I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for youtube. I have found a cache of timed gesture poses by the New Masters Academy, and even though completing even one of the videos is a bit exhausting, it has reawakened my love of figure study.
It’s a tricky thing for me. It was Life Drawing class which lead to my change to English as a major in college. It’s a bit of a long story, but after eight hour under florescent lights, my first class (after an hour drive on the expressway in Akron, Ohio) was Figure Study.
That was fine, but what happened is 75% of the students had been floating around the studio environment all day long, and by the time I got to the party they were doing hour poses.
I flipped my lid a little about it, wanting the usual warmups to shed my office vibe, I got push back from the other students and the teacher.
So now, at least 40 years later, I am able to tackle this in the privacy of my own living room, plus, I can also go back to the really good starts and feed my OCD need for completion.
There are so many videos that I would never have to venture into a figure study group, and during this period of Coronaviral scare, maybe it’s a good thing I am taking this approach.
It’s not a bad start, and after all this time, it’s only going to get better once I’ve scrubbed away the emotional rust and calcification formed around the subject for me.
