s. posed naked for anderson’s class of 14 lady artists. it was a warm enough day in the big room at bob’s cabin in woodstock. s. was not at all uncomfortable about being naked. he was not the least bit ashamed of his body but something funny happened that he hadn’t predicted. when he dropped his model robe and stepped up on the platform in front of all those cougars within a few minutes of a gentle contraposto pose he noticed with growing panic that a certain tumescence of an extremely existential member of his body.
he talked to his anatomy. not out loud of course, just silently coaxing it to go down. “no no, not now… this is not the time or the place for your shenanigans.” but it was hopeless. the eyes of the women as they drew were inevitably drawn to that part of his figure whose form automatically produced some kind of vibration, a feromone symphony of … yes, there was lust in the room. as soon as s. realized what had caused this sudden attentive reaction, the instinctive expectation of his nineteen year old libido, the situation normalized.
at the end of the class some of the women came up and thanked s. effusively for lending his body to them to practice their drawing.
it is well known that one of the reasons for practicing with a nude model is just that sublimation of these rarefied energies for the elevation of the artists skill. if you are not bored, if you are interested, even obsessed with beauty you try harder to capture both what you see and the aesthetic impression which you feel. and it goes beyond sexuality. it becomes a spiritual experience.
s. was lucky. he had the anderson children to draw. not nude of course, but just doing their usual things. thay were all generous with their time and could hold a pose very well. also, he never had a girlfriend he couldn’t get to strip and lie demurely on the couch or the mattress on the floor.
but when julie came it was a marathon. and s. filled sketchpad after sketchpad with sketches and drawings of her.
s. had high hopes of being a great fine artist and knew that for his aim he needed to have great drafting skills. he would practice drawing circles and straight lines for half an hour every day before drawing. he wanted to be able to draw a perfect circle freehand. he never used a ruler for straight lines, but drew fast from a to b, dot to dot trying not to miss the mark and keep it straight.
the euphoric dream he followed was grandiose and narcissistic. unlike a doctor or a statesman artists are self centered… not selfish but self involved. every waking moment goes to serve this romantic reverence for himself as an artist. he makes himself out of imagination. he reads the biographies of great artists. he nurtures his desire through self suggestion to become something, not nothing; that path is strewn with sorrow and disappointments. s. had no choice about this. it was what he wanted since he could remember.
s. was alone that winter of ’62 so when he was expecting brother bobby’s visit he was excited. so excited on that day that he had to lie down on the canvas camp cot and try consciously to relax. when bobby came he was very happy and for days they just talked and walked and climbed mt. tom a couple of times.
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bobby was a great model. he had a perfect what they call ‘hard body’, but natural, not grotesquely artificial as developed through weights or sports but like a greek statue with natural lines and healthy proportion. and the best thing… he was glad to pose, often and long. it was a great help because s. had plenty of female experience. and although he had copied all the illustrations in “grey’s anatomy” and knew the names of all the bones and muscles, sketching from life was more valuable than all of that.
just imagine the difference in vividness of drawing a landscape from a photograph and drawing as the french say “au plein air”.
so, bobby came and went and spring came and the juices were flowing and all was well with the world. s. painted every day then; upstairs in the long room. the top floor above the atlantic and pacific tea company was open and went from the windows in the front to the windows in the back. maybe forty feet by twenty four feet. this is where he stacked panels and finished paintings. the walls were covered with sketches and notations. there were a couple of beat up chairs but anderson had taught him to paint standing up.
when julie came she quickly added a few feminine touches and a rocking chair in anticipation of the coming of this new being which was growing in her womb.
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s. had no idea then how rare and ideal these conditions were and how salubrious the simple concordance of companionship, shelter, food, health and few distractions were for him. anyway, now he had the opportunity to push the envelope and he did. many of the paintings were stilted or allegorical; sometimes just plain sentimental or ugly.
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but he would paint over them. he was searching avidly for a way; his own way, his own hand, his own voice.
Love this entry Scott and the illustrations to go with it are perfect, the delicate drawing, the gentle painting of Julie…. "the euphoric dream he followed was grandiose and narcissistic" is exactly how I've felt at times. There is no other feeling like it. That loft space sounds heavenly.In one of my studio classes, there was a male model this happened to, only it kept happening througout the 3 hour class time. My sweet friend Irma, who just past away, was sitting next to me in class this particular time and kept whispering funny comments to me. One was "he's making it so hard to draw because it keeps going up and down, up and down". I could hardly contain myself.
that's really funny pam. i can well understand her complaint. she should try drawing in a ballet class. the solution is that you have one big pad and you draw a line or two of one arabesque and then another. each time the form is repeated you add a line to the corresponding drawing. 😆 so she would learn to draw one small happening and one inflated event. *chuckling still.thanks for the really good comment. :happy:
I've a story about this model as I went out with him twice. Can't decide if I should tell it or not. I'll think about it.
oh, do tell. it's much more fun than keeping it to yourself.
