The life class might soon be a dead class - shall we keep it alive?

I’ve been quite excited about the 2 hour portrait and long pose tutored life sessions I’ve been running at the lovely Royal Queensland Art Society studios at Petrie Terrace, Brisbane.

After a 25 minute drawing demo that changes each week and relates to the portrait or life session we are doing, we set up the pose - you can watch how I approach things if you wish, or get into your own drawing from the start. I offer a round of feedback midway through, if you want it. There’s music, herbal teas, chocolate biscuits and now often wine!

Book at: https://scottbreton.square.site/product/draw-with-scott-casual-weekly-drawing-lesson-portrait-one-week-figure-long-pose-the-next/27?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=4

Recent demo drawing from one of these classes

 

Plus, This is the cheapest tutored life session you will find in Brisbane.

See many of the demos for free here: https://scottbreton.art/dws

 

These sessions offer regularity, flexibility and I deliver a lot of the same content as the Form, Gesture, Anatomy course but in a novel and evolving format that ties it all closer to my own practise.

 

In short, I think they are probably some of the most effective and high value lessons I’ve ever offered.

 

One of my recent session drawings

However they are dying. In July I made about $25AUD per hour running these sessions. Far less than what the venue or the model makes. But still workable. In August, I made about $3AUD per hour. Not really sustainable… and pretty discouraging.

 

Free and quick ways to help us keep these sessions alive:

  1. Leave me some stars! as quick as an Uber review https://g.page/r/CaC8yMD_pT2QEBM/review

  2. Tell a friend - it is hard to reach people with the noise of the internet. If you have found my classes useful, please share this with someone interested in traditional art skills.

  3. Follow my new tuition oriented Instagram page - I’ll be adding new content regularly such as short reels and my drawings https://www.instagram.com/fromstructuretosoul/

 

For those of you online, I’m videoing the demo part and sharing my drawings. For those with access to the Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course, I’ll be continuing to include absolutely all demo videos in the resources section. https://scottbreton.art/fga#res

 

I don’t usually ask for help, but I really think it would be sad if these sessions died.

To the regulars: I deeply appreciate your support and your community, and your ongoing focussed energy in this difficult art. It’s great to see you learning and developing your fluidity and drawing beside you.

To anyone thinking about attending: Jump in now, September might be the last chance to attend a “Draw with Scott” session!

Book at: https://scottbreton.square.site/product/draw-with-scott-casual-weekly-drawing-lesson-portrait-one-week-figure-long-pose-the-next/27?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=4

Mysteries of the nose video, September life class enrolments now open!

Mysteries of the nose! Here is a recent set of highlights from one of the demos at my “Draw with Scott” sessions focussed on the planes of the nose and surrounding facial bones and tissues:

I’ve been continuing to upload videos from my biweekly demos, available free at https://scottbreton.art/dws

I’ll continue to share bite-size one or two minute videos with you.

Going forward I’m going to be adding any new videos I shoot in classes to the Form, Gesture, Anatomy online book resources section: https://scottbreton.art/fga#res

Upcoming demos will broadly follow the logical sequence of this course structure, so everything is in one place for those serious about learning artistic anatomy integrated with drawing and composing with the figure.

Here’s some of my recent 1.5 hour drawings from these sessions in which I draw beside you after the demo:


Free videos - accelerate your drawing with internalising head and figure structures

I have begun uploading videos of the anatomy demos from my portrait/figure life sessions.

I am offering structures and ways to build the figure that, if internalised, will radically help your obsvervational drawing.

Observational drawing cultivates memory/imagination, drawing from memory/imagination primes observational drawing

Watch free (just login in to your free or FGA account):

www.scottbreton.art/DWS

Short summary version of the last video here:

https://youtu.be/4hs-1p5SXXg

Due to popular demand, the sessions that these videos are from are now available twice most weeks:

Sunday 5-7:30pm

Tuesday 7-9:30pm

Hosted at Royal Queensland Art Society, Petrie Terrace, Brisbane

2 hour portait one week, 2 hour figure pose the next week

Bookings essential!

There is still a few places for Sunday 13th and 20th July coming up!

Torso page in the FGA course keeps expanding!

For those with access to the FGA course, I have to continued to develop the torso page www.scottbreton.art/torso

This is a super useful resource for memorising structures of the figure and cultivating your capacity to construct from imagination.

This includes 3D renderings, photo reference from the life model, and examples from art history for each of the key “primary” poses of the torso - neutral, bend, twist, isolate, as well as some of the “secondary” poses that combine primary poses.

Draw with Scott sessions - a couple of places remain for July sessions, Sundays starting soon

From the anatomy explainer in the first half hour, prior to the model starting the pose.

