Drawing naked ladies (and men)

A month ago I found myself in my old studio building on Pilgrim Street in Newcastle. Chris Folwell, my old studio neighbour has been putting on a series of life drawing sessions and I've been lucky enough to drop in a couple of times this summer.




My first life drawing classes were so different. In front of a classroom of giggling teenagers, some poor old man would tentatively crawl out from his robe, up onto a table where he would lie quietly, as if waiting to die, until the lesson was over. Boys would make jokes, girls would avert their eyes and refuse to look at him. Ah fun times.

Nowadays I love the peacefulness of these life drawing sessions. The body is viewed as just that - a body. No giggling or sniggering or averted eyes. Just intense concentration for three hours with little breaks for cups of tea and biscuits. I love to draw the human form - finding the curve of a hip or the line of the spine. Back at school my art teacher Mrs Wilcox would ask us to focus intensely on one part of the body and make detailed studies of earlobes, knuckles, and little toes. All that time to devote to LOOKING is something we should not take for granted :)

Thank you Chris for putting these life drawing sessions on!

If you're in Newcastle, check the Facebook page here to see when the next event is happening.

Cost: £8 - £10 depending on attendees

Pebbles the kitten (sadly not my cat) investigates some of my work.