The Artist and the Model

As every art teacher will tell you, drawing from photographs is a bad habit. It is always better to draw from a live model. And with so many nude photos readily available on the web it is very hard to resist the temptation to use them. Okay, fine, but when you’re an independent artist and models are hard to come by what do you do? Yes, you can join a figure drawing group with live models. I’ve done this many times but always found it unsatisfactory because I could not pose the models myself and had to accept the limited settings of a drawing studio when I would prefer to have my models in a natural environment. Also, and most importantly, an artist has to find a model with whom he has a rapport, one who inspires him and possibly has a good understanding of what he is trying to accomplish. After all, the artist-model relationship must grow out of trust and mutual understanding. You can’t have that with a random model who is posing in a classroom or a studio with several other artists present. I use live models whenever I can, but I prefer to photograph them and do my preliminary sketching from the photos rather than have the models pose for hours in my studio. This approach has worked well for me, and I have to admit that I have used photos for some of my best work. San Miguel has a limited number of good models, so if you’re a figurative painter, be prepared to use photos when you come to San Miguel to work.