I always wondered if that ever happened to people. And now I know the truth. I think I'll never model. Me likey this post.If it makes you feel better, I had a circles-and-lines-every-day phase last time I was doing visual artsy stuff (I'm fixing up my studio to start again after a long dry spell. But that's on my blog. Shameless plug.); I did exactly the same thing. Did you ever get anything out of it? The warming up with lines and circles? I used to do that and practice pencil pressure; I just threw about about two hundred pieces of paper covered with lines and circles and so on. I'm afraid I've got the same ambitions you had, but I'm more hopeless.
I did visit last night,I love the entry,I sure do….I try not to analyze s. this time around (no "kicks" )I am seeing a side of s. that I did not see before,I'll be back :heart:
akamu, thanks for commenting. here's a photo of one of those thousands of pages of exercises.
meli :heart: good. i am so glad that this post 'fleshed out' or expanded your impressions of s.. i guess that's sort of a hidden agenda. i am using the blog to tell myself about myself and indirectly you get to know more about me than anyone since you are following faithfully. it's fun. don't stop commenting :happy: you're getting close.i took a nap today after a long walk and had a warm dream. i was riding a bus to return a big fat book to the library and left it on the seat. i chased the bus to no avail. then a pretty dark haired woman stopped me and got real close. i loved her and whispered in her ear. "want to go to a movie with me?" she was so feminine and almost motherly, i buried my face in her neck. like coming home. but she said, "not now, i have to get home to my baby." interesting.
hi san, nice to see you here. thanks for the comment. julie was an ideal model and i painted her many times. i'm still looking for more photos of work i did where she modeled patiently for it. one more box to sort. :happy:
I have attended many a nude life drawing class and have never witnessed that!The painting of Julie has so much mood. I like it.
"you're getting close"no meli,I think I am not even there yet,I find s. more human than I knew he was, arrogant at times, lost and still so much family oriented around bobby and so ready to direct all the streams of his ideas and desires to become a river.Is Julie the reason for it ? I don't think so. s. is a mystery to me still, a very enjoyable but he unravels daily and at times he makes me step back and try to know him more through his words.So far I knew s.from his paintings…I like the combination.I see the change of s. in front of me with each entry but I read actions more and I learn very little about s.'s feelings…is it the romantic in me that wants to know that part of s. ??or s.is keeping many hidden cards and I can not see the real s. ??
ooow those are touching questions. you will find out as events follow.yes it's the romantic in you. a precious quality to me. he is very romantic. when he loves a woman like he did julie, he becomes complete and tamed. he wants to be tamed, i think. he wants to love but most of all he wants to be loved. he tells himself that he is loved. if he wasn't he wouldn't be tamed. get it? he's been abandoned. now he is settled and is so sure he has found his soulmate. that's very good for him to concentrate on art. so everything is perfect right now.one reason i mentioned the dream above was as a clue. it's even a clue to me. :heart:
yep,I see it meli,the streams are connected to a river :heart:I sure do,and I hear the dream with the deepest meaning of it ,not a hidden invitation for the next chapter right there…..I wonder if Jon follows the amazing events that are connected to his brother and mother… :heart:
That picture's waaaaaayyy more elaborate than anything i've done with lines and circles. I think I might get back to it again daily. Actually I'm going to have to if I'm ever to realize any of my hopes and dreams. Hmm…
I did see the "once" and I did memorize it"it might sound strange bu I wanted to say "I am proud of you" "Looking forward to the next one!to be honest,I am dying to read the next one ……………………
he does, meli :heart: he tells me he does. he has only jumped in and said something once. gathering my wits about me for the next chapter right now. 😎 akamu, it's a good discipline and you'll find that you will draw immediately with more freedom. :happy:
it didn't seem at all strange to me. i wish my kids would say things like that more often. i had a really satisfying letter from ryan once. :happy: he had to be thinking that what he said would make me happy :happy:
I know all your kids remeber their dad reading to them, acting magic for them ,bulting bikes with stones for them… You are in their heart not to mention their blood meli,and if they are involved now days in their own lives,they are always in your heart too :heart:Ryan is one of them, some times we have kids from the heart too… and I have a few of my own in far away places, I love them and I take care of them as I do for Vaia and Yannis :)I love you meli,you are always special to me and I am always proud of you too 🙂
yes, meli :heart: she has been touched by the sweet muse. and you never can tell, you may feel words pouring out of you someday also.and it's not always sweet but a good poem sweetens even bitterness. :happy:it's a lot like cooking. people who experience cooking as a drudgery will never make the most delicious meals. to be inspired is to enjoy life.
