The Suffolk Nude: rare in January, but a happening thing nevertheless. Once again the White House hosted a day long workshop in life-drawing.
Facilitated by Alan Dedman and Stephen Morris from the Royal Academy Schools (RAS). A well planned day with ‘excellent instruction’ (to quote students) created opportunity to grapple with drawing the nude, in the wilds of East Anglia. There was a focus on tone contrasted with line, illustrated using slides of Alan’s work at St. Martins and the RAS.
Our model (Felicity), has a background in performance, circus and dancing. She created graceful and energetic poses to inspire the class; students made lively drawings and paintings in response. Lengthy poses were off-set with very brief ones, effecting a ‘shake down’ of psychomotor skills so people could get the best from themselves and the day.
The environment – a 17th century / Regency property with extensive grounds; former home to the Zinkeisen sisters, proffers a barn conversion to studio. It’s character imparts a grandiose setting. The Suffolk Nude, in all it’s beauty; female form beguiles and asserts another dimension for the pencil twiddling, types who enjoy deciphering visual perception.
To conclude, we drank wine and conducted a peer review. Some students already started to use colour (natural step from the current stage), echoing the chromatic intensity of our set-up. We noted: getting into a pickle (messing up) and fighting one’s way out of it, seemed to elicit the best performance from those who attended. The spirit of an art-work is what matters, more than verisimilitude.
We were blessed with relatively mild weather. ‘Bruno’ our German log-burner, kept the studio warm in the middle of Winter.
There will be another life-drawing day at the White House in Spring. If you are interested and would like to participate in drawing the Suffolk Nude, you can book using the contact form below. Your details will not be public (see privacy policy).
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