Some models have an unwitting gift in that I find them easier to draw. I have no idea what is the difference that makes a difference - confidence and energy for sure - but I 'm not sure if that's on the part of the artist or the model. Coloured pencils on coloured paper, 20 minute pose.


I like the cleaner hatching - the aquarelles don't always take to the gloss paper very easily, so strong and incisive work is what is required. It makes any mistakes really obvious - not very forgiving at all. 20 minute pose.

Still working on capturing a likeness. 20 minute pose. Aquarelle on gloss paper.


Winner of the Mekon look-alike contest... oh dear, not very flattering. The great thing about using strange (well, strange to me) colours is that it shakes you out of the rut - the ideas and colour combinations that are known and safe simply don't work any more. Aquarelle on coloured paper. 20 minute pose.


I like the look of the ink lines and the colour work after - it's a bit like Carl Larsen's work, unfortunately quite a long way to go. It requires two skills for the price of one - the lines have to be spot on, and then the colour work needs care and balance. There's a lot going on in a 15 minute pose. Ink and aquarelle on coloured paper.

Anatomy of Anatomy

One of the better descriptions of the agonies and ecstasies of life drawing can be found at Everyday Matters - illustrator/writer Danny Gregory explores aspects of the human form. Danny's right - part of the drawing process is the artists themselves are laid bare - your every error, your every inadequacy is laid out, 'permanently' on paper. It's daunting holding your work up for comment or critique, even in an informal session. Friends and family have no care for this - they simply think: arms don't look like that, or oh dear, according to your drawing that poor model seems to have had an interlude with a chainsaw.

Call yourself an artist. My theory is that it takes about 10,000 hours to get good at something (about five years, full time), and about another 10,000 hours (total ten years, working full time) to become an expert. You might get there faster with a motivated teacher, but if you've become a genuine, world-class expert in less than ten years, let me know so I can celebrate you. Meanwhile, only about another 19,999 hours to go...