May 19, 2017
Arts Council figure-drawing sessions bring together local artists to sketch, socialize
Nine artists sat or stood in a loose semicircle around a model in a denim dress, pens and pencils scratching across paper, paint sliding from brush to board, during Wednesday night's weekly figure-drawing session at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri building in downtown Cape Girardeau...
Nine artists sat or stood in a loose semicircle around a model in a denim dress, pens and pencils scratching across paper, paint sliding from brush to board, during Wednesday night's weekly figure-drawing session at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri building in downtown Cape Girardeau.
Group leader Craig Thomas nudged paint onto a square of Masonite, swirling disparate colors of acrylic paint into precise hues on his palette, tilting his head to get a better lead on the light and shadows playing across the model's face.
Thomas said the group hasn't really changed much since he took over in the mid-1990s.
"Nothing's really changed except some of the people," he said.
The group, which is open to the public, started in 1979, he said, when former Southeast Missouri State University professor Grant Lund and some local artists started meeting every other week at the university or in Sikeston, Missouri.
At some point, Thomas said, the group started meeting in downtown Cape Girardeau at the Arts Council building, first at 32 N. Main St. and now at 16 N. Spanish St.
"Keeping in practice is a good thing," Thomas said, adding many artists tend to be introverted, and having a social outlet with like-minded people is helpful.
"It's a great way for all artists to interact," Thomas added.
Soft music rolled out of speakers throughout the room, and Thomas said his Pandora station plays a variety of music to accommodate differing tastes of group members. Anything from Metallica to classical to '60s pop hits is fair game.
"Just no country," Brenda Seyer said.
Next door is On Cue Performing Arts Studio, and often, Thomas said, sound from rehearsals or lessons bleeds through the wall.
"One week, they had tap dancing," Thomas said, laughing. "That was interesting."
The idea behind the group, beyond socializing, is to work on technique and keep in practice.
"The figure is always a good challenge," Thomas said. "It's a classic way to experience art."
Models are either clothed or nude, Thomas said, and are paid $5 from each person in the group regardless of dress.
At 7 p.m., the drawing begins with gesture drawing for 30 minutes. The model's pose changes about every eight minutes, and after a break, the model sits in a succession of formal poses, held for 20 minutes each, for the remainder of the session, which usually ends at about 8:30 p.m.
Thomas said the group has had a variety of models, ranging from a single subject to couples to as many as six, one time.
"They were exchange students," Thomas said. "We had to kind of pick and choose who sat for us that time."
Dylan Alexander said this was his first time attending the group. He sketched the model's face with his mechanical pencil, roughing in lines to add detail later.
"I've been drawing all my life, I think," Alexander said, nodding to his father, Brian Grim, seated next to him, drawing the model from a slightly different perspective.
Grim said he's a recent addition to the group, having attended only once before Wednesday's session.
"I befriended a group member who got me to stop in and try it out," Grim said.
Figure drawing is a different sort of drawing from Grim's usual style. He placed first in Cape Comic Con's 2017 art contest, with an illustration-style depiction of an elven warrior, and he'll design next year's program cover.
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"It's a bit of a departure from my usual style, but it all helps in the long run, right?" Grim said.
Terry Godwin, who joined the group in 1989, said he found out about the weekly meetings from a small sign posted at the old Camelot Music store in West Park Mall.
"I do pen-and-ink drawings normally," he said, but he has done watercolor in the past.
"You can do what you want to here," Godwin added.
Godwin mentioned the artists' cooperative next door, known more formally as the Visual Arts Cooperative. Jean Chapman, a regular member then, started the cooperative about 15 years ago, Godwin said, as a way to showcase local artists' work.
What he likes most about the figure-drawing group is it's a wellspring of ideas.
"I can rough in a sketch, take a picture, finish up a much tighter piece later on," Godwin said.
"This is a very cool group," he added. "It's a formal thing instead of just picking up a sketchbook."
Thomas Shaner, who joined the group in 2005, said he usually prefers graphite but occasionally will use watercolor pencil.
"People are friendly, and we get to talk about movies," Shaner said. "It's very relaxing. Like a therapy session, hanging out with friends and drawing a model."
Shaner said the hardest part for him is capturing the model's hands, but he prefers the lighting in the Arts Council's current location.
As the model moved into her long pose, Seyer started a rough sketch to make sure she had perspective right before honing in on definition.
Seyer, who's been attending the group since the late 1990s, said it's a good place to be.
As to her preferred medium, "charcoal is one of my favorites," Seyer said as she etched in a line suggesting a shoulder, an arm. "I have used conte [crayon] or pencil, even Sharpies, depending on the model, what they're dressed in, the mood."
Seyer, who has taught art in the Cape Girardeau area for several years, said she does this to unwind.
"The world goes away," she said.
Anita Dickerson, who was the art supervisor in the Cape Girardeau public-school system for several years before retiring, said it's much easier to make the sessions regularly now that she has more free time.
"It's nice to have time, good to be with other people," Dickerson said as she blocked out the model's features and posture, readying the piece for more detail.
"I start with charcoal usually, then follow up with pastels, get some color into it," Dickerson said.
"It's like anything else," she added. "You lose your skill if you don't use it."
mniederkorn@semissourian.com
(573) 388-3630
Pertinent address:
16 N. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.
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