My first experience of life drawing was as a sixteen-year-old A-level art student. It felt awkward and a little odd to have permission to observe a nude stranger who was posing in the middle of the room.

Those feelings quickly disappeared though because the challenge of attempting to draw took over. Almost thirty years have passed but I can still conjure up a memory of the first drawing I produced with arms that were too long, a head that was too big – in fact every part of the body was proportionally inaccurate.

The lesson learnt was life drawing is hard! It was a giant leap from copying photographs of people which is something I’d done a lot of and was reasonably successful at. I enjoyed the experience even though it was a reality check as to my artistic ability.

For the following 15 or so years I did very little observational drawing, if any. I produced paintings of people using the grid system and other people’s reference photos – mainly portraits or figure work of footballers.

In case you don’t know the grid system I’ll briefly explain. A grid of vertical and horizontal lines are drawn, evenly spaced, over a photograph or digital image. Then the same number of vertical and horizontal lines are drawn over a canvas (these can be scaled up – it is a very useful method for scaling a small reference image to a large canvas). Each square of the grid is then carefully copied from the reference to the canvas which is a very easy way to produce a trustworthy drawing.

By my mid-thirties I felt I wasn’t painting or drawing anywhere near enough and had a deep desire to develop my skill. The grid system was feeling too technical so I found a local life drawing group and began attending the weekly two-hour sessions. I LOVED every minute of it.

Since then – I’m now 45 – I’ve continued to attend sessions at various locations and have seen a steady improvement in my observational skills. Long may it continue!

I understand that if you haven’t experienced a life drawing session that the concept may seem odd and perhaps awkward – as it once did for me – but that’s not the case and there are a number of reasons to draw and paint the nude figure.

  • It is the best practice that can be done for improving observational skills. If you can successfully draw the human figure from life you can draw anything
  • Tradition and timelessness – artists throughout history have studied the nude figure as a way of practice and understanding. Clothes date the period but without them the artwork becomes timeless
  • Clothed figures are more forgiving if they’re not accurately drawn
  • There is a certain energy in a room full of artists who are silently observing and recording a model that I haven’t experienced anywhere else
  • Limited time – a model can pose for a limited with encourages working at speed. This improves decision making and develops mark making
  • Life is busy! Having a set time in the week to create art is essential
  • Community – meeting up with other artists and seeing how they work, sharing ideas, making friends are all part of the appeal of life drawing
  • A gym for artists without the sweat. It’s about putting in the reps and miles to ensure a great race day or match day