I still have a couple of places in some of the July "Draw with Scott" sessions on Tuesdays 7-7:30 at Royal Queensland Art Society (Brisbane Branch) Inc. Petrie Terrace, Brisbane.

These sessions alternate a portrait and a long figure session.

The first half hour is a "chalk and talk" anatomy demo about either the head/facial anatomy or other parts of the figure (depending on whether it is a portrait or figure that week. You can take notes/copy the diagrams and generally see my approach to the figure combining construction and flow.

The next hour the model takes the pose, we all draw, you can come over and watch what I am doing if you wish.

After the half time break, I offer one round of feedback on your drawing if you want it, though I'm completely happy to leave you alone too!

Then I will return to my drawing until the end of the session.

Due to popular demand, I am trialling a Sunday afternoon session 5-7:30pm, with the same format and the same alternation of portrait and figure poses.

Bookings essential, go to:

https://scottbreton.square.site/product/draw-with-scott-casual-weekly-drawing-lesson-portrait-one-week-figure-long-pose-the-next/27?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=4

or simply www.brisbanedraw.com

My sketches from recent sessions - pastel and pastel pencil

 

Shots from the anatomy explainer in the first 30mins:

 

“Persophone in Green” Jennifer Allnutt

In other news, my partner and fellow painter Jennifer Allnutt has a beautiful new painting showing at Quirky Fox’s new group show “Daughters of Eve”, view the work here

Jennifer Allnutt's new solo show closes soon!

My partner and fellow painter Jennifer Allnutt has a wonderful new collection at Lethbridge Gallery in Brisbane, Australia

Titled “Florescence”, a botanical term refering to flowering, this is a gorgeous and surreal series about delicate and profuse beauty combined with the disquieting potential for suffocating overgrowth.

Closes the 24th June, so just over a week to go but keep in mind the gallery is not open on Sundays and Mondays…

See the collection here, there are just a few pieces still available:

https://lethbridgegallery.com/exhibition/259

Showing beside Jennifer’s show is a collection of beautiful and quietly symbolic drawings from Summer Aldis, titled “Old Soul”: https://lethbridgegallery.com/exhibition/258

So don’t miss these two amazing shows!

 

New casual LONG POSE life class!

For those in Brisbane I am starting a casual LONG POSE life class on the 27th May at RQAS Petrie Tce. 

Unlike my FGA Anatomy course and Figurative Composition course which are a multi-session commitment, these session will be casual.

I will do a 30 min artistic anatomy and/or drawing process demo, followed by a 2 hour sustained pose from the model: portrait one week and then figure pose the next.  

I will give one round of feedback, if desired, at about the midpoint.

Otherwise I will be doing my own drawing - you can watch me draw and/or do your own drawing as you prefer.

Just book in to make sure you get a spot - you can book in for specific date, or a block of 4 dates (with a 10% discount on the 4  session option). (Or take your chances and pay on the night.)

Art as an act of defiance

In a world that increasingly demands utility, certainty, and measurable outcomes, the artist chooses another path—one of curiosity, beauty, and unreasonable perseverance. This is a letter to those artists, and perhaps an invitation.

Defying Gravity: what is gravity?

Over the years, I’ve had many dreams about flying. They’ve varied—sometimes I swoop through the air, curling my fingers like ailerons to lift myself again. Sometimes I quietly levitate, drifting out a second-story window, along the side of a building, and back in another window. And sometimes, I fail—crashing to the ground or never leaving it at all.

But always, there’s the same sensation: a chosen refusal to acknowledge gravity. A willing of myself into the air.

I’ve come to think that doing art is something like that.

Work at various stages of development in my studio today

The worth of Levitation

We make art against the backdrop of life’s inevitable tragedies, the turbulence of our times—geopolitical, economic, technological—and the personal anxiety that attends every act of creation.

And yet, artists listen to whispers of vision. We act on them. We make the unreasonable choice to create, momentarily ignoring the very reasonable pressures that surround us.

In doing so, we commune with neglected parts of ourselves—and we offer communion to those who encounter our work. We cultivate a capacity for unreasonableness, and more importantly, the courage to act on it: to devote time, effort, and limited resources to hunches and intuition.

Where the intellect sees the world in utilitarian terms—what can I gain, what risk can I avoid?—the imagination sees beauty, mystery, and people as ends in themselves. It lets us love without agenda, and create without guarantee.

Various work in progress currently

The neuroscience of new roads

This isn’t a call to reject reason, but to rebalance it. Many thinkers throughout history have made this point; I find Iain McGilchrist’s formulation in The Master and His Emissary especially compelling.

