More Life Drawing

I tend to be interested in new things more than old things, so the continuation of the SVA diary will have to wait while I show off some new drawings I did yesterday at Dorian and Liana's.

The model for the day was Mia, and my, was she beautiful. If you've read my blog and looked at my work you know I love fat chicks but I've been learning to enjoy the looks of skinny chicks, too. With Mia it was her belly that really got me. So thin, but with subtle curves and ripples I tried to capture. Mia wasn't exactly muscular but there were hints which were wonderful but hard to get down in Conté.

Luckily I was prepared. I brought ink, brushes, a crow quill, and some pencils, including a brand-new woodless 9B from Cretacolor which was a joy to draw with.

And of course it's important to move around to show that, as an artist, I'm not all about boobs. Sometimes I'm about asses, too! Joking about that with Mia and the other artists made her laugh, which was wonderful, even if Liana complained she was shaking so much she might as well draw with her left hand. But getting the model to crack up was wonderful because I could then get a sketch of her smiling, which turned out to be one of my favorite drawings from the session. So many drawings are of models looking so serious. A smile now and then is good to see.

"It's hard to hold a smile for a model," Liana observed.

"I had a state senator sit for a portrait one time," Richard told us, "and she held a smile for six hours."

Richard seemed shocked when about half of us came out with the obvious punchline: "She's a politician!"

Eventually Mia put her Serious Model Face back on and I got Mia #11, which is my other favorite from the session.

After we were all done, I made Mia the offer I usually make, which is to look through my drawings and choose a couple for herself. She seemed really surprised by this. She even said it was a first -- some artists and photographers won't even let her see what they've done, that's how possessive they are of their work. I can't even imagine it -- I consider the model a collaborator. The drawings are of her. Without her they wouldn't exist. And I would hope that some of her has rubbed off onto the drawings.

I do have to remember to bring something for the model to carry the drawings home in, though. Once again Dorian ended up constructing a portfolio out of scraps lying around his studio. And while I'm sure it was good for him to clear up even that small amount of clutter, there's no reason to make him work like that, especially since he likes to make everyone dinner, too.

I had to leave before getting my fiber fix -- Dorian likes meals with a lot of fibrous vegetables -- but there's always next time.