Reviews of David's Life Drawing Sessions

"Nothing but great things to say about David. He provided a light-hearted and comfortable atmosphere (food! music! conversation!) and was also a true professional. When he had a pose in mind, he was able to articulate what he was looking for in an understandable and non-demanding manner. I had a great time working with David and would absolutely recommend him as a host." --Thea, model.

"David is an amazing host and a great guy, he is absolutely one of the best hosts that I've worked for by far. The venue was nice and clean, refreshments of food and drinks were provided, and he payed very well. I would definitely work with him again and highly recommend all new and experienced models to work with him and his wife. It was a fun and professional environment to work!" --Mike, model.

"Thanks so much for your nice comment, David! It was a pleasure to model for your group yesterday! Please feel free to contact me anytime for modeling :)" --Jim, model (http://www.modelmayhem.com/274097).

"I wanted to follow up and let you know I had a fantastic time yesterday. It was good meeting everyone and I just loved the relaxed feeling of it. Had a lot of fun. :):) I hope to see you again someday." --Shoney, model (http://www.modelmayhem.com/2529375).

It's Okay to Stare

On Saturday, September 15, 2012, the Boston "We've Come for the Davenport" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society celebrated the anniversary of the birth of Mr. Benchley with an evening of life drawing.

This, the third such session, was directed toward learning how to draw a posed couple. The artists ranged from several beginners to a few advanced students. We had two excellent models, a male and a female. We started with the models doing self-directed solo poses, offering a variety of poses, from simple to more complex, suited to the varying levels of the artists. The young man was handsome, with a fighter's physique, and the artists enjoyed the opportunity to study the muscles as he executed stop-action athletic poses. The artists were fascinated by the young woman model as she combined the classic beauty of the young and shapely female nude with a hint of the exotic in her hair and make-up choices.

In the couples poses, which David created, our models were thoroughly professional, taking direction well. Both stretched themselves to execute physically demanding poses, such as one derived from classical ballet and with good humor got in the spirit of some whimsical poses designed to appeal to the mostly beginner crowd.
Music Selected for the Evening  

   

After sketching, we had chicken dinners delivered -- anyone up for breasts and thighs?

Expose Yourself to Art!

On Sunday, May 13, 2012, the Boston "We've Come for the Davenport" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society met for an afternoon of life drawing based on the similar successfull Chapter Round-up in November.

This time we had two experienced professional models, each top in his or her field. Jim has posed at many venues in New England and was even chosen to illustrate classic poses for the art reference book Art Models 2, available at http://www.posespace.com/. Shoney's work, both as photographer as well as model, has been displayed in many New England galleries. Unfortunately, the lights on the stage we out of service and had to improvise with a low riser and some portable lights, which explains the constrained poses. We'll have more active poses at the next event.

David gave a few pointers as follows --

1. The human body has no straight lines. Carefully observe the curves of the human figure. Now record those curves on your pad. Try observing a curve and drawing it while not looking at the pad.
   
2. Although there are no straight lines in the body, the posed figure is arranged on lines that tend to connect the hands, feet, head, and joints. Notice how, from the head of the standing male in a classic pose, you can drop a plumb line that will touch the foot of his weight-bearing foot. Note how that creates the sense of groundedness and stability that is one of the characteristics of the classic nude standing male. Now hold out you pencil and use it as a rule along that imaginary line and measure how far it is from foot to knee, to groin, to navel, to nipples, to neck, to face. This will help you with one of the most difficult tasks for the beginning artist, getting the figure into proper proportion.
   
3. The classic nude standing female you will observe naturally falls into a pose arranged along two great arcs that follow the curve of either hip. Observe the actual curves of the model and record them, but use these imaginary arcs to assist you in getting the proper proportions.