While early pop-science oversimplified “left vs. right brain” thinking, McGilchrist makes a nuanced, neuroscientific case: both hemispheres are active in most processes, but they perceive and prioritize differently.

The left hemisphere gives us structure—sequential logic, language, categorization. It seeks certainty, order, control. It wants to know: What is this for? How does this benefit me?

The right hemisphere, on the other hand, is curious, integrative. It perceives the whole. It allows metaphor, empathy, imagination. It sees beauty, potential, and the self in others. It invites us to step into the unknown—not to escape practicality, but to infuse it with meaning.

The goal isn’t dominance, but integration—with the right hemisphere leading (“the master”), and the left supporting (“his emissary”). Not a world gripped only in a hegemony of brittle and ultimately nihilistic utility, but one guided by new insight and a depth of meaningful integration.

Studies, works in progress, plaster casts and 3D prints of great works

Gravity and Levitation, Void and Light

“Falling Upwards” Graphite 2022

The gravity I resisted in my dreams might well have been the closed, self-protective vision of the left hemisphere—and of a world dominated by status games, power, and measurable returns.

Is this why we love fantasy? Why The Lord of the Rings still feels alive? These worlds affirm the validity of imagination to generate inspiring, archetypal meaning from a sequences of gradually implemented quiet hunches

Without this broader vision, utility becomes nihilism. We see it in despair, in addiction, in lives of resignation.

But the poetic impulse says: Throw your light into the void, though it seems impossible. In doing so, you redeem life.

Levitation begins when we suspend disbelief—when we forget gravity long enough to rise into the space of possibilities.

Where the rubber meets the road

Sketches and references, compositional ideas

Daily I am convincing myself to be unreasonable—to seek beauty and that elusive meaning. To indulge my fascination with anatomy, light, compositional design - to assert the validity of the eye’s sensuality. To persevere with a project even when it feels like a lost cause, a disaster. I tell myself that even if this effort fails, it will lead somewhere—toward coherence, toward the next whisper. But often this suspension of disbelief, this pulling up by my bootstraps, is enough to generate something good. The disaster is redeemed.

Much of my artwork wrestles with this very tension: the pull between vital creative expansion, and the retraction of fear and despair.

This process isn’t easy. But it gets easier. Over time, we build faith in our ability to navigate uncertainty. And if we fall, we fall back on practice—for example on figure drawing, portrait study—something solid and familiar to restore confidence. So that we can once again venture out into more uncertain territory, more complex compositions.

There’s a kind of gentle bloody-mindedness required. A siege mentality. You carve out space for your vision, even if the world (or your closest companions) doesn’t understand. But once you’ve made something true to your vision—they might just come around.

 

The new punks

For those of us working in traditional or classical styles, it can feel lonely. The art we love is rarely represented in major institutions (except as historical retrospectives). Often, the very qualities we value—craft, plasticity of form, human emotion—are dismissed or ignored.

As Nietzsche said, “One is punished most for one’s virtues.”

But perhaps this outsider status is a gift. We are the new punks. The high art world doesn’t know what to do with us. We fly under the radar. We build parallel worlds.

Heroes, Comrades, Mentors

And yet, there are days when levitation feels impossible. When the vision fades and the creative fire burns low. The overflowing of lifeforce to throw into the void is simply not there.

These are some things that help me:

  • Turn to your artistic heroes. Watch a documentary. Read their letters. Witness how unreasonable vision defined a life.

    Here are some of my favourites:

    • The Hunt of Odd Nerdrum explores decades of a powerful, eccentric vision: link

    • Simon Schama’s Power of Art dramatizes the darkness and redemption through their practise of eight artists: link

    • I also interviewed one of my own mentors, Nicola Verlato—a rare blend of intensity and craft: watch here

  • Meet with peers. I do this monthly with a small group of colleagues. We share work, challenges, progress. Most importantly, we remind each other that it is reasonable to walk this unreasonable path.

  • Get honest feedback from someone whose work you respect. Choose mentors by portfolio and communication clarity, not personality cults.

If this resonates…

If any of this speaks to you—if you’re feeling stuck, or unsure, or need guidance—I offer a few ways to work together. You’re welcome to reach out via the contact form and I can give you advice on what might suit your challenges/aims.

1:1 Tuition

Styled like a music lesson with focussed attention, this is ideal for technical focus (e.g., figure drawing, color mixing).

  • $75 AUD/hour (approx $50 USD)

  • Duo: $50 AUD/hour each

  • Trio: $42 AUD/hour each

Small Group Mentoring (Online)

Monthly 2-hour group, feedback and digital paint-overs.

