I've had a 'Tuesday Night Drawing Group' that have come to my studio twice a month for the last 10 years. Its always a highlight of my week. I find a wide variety of models from my community that will sit for two 50 minute draped poses for us. I have also done a lot of the more traditional nude gesture drawing that usually start off with quick gestural drawings of 2 minutes and gradually work up to t a 20 minute drawing at the end of the session.
Life drawing has a big impact on my sculptural work, shaping how I approach both the form and expression of the human figure. It’s not just about capturing proportions or anatomical accuracy; it’s about translating the energy, attitude, and subtle nuances of the body into three-dimensional space.
One of the biggest influences life drawing has on my sculptures is how it helps me refine my sense of proportion. Drawing from a live model forces me to see the human body in a more direct, nuanced way. I can internalize how different parts of the body relate to one another — how the torso sits with the pelvis, how limbs interact with the torso, and how these relationships change based on the model’s pose. It’s a constant process of adjusting and refining, and I find that this helps me create figures in sculpture that feel more natural and grounded.
More than just the shapes, life drawing also sharpens my ability to observe the character lines of the body. Those fluid, curving outlines — the ones that capture the subtle transitions between muscle, bone, and skin — are what bring life and movement into my sculptures. I’ve learned to track the way a pose flows across the body, from one gesture to the next, and this awareness translates directly into my work. Each piece of sculpture becomes an exploration of those lines, trying to capture not just the physicality but also the dynamic energy I see in the model.
Drawing from life also deepens my awareness of how small changes in posture can shift the entire attitude of a piece. The way the head tilts, the rotation of the shoulders, or the stance of the legs — these shifts are never arbitrary. They tell a story, convey a mood, or suggest an inner state. I’ve come to realize that these subtle changes in body position, whether it’s a slight lean or a strong counterbalance, can completely transform the emotional tone of a sculpture. The more I draw from life, the more attuned I become to the way these shifts resonate not just in the body, but in the overall expression of the piece.
My background in dance as a child and love of movement has also informed this process. Dance has given me an understanding of how the body moves and how energy flows through the form. When I draw, I’m not just focused on still poses — I’m thinking about how the body would move if it were to shift weight, extend, or bend. This dance influence helps me infuse a sense of dynamism and intention into my sculptures. I’m always thinking about the next movement, about how gravity interacts with the body, and how I can represent that potential energy in a frozen pose.
Drawing from life allows me to break down the complexity of the body into shapes and forms that I can then build upon in three dimensions. It’s one thing to sketch the figure, but it’s another to imagine how that same figure would exist in space, how the volume and mass would shift around its contours. Drawing gives me the visual vocabulary to understand the body, and then I use that vocabulary to build the sculpture in a way that feels real, tangible, and full of movement.
Ultimately, life drawing sharpens my sensitivity to the human figure in a way that directly impacts my sculptures. It's the practice of looking, really looking, and then distilling that information into something that not only represents the body, but also expresses the energy and emotion I feel when I encounter it. It's about understanding how every curve, every line, every shift in posture adds to the story the piece is telling. Through drawing, I’m constantly refining how I translate that knowledge into the sculptural forms I create.
Comentarios