Figure drawing is arguably one of the oldest art forms on the planet.
Ever since humanity first put a charcoal stick to a cave wall, we have drawn the human figure in all its varied forms. That tradition carries on at Parkside Gallery twice a year, when several artists gather to capture the likeness of a life model on paper. Local artist Patsy Granberg said it’s one of the most reliable ways to grow and improve as an artist.
“As a beginner coming to this practice, you see quite a real upwards curve in your abilities. It’s about hand-eye coordination and it’s super relaxing. It can be quite gratifying to find a likeness and something you feel good about in the end,” Granberg said. “As you improve your drawing abilities you become a much better painter.”
Granberg has been attending life drawing classes for 35 years now, though she said she still hasn’t mastered it. During that time she has grown familiar with the process of life drawing.
Whenever they sit down for a class they take two-and-a-half hours to draw the person. Granberg said they start out with 10 one-minute sketches, seven three-minute sketches, two 10-minute sketches and then one half-hour sketch.
“I was told many years ago that lots of short drawings improve your abilities more than sitting and drawing for four hours,” Granberg said. “You just challenge yourself to make the most of that short opportunity. If you’re able to learn to draw very well in a short length of time, you can sit anywhere and draw people.”
The rule of thumb Granberg’s friend Barb Brown uses when drawing someone is that she spends 80 per cent of the time looking at the model and only 20 per cent drawing them. This is key if you want to capture the essence of a person, she said.
“As a life drawer over the years I’ve probably gone through a couple of thousand pieces of paper,” Brown said. “(For me) it’s not about getting something anatomically correct, it’s more about capturing an essence or a piece of that person.”
During a session, there is usually little talking. Even though those who attend the classes are all friends, Granberg said many require silence to get into the groove of sketching. She finds the process “super relaxing” and that her eyes and pencil just work in sync together.
When she is sketching someone, nude or clothed, Granberg said she focuses on their face, hands and feet. She finds that hands especially can be very expressive and “somehow gives a lot more emotion to a drawing”. Brown agrees, but noted she’s more interested in capturing a person’s face than their body.
Over the five sessions, Granberg said you can really get to know the model’s appearance and personality. While they have a few regular models, they always welcome new ones.
This spring 108 Mile Ranch resident Megan Reid-Wolfe tried her hand at modelling for the first time. Reid-Wolfe said she has wanted to model since she attended university in Thunder Bay years ago but never got the chance.
Walking into her first session was a bit intimidating, she said.
“I was nervous about it initially, but I took it as an opportunity to really explore vulnerability, honesty and openness while just being present in my self,” Reid-Wolfe said. “It’s also about acceptance because a lot of focus is on women’s body parts and not on the whole person. To accept yourself as you are is quite empowering and liberating.”
When Reid-Wolfe models she tries to tell a story with her movement and poses. She said it’s key to pick poses she can hold for extended lengths of time, especially when she does a pose for 30 minutes.
“I come with an intention and I have a number of playlists (I listen to) and the music informs the poses as well,” she explained.
While you might think that being studied for hours on end could be off-putting, Reid-Wolfe said it is not.
“I’m not really focused on people looking at me, I’m more interested in people telling the story,” she noted. “There was one pose where I was really trying to express an attitude of ‘don’t screw with me’ and they were actually able to capture that. It wasn’t only in my facial expression, it was in my body expression as well.”
Reid-Wolfe said she intends to model for the class again, and encourages other aspiring life models to do the same.
Granberg said that while most of her sketches end up starting fires, she considers a class a success if she walks away with at least four she likes. Sometimes she’ll use the sketches as a base for more detailed paintings and drawings in the future.
“What is amazing is that even with the simplest of my drawings I can go back to them and recall everything about that person in that sitting. It allows for a really good visual recall,” Granberg said. “The enthusiasm never fades. We’re always really glad to be back there. Many of our group go on to draw their husbands or their pets. I think drawers are drawers and we find something to draw.”
Anyone interested in joining the classes, as either a model or an artist, is invited to contact Parkside Art Gallery at 250-395-2021. Their next session will be in the fall.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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