Viva Brighton Issue #48 February 2017

TRADE SECRETS
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Life model
Francesca Cluney
What made you want to be a life model? Life
modelling is an interesting way of being a part of
the artistic process, and can be creative, expressive
and performative in its own right. Growing up with
beautiful pictures all around me, I saw modelling as
a way of escape into a fantasy world of painting.
Were you nervous at first? It was more exciting
than nerve-wracking. At the beginning I mainly
did one-to-one modelling, usually experimenting
with photography. Photography is a very different
form of modelling to drawing - the way you think
about poses is different - but I love both as media.
The life class is a kind of sacred space, so it isn’t
like being naked in a room full of people, there is
more of a reverent feel. There’s a mutual respect
for the process, like magic is being created with the
flow of energy and inspiration. I’ve been a full-time
freelance life model for seven years now, and I work
a lot with Jake (Spicer) at Draw Brighton. Next
month we’ll be putting on The Drawing Circus, a
theatrical life-drawing event, at the Pavilion. There
will be a group of models, dressing up and telling
a story through different poses. It’s a spectacle,
something between modelling and theatre.
What skills do you need to be a life model? An
interest in art is key. Some people get into it because
they’re just really interested in the body and what
it can do, how it looks in different poses. You have
to be very aware of your own physicality and have a
real fascination with your body and how it expresses
itself. It’s important to be able to work with artists
to create whatever they need for their drawing.
Is there much interaction between you and the
artists? Some groups do really like to talk to the
model. They’ll let me know what they need for a
specific drawing and I’m always open to requests.
Sometimes if you’re working with a college group,
for example, students might be a bit more shy. It’s
nice when people are eager to show off their work
and it’s exciting for me because you have artists
making really big breakthroughs with what they’re
working on, and getting really into it.
Does holding the poses become easier over
time? It really helps if you do some physical
activity. I do dance classes in between modelling,
and a lot of models do yoga - it really helps with
the variety of poses you can manage. You definitely
need to keep your muscle strength up. Also, once
you’ve been in a pose for a long time, it’s important
to be able to stretch out, otherwise you can get an
injury, especially if you’ve been in a strenuous pose.
Do you enjoy seeing the artists’ work
afterwards? Their drawings are always interesting
because everyone is on their own personal journey
of developing their skills. Even the really naïve
drawings are so sweet and special. I always think
of the work not as a person’s drawing of me, but
as an expression of that person and where they are
on their journey of learning to draw. And it gives
the model a rewarding view of themselves; you
see another person’s view of you, and it’s always
different from how you see yourself in the mirror.
Rebecca Cunningham
The Drawing Circus is on 28th March.
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