I feel, for me, that painting the human figure from life is the best way I can express myself. Is it better than working from a photograph, I will let others judge.

The direct experience in painting from life is almost inexpressable. You are not painting an interpretation of a thin sheet of paper or a digital image but from an interaction with a real live human being. It is difficult, expensive and frustrating. The reward is something that may be light years beyond the original concept, something that takes flight in our imagination that is not shackeled so often to re-imaging the photographic source.

It is a difficult thing to do, it requires many years of dedicated training and work to be able to paint or draw the human figure with any degree of ability. Our culture does not allow this today but celebrates the shortcuts and calls it 'personal expression', no matter what kind of garbage or personal neuroses is displayed upon the canvas. We have lost the quest for exquisiteness in our work.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Before you hire a model!

Like many of you I worked from photographs. Blush. The 'art school' I attended- the wretched Boston Museum School gave us no instruction in painting from life. They just stuck a model in the room and we whaled away thinking that this was it. It seemed it was beneath the instructors to show up.

After getting pretty depressed about the the whole affair and their emphasis on simply expressing ourselves, (we were more like a bunch of untutored chimpanzees with paint and paintbrushes than art students) I stopped going to classes.

But, I had to support myself and thus became an illustrator. I used photographs. Sniff.

Later in life I decided to go back to my first love- damn the abstract expressionists- full steam ahead. I did what I always did- used photographs to launch an anemic portrait career.

There were no ateliers then - I did not know what sight-size was- imprimatura, massing, you name it. I had photographs blown up, traced them, put a piece of plastic in top and matched the color to the photograph.

I thought I was FABULOUS- until I went to the Boston Museum and saw the Sargents, the Stuarts and the panoply of magnificent figurative work. I realized that I would have to learn how to draw and paint properly.

To cut to the chase- DO NOT run out and hire a model until you have your drawing down cold. Do not use color at first. Stick to monochrome. Really nail the basics. There are no shortcuts even though it may look like there are. Trust me. I wish I could run a knife through most every early piece I did from photos.


If you can go to an atelier or a decent school where they actually teach you the classic way. Even one year is worth it. Stay away from overpriced, overrated schools like the Rhode Island School of design where there is no instruction in this whatsoever. Students have to go to optional classes and pay for their own models.






Posted by at 11:14 AM

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