[Links] True Blog Stories

[aktdrawing]

Guess who's back with another article! This time from Wien (Vienna), Austria.
Two young girls modeling together.
The original is here, if you know german: hxxps://www.derstandard.at/consent/tcf/story/3000000172773/freitag-zeichne-ich-die-nackten


On Friday, I’m Drawing the Naked

A few times each week, people in Vienna gather to draw nude models on stage. A rare hobby — or a good opportunity to get rid of awkwardness?

Valerie walks through a small room, passes the easels, and steps onto the stage. She removes the white cover wrapped around her body and lets it fall to the floor. Under the towel, she is nude. She strikes her pose.

Only a few steps behind her is Sophie, who also takes off her towel and embraces Valerie from behind. Both nude models hold their standing pose. The talking and laughter fade into silence.
“Fifteen minutes,” announces gallery owner Baduc Gibaja. From now on, only the scratching of pencils, charcoal, and brushes can be heard.

All the chairs in the studio in Vienna's 2nd district are occupied. Sonia, a guitarist from Peru and a friend of the studio owner, starts to play quietly, creating an almost meditative atmosphere. Everyone is deeply focused.

A man in front of me raises his pencil, squints one eye, and measures a part of the model’s body. A woman next to me divides her sheet into four with her pencil, sketches the arms and legs as ovals first, then connects them — and suddenly a human figure appears.

You might think that the two nude women standing on the stage radiate something sexual. But they don’t. In the artists’ eyes, they are simply ovals, shapes, lines, and curves. I notice how my own perception changes too: no longer seeing bare skin, but rather lines, shadows, and contours.

Hard Poses

It’s Friday night, 7 p.m., and in Baduc Gibaja’s little Atelier 1020, ten amateur artists have gathered for a life-drawing session — just as they do every week. Sessions are held every Wednesday and Friday. No appointment is needed, and the contribution fee is €10.

“Experience the world differently, find the artist in you,” reads the event’s slogan. The group is mixed: young and old, professionals and amateurs. Some haven’t drawn for months; others come every week.

I haven’t held a sketchpad since my high school graduation.
“Two more minutes,” Baduc announces loudly, and the hum of pencils on paper grows more vigorous and hurried — until he finally says, “Stop.”

Valerie and Sophie release their pose and shake out their limbs. The focused silence immediately breaks: drawings are shown around, pencils are swapped, materials prepared for the next round, and the difficulties of the pose are discussed. The models laugh when one of the painters calls out that they didn’t make it easy for him this time.

Something Abstract

Both young women are of Italian origin and study philosophy in Vienna.

“I found out from a friend that you can earn money as a nude model,” explains 24-year-old Valerie. “At first, it was just about that. But after the first few evenings, I realized how it affected my body awareness. I have no problem being nude and serving as a subject for art. It’s made me more patient and tolerant.”

For her, holding a pose for 15 to 20 minutes — alone with her thoughts in a room full of people — feels almost meditative. The two models use the break to rehearse their next pose in another room.

Norbert, a 68-year-old retiree, comes to the studio regularly, talking and laughing loudly. He knows everyone there.
“Did you get the poses I sent you? I’d love to draw them,” he asks the models. They both grin and nod.
“I used to write professionally and had others create the images. Now I want to try it from the other side,” he says.

(...)

Sophie and Valerie walk back onto the stage in the studio in the 2nd district. The next round begins. Valerie lies on her back; Sophie leans over her, looks into her eyes — their nude bodies touching. The two women talk quietly, their faces only centimeters apart. It’s clear they know each other well.

The artists observe carefully. Some stand up and move around the room to find a better angle to draw. I put down my notepad, take my sketchpad in hand, and stand up too, trying to find a better perspective.
Changing perspective is today’s theme — and, in a way, mine as well.

[Fango]

Originally Posted by aktdrawing

So let's get to the thing. Here's an article about two student girls doing nude modeling for art classes in Alaska (I'm not giving the link as it's already dead):

Undressing the highest-paying student job: nude modeling

Originally Posted by soulac

Thanks so much for the Alaska article. I have been looking for it and couldn't find it anymore. It must be at least 15 years old. As you said, it's not available.

You wouldn't happen to have the pics that go with the article would you? The one of Kenyon is really cute.

Thanks again!

Originally Posted by aktdrawing

The article was from 2016, so I'm surprised it's no longer available. The pic I remember, but don't have it unfortunately.

Glad you enjoyed. And I still have loads of texts to post!

I'm just seeing this now, but if you still have the original link for the Alaska article, aktdrawing, perhaps you can post it and we can plug it into the Internet Archive and see if the picture of Kenyon is still available there?

Thanks

Fango