  • $33 USD/month (approx $50 AUD)

  • Fridays 7am Brisbane (Thurs in Europe/Americas)

  • Group is near capacity—contact me if interested in a second group

Small Group Mentoring (In-Person)

Once a month in Brisbane.

  • $50 AUD (approx $33 USD)

Draw/Paint with Me

Weekly evening sessions starting soon at the Royal Queensland Art Society (Petrie Terrace). Model long poses alternating figure and portrait study, one round of feedback, Q&A.

  • $50 AUD per session – contact me to join the waitlist

Workshops & Course Materials

Annual in-person workshops (Brisbane area). Extensive course notes available online for online study:

Workshop in life drawing for the School of Architecture, University of Queensland

In conclusion

Whether or not we work together, I hope this has offered something—a sense of companionship, or encouragement, or a small light in the dark.

Every time you throw your lifeforce into the void, despite everything, you redeem something—not only for yourself in that moment, but perhaps, quietly, gradually, for the world.

Google reviews from my students:

“Scott is an exceptional artist and teacher. His courses walk you through techniques and concepts that propel your painting, drawing and life drawing to next level again and again. I’ve attending his course multiple times and still learn more. The online materials are an excellent resource and reference additional to the in person learning. The activities focus on developing many important foundational skills (that are often forgotten or not taught in contemporary art courses) and lend themselves to enrich all kinds of contemporary and classical image making. This is combined with an approach to developing your own conceptual interests in image making. As a teacher he is warm and generous and offers clear, insightful guidance to improve your work. Very highly recommend!” -Saara

“Fantastic course- the best i have come across for life drawing.. I really enjoyed it. Scott has structured the sessions really well, with excellent supporting notes and lots of guided practice in class. I will definitely be doing the class again later in the year. Thanks Scott. 😍” - Sangeeta

“Scott's Figurative Composition course is brilliant. Scott is an excellent teacher with a wealth of knowledge, skills and expertise that he has internalised and shares generously and encouragingly with all his students. His online notes are extensive, well developed and thought through and his constructive criticisms invaluable. I have learned so much through Scott and am eternally grateful. I would recommend his classes in figurative composition and life drawing to anyone.” - David

“Scott Breton has put a huge amount of effort and knowledge into his figurative composition courses. Online access to his historical research, colour theory, compositional techniques are all provided as part of this course. I admittedly had to come to grips with a lot of new terms but that is because I find art theory challenging. It was intense at times but the full afternoons with long pose models was fabulous. I now have guidelines for future study, practical direction and a new way of looking at line and colour harmony. Great teacher, quality program and fabulous models. Wonderful course that I will continue to reference over time.
Note: I probably wouldn’t recommend this specific course for a beginner as a base knowledge of the fundamentals is a benefit. However, Scott goes out of his way to direct anyone floundering.” -Robyn

“Scott is a really talented artist and excellent teacher. I feel lucky to have been able to do some classes with him, I learned a lot.” - Mikhala

“Scott is a fantastic teacher. Understands the figure deeply and carefully walks his students through each step in their figure drawing journey. Is able to engage with students at all levels. I learnt so much from his classical life drawing course and would highly recommend him to anyone looking to further their figure drawing skills. So much gratitude :)” - Abbie

New installation art piece, and my next in-person course FGA course

Perspective(s) Installation

I was excited to put my installation piece Perspective(s) at Brisbane Grammar School’s new STEAM centre (STEM + Art) at the end of last year. Watch some walk through videos and find out about the process and content here https://scottbreton.art/pers

This piece is currently not available to the public, but I will be finding a public location to have in on display following its time at the school.

Next in-person FGA Course

For those of you in the vicinity of Brisbane, my next Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course starts on the 1st of February, hosted this time at Shore Studio in Cleveland. Enrol here


Black Friday sale on calendars! 20% off

Grab a calendar for just $24AUD / $16 USD!

(plus shipping: $7 Australia, $10 international)

Until the end of November


The new 2025 calendars have arrived!

The new 2025 calendars have arrived!

A4 size, high quality printing.

I personally have always loved collecting artist calendars - it’s a great way to acquire some high quality prints, and have your eye refreshed each month with new images.

It is also a way to show your support for our work, and something we both deeply appreciate!

We are both very please with how these ones came out!

Great for gifts or collect for yourself!

 

My next in-person Form, Gesture Anatomy Course (simplified anatomy course integrated with life drawing from the model) will be held at Shore Studios in early Feb 2026 - enrol here.

Painting the portrait with Jennifer Allnutt this weekend!

This weekend, my partner the brilliant painter Jennifer Allnutt will be teaching her methods as well as universal principles of painting the portrait at Bienarté in Brisbane.