Arty Party

Since the model from the Life Drawing sessions was open to private posing, I invited some of my interested illustrator colleagues to my home along with the model. The difference was huge. 15 minutes per pose is a lot of time as opposed to 1 minute and 2 minute poses at the crowded life drawing sessions. The natural light at my home was at its best and the model, posing amidst the potted palms looked like a woman in a Gauguin painting.

Life drawing is difficult. You need to be given a firm foundation in art college, something which most of us do not get, and the one colleague of mine who made excellent drawings (with a felt pen that too) had some grounding at JJ School of Art. I was pleased that with just a few regular sessions of Life Drawing, my own figure drawing skills have improved, especially with the leisurely pace we were indulged with.

When illustrators get together to socialize, they need a "purpose", and drawing from life provided that. I guess it is the equivalent of a party theme. There was one exemplary 3 year old boy engrossed with his train set in one of the bedrooms. The other "boy" at the table was engrossed with his phone. He came and left with the model. There were salads and foccacia for lunch, but the serene superwoman mom of the 3 year old baked and brought the best New York Cheesecake ever. While all of us decided we must call a model over for private sittings like this again, I think we also (read I also) secretly hoped there would be cheesecake as an accompaniment every single time.