Figure Drawing
I love drawing figures - from doodling my professors during lectures in college to painting large portraits of my friends from images taken at a party, I feel most confident drawing people. For most of my life I've focused my artistic practice on painting, but I've found that that can be a quite lonely experience - long hours in a studio working on one piece. I longed for the community that comes with drawing in a group and working from the same subject.
I knew that moving to NYC would be the perfect exposure to meet other artists and join an artistic community. I was able to find and nurture that community by joining 130 Palmetto, a shared studio space in Bushwick. Around the same time that this happened, I started frequenting neighborhood figure drawing sessions, and I began to notice aspects of other sessions that I felt like I could improve upon if I just hosted my own.
I understand how special it is to have a studio space with the capacity to bring people together around a shared artistic goal, and I set out to create weekly figure drawing sessions that were affordable, beginner-friendly, and encouraged connection building amongst participants.
The sessions have come such a long way since the first session in October 2023 to now. With positive and constructive feedback, I feel so much more confident in my hosting ability and host sessions that are cohesive and effective for the participants.
Every week is a little different, depending on the model and the group of participants that decide to join. Some sessions are quite talkative, and people share about their day as they draw, and other sessions are more locked in, quiet, and focused. I always end my sessions with a share back, where the model gets to see what's been drawn of them and the participants can admire their own and everyone else's work.
Since I started hosting these sessions, I've noticed a remarkable change in my own art, simply through the consistency of drawing weekly. I have a couple of loyal regulars who I've noticed gain a lot more confidence in their drawings.
I've experimented with different variations to the traditional figure drawing session. I've had duo models pose at the same time, models pose with props, a session just for using paints and even a session just devoted to drawing portraits.
More than the drawings themselves, these weekly sessions have allowed me to bring together a group of people for the soul purpose of artistic creativity. Connecting with my friends and meeting new connections through these session has been the greatest honor, and I'm excited for what the future holds.
As my sessions expand, I've had the opportunity to host them in various spaces. From Kaliedascope Studio in Bushwick to my own apartment, I've discovered that while the space itself is important for fostering creativity and comfort, it's not the key factor. Whether we gather in a professional studio, a cozy apartment, or any other setting, what truly matters is the group of artists coming together to draw and share in a common activity. That sense of community and shared experience is what makes each session special, regardless of the location.