🙂 nobody knows meli,maybe one day I might write again, not poetry but feelings.one thing is for sure I never feltbitterness even in my worst days :heart:sadness yes bitterness not,it must be an awful feeling ..
you're right, of course. only poetry can express our deepest feelings or love. :happy:
😆 then I am in a deep trouble,I can not write a poem even if my live depended on it :)I always have Vaia and you for it :)teens see things so different than us….it is such a fascinating experience to me just reading her poems….I hope she keeps it up…. 🙂
if you ever do, just remember this; nip it in the bud. don't let it grow. let go of resentments and time will heal any wounds. you probably know that already. :sherlock:having a great gourmet dinner tonight. i marinated this chicken overnight after braising it well in butter and olive oil (throw that grease away and drown the chicken in marsala. i know you don't eat meat but maybe you can do this with eggplant and tofu. i don't know.i'm going to serve this on orzo with a spinach salad and biscuits… yummy.
yummmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyy !!!enjoy!!!! and here is desert !!!
my what a pretty presentation. i forgot to make dessert. one red rose and one maraschino cherry… so appetizing. happy birthday meli :love:
thank you meli, :heart:it was a Happy Day indeed !it is before 11pm in NYC and since I work tomorrow,I think your wishes and some reading will close my day 🙂
test results:
Your result for The What Greek God Are You Test…
AphroditeGods! You scored ###!You are most like the Goddess Aphrodite!
Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, fertility and desire. Although she was married she had many affairs with both other gods and men – most famously with Ares. Her husband Hephaestus caught them in a net he had made and paraded them in front of the other gods. Aphrodite is mean, vain and jealous, and most often depicted with a mirror.
Take The What Greek God Are You Test at HelloQuizzy
🙂 I love it!did you claim to be a female ,instead of a male ?? :lol:I do that often and the results are priceless!!! I am glad you enjoy the link meli,it is a goodie ,no?I will wait a few days before I post the one I believe it will be a nice one to post about….I had a small quiz the other day ,and I don't like to become a boring blogger 😀
no meli :heart: i claimed to be a male. apparently the quiz is calibrated for qualities not sex.'hello quizzy' is new to me although i signed up at the 'cupid' site some years ago. never helped me a bit. mostly just spam from criminal sex peddlars. like i'm going to believe a beautiful 21 year old read my profile and wants to meet a crusty 66 year old artist…. yeah, sure 😆 just experimenting :cool:i took the survive the end of the world test too. but i could get the right code to post the results. 'survivor' though and scored in the top five percent. :happy:"be interested and you will be interesting." that's what an actress told me once. no, don't become a bb (boring blogger) :up: :heart:
😆 sorry I had to ask about the Female/Male thing..I am with the "Eligible Greeks" I stay with them just for reading the Message Boards, the funniest place to be! no money can buy the entertainment! none! my Screen Name : ellinidata1 if you ever visit the elligible greeks you will see profiles that will make even you blush 😥http://eligiblegreeks.com/personals/forums.cfm?siteIDD=41
i will. sounds like a must see. pop-up says opera browser is not compatible. so i will check it out tomorrow with firefox or explorer. :happy:
😉 interesting post :up: and those dishes makes me hungry.
i daresay he has found it now?edit: on second thoughts, i'll better wait for the subsequent posts in order to know the answer!
Hi Scott.
hi lea, thanks for checking in. always appreciate it. :happyyes b., he has found it finally. :happy: but not perfected yet.hey kiran, long time no see. whatcha been doing with yourself?
😀 Scott,what am I supposed to do with myself ?
it's just an expression kiran. but follow your dream… follow your heart. you know. :sherlock: find a girl, love her, marry her, have children, work hard for your money and have a wonderful life. :up:don't worry be happy
Angeliki writes:4 years later and I still love reading this one!
it is a good one angeliki….