The Artist and Her Muse

The Artist and Her Muse, 2012, 12" x 17", charcoal on primed canvas sheet.

This charcoal drawing has been re-named to what I really drew it for. The Medusa is the dreamy poet's muse. I wrote a poem about this half a dozen years ago. It is in my manuscript, which I'm currently shopping around.

At first, I thought the image was too sexual, but then I gave the artist breasts, in a manner of speaking, and so I allow the sexualization of these creative women. Write with your 'white ink,' says Cixous in The Laugh of the Medusa.

Do read this essay if you haven't already. Found on-line, just to give you a taste of her text:

In "The Laugh of the Medusa" [1975] Cixous discusses how women have been repressed through their bodies all through history. She suggests that if women are forced to remain in their bodies as a result of male repression than they can do one of two things. The first option is to remain trapped inside their body, thereby perpetuating the passivity women have been apart of throughout history. The second option is to use the female body as a medium of communication, a tool through which women can speak. This is ironic given the body, the very thing women have been defined by and trapped within, can now become a vehicle in transending the boundries once created by the body.

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with thanks to The Madame - this charcoal sketch was based on one of her photographs of the Gorgon session at The Keyhole.

Figment, or what is departing?

Figment, or what is departing?, 2012, 20.5" x 16", mixed media on 90lb archival paper.

For me, I see strange and unintentional resonance of the woman with one of the earliest cave paintings, the Shaman of Trois Frères (scroll down a bit). She is half elk, a shaman, and he is a primal man who may transform on the full moon, an adept of the great goddess. Does the strength of moonlight compose him? There's something Fellini-like about them. As if from a dream. Or a poetic metaphor. The animal soul and its poetry of desire.

Her dress is made of red ink.

[One figure is from the OCAD figure drawing sessions; the other is a rendition from the Keyhole session. Together they make another story.]

         

Sloth at the Keyhole

From the Madame: "The Keyhole Sessions: the raciest arts community you'll ever experience."

The Keyhole Sessions are life-drawing with edge. With a hunger for the erotic, our community of artists gather for a few hours of debaucherous drawing on the second Tuesday of every month.

Hosted by The Madame, TKS is not for the faint of heart: our models come with attitude. Trussed up in rope and restraints, they’re here to have as much fun as the artists.

Most sessions will see our models exquisitely wrapped in shibari-inspired rope bondage. Keyhole Sessions Head Rigger, JP Robichaud, displays his talents by binding our models in sensual rope to add that extra flair to your drawings. For those unfamiliar with this art, look it up and then come to our class to witness this beautiful craft up close.

Divided into 3 Acts, you’ll see multiple models in varying degrees of undress and restraints, all to a soundtrack of some pretty sweet beats.

There are chairs for 60, and the women-only models obviously appeal to men, who are the majority, and, though I was quite scared to go, I am happy to report that there was a good sprinkling of women artists too. :)

These drawings and paintings were done at the Keyhole last night. It may be a raunchy life-drawing venue, but those beautiful women and erotic poses are a lot of work to draw! As art, I'm thinking of Toulous-Lautrec. The lifestyle alluded to in the props and poses is a bit out of my range - I've never had a Mowhawk or ever tried a hookah or been tied up, and aren't thinking to either. :))) I am drawn to the exploration of the body through unique poses and models. I had to explain to my 25 year old son where I was going to draw and what I'd likely come back with, and not to worry about what might appear on the walls of my apartment! I wasn't... falling into Sloth (they're doing the 7 Deadlies, and last night was sloth).

It was a huge amount of work drawing the models last night - they start out with one model and 3 minute poses, then move onto two models with longer poses, and finish the evening with a 45 minute three model configuration. I like how my little series began, but trying to finish them so I can get back to what I was working on before the session has been exhausting, along with quite a bit of stress in my life, and perhaps it shows in the final painting, which I feel is the most worked and the least successful. Or is it my tired eyes?

Three, On The Edge, 2012, 20" x 16", mixed media, 90lb archival paper.

And Then, 2012, 20" x 16", mixed media, 90lb archival paper.

Better Left Unsaid, 2012, graphite on 90lb archival paper, image digitally finished.

This sketch is on the back of Three, On The Edge and which is now hanging on the wall. Better Left Unsaid is in light pencil, and I coloured it digitally.

Shadow, 2012, 20" x 16", mixed media, 90lb archival paper. (This is the dusting of charcoal on the back of the sheet facing the first drawing. It is the shadow of the figure on the right, and I quite like it.)

Take It Easy, 2012, 20" x 16", mixed media, 90lb archival paper.

Women Models, sketch, 2012, 14" x 14", graphite, 90lb archival paper.

A Tangle, sketch, 2012, 17.5" x 15.5", mixed media, 90lb archival paper.

A Tangle, 2012, 17.5" x 15.5", mixed media, 90lb archival paper.

Drawing at the Keyhole in April 2012. 

Photo by Susie Caboose. (I was working on And Then.)