Calling artists and models for Life Drawing classes

Life drawing teaches hand-eye co-ordination. Photo / Sandra Morris

Community Education is running Life Drawing classes next year and while artists are obviously essential, models are also needed.

"The great thing about life drawing is the hand-eye co-ordination thing you're doing all the time," says tutor Sandra Morris. "It's just regular practice, observing and getting down what you see. We do poses from one to two minutes, right up to 15 minutes.

"It's a matter of getting the essence of the pose down … when I used to teach it at Massey in Auckland, I used to get students to draw a pose in six lines, then five lines, then four, three, two and one line. That really got them to see just the essence of the pose.

"Sometimes it can just be the top line or the axis line of the body, or something like that."

Sandra runs monthly classes that are untutored: artists do their own thing but Sandra calls the shots on the poses and timing.

"What I would like are models who have got lots of good ideas for poses. In the past, dancers have been very good, and gymnasts, or athletes, because they can hold interesting poses for quite some time, and they've got good ideas for poses, they're quite creative.

"Generally we start off with five one- or two-minute quick drawings – it can be something like starting seated and slowly getting up and twisting round."

Untutored classes are monthly, go for two hours and start on Wednesday, March 3.

"Then we have tutored [classes], which I do once a year here through Community Education. We go through different techniques and approaches - drawing with charcoal dust on your fingers, drawing with a stick and ink … I don't want people to be precious about their bit of paper - I want them to get those marks down and get stuck in."

That will be for one day on Saturday, August 21.

"The big thing is the call-out for models. Any body type, any age, from 18, male or female, and they have to be prepared to model in the nude. Contact me or Community Education if they're willing and if they think they could hold interesting poses. They do get paid."

Sandra's email is sandra.morris@illustration.co.nz or contact Community Education through their website www.communityeducation.nz or phone 345 4717 for enrolment for each or either of the life drawing classes or if you are willing to serve as a life model.