped out to visit a show I was in in Englewood Colorado and the whole gang comes in to post!

Chris has it right about the school. There are two session types. They call them portrait and nudes. Nudes are long pose or short. Not gesture there, as they do 20 minutes of two minute poses and 20 minutes the rest of the 2-1/2 hours of the evening. As far as the models themselves, some are artists. Susie Falk was just featured in our local Art Talk and her mother is the wonderful instructor out there, Joni Falk. Other models are active in the school and some are just in it for the fun. I find the artist seem to have the better sense of "themselves". They feel how they look.

And Cynthia is right. I post elsewhere (as I will this evening) what nudes I do. This is a site for the purpose of TRADITIONAL portraiture and I respect that. It is not always the same as figurative. I am in the process of trying to make people the way THEY want to look, not just how I see them, so I try to post my more successful attempts.

Michael!
I saw your card hanging on the wall at Meinengers on Monday. Boy are we living in a small world. I was going to try to spread around samples and resumes to galleries but a holiday and a Monday just left me to shop. I also looked around in the Art Student's League. Denver is a really rich and supportive artist's environment if you ask me and I miss it.

I also made a stop over to see Terry Ludwig and we made pastels all morning. Well, he made them and I ooo'ed and ahhhhh'ed. It is going to be hard to go back to oils after my recent adventures in these magical sticks!

I guess in Scottsdale, there would be quite the variety of options compared to Colorado Springs. That's interesting about the models however.

I do want to see the nudes as well when you post them. I'll keep an eye out for your work. (not here of course!)

I still haven't been up to the Meininger in Denver yet and I'm ashamed for not having done so. I always special order things from the store in Denver to be shipped to the Meininger in Colorado Springs but have never been up there myself. And I call myself an artist...