Ode to Joy

Do you draw/paint from life? If so, how important is that to your work? If not, describe your process.

I use different sources every time I create.

I draw from life which is very important. A lot of people are nervous to model for me, but I have such a different outlook on the human body than most people do. Everyone is beautiful to me and the more you draw a person the more you can see the little details that make them special.  However, a lot of people over-sexualize my work.  Drawing from life isn’t a particularly erotic activity; it’s not like flipping through a Playboy, it’s more like math homework.  It’s important to stay in the practice, but that’s what it is: practice. It’s an exercise in measurements, light and dark, perspective, and patience.

However, my paintings are mostly from photographs. Working from photographs is tricky, and I would not recommend it for beginners. If you don’t know what you are doing you can get some very weird, flat results. The quality of the photograph is very important.  I only work from my own photos, and even that can be a pain in the neck. There are a lot of advantages to working with photographs, but there are just as many problems.  If you know what you are doing, I really recommend combining painting and photography.  It allows you to manipulate images in ways you otherwise couldn’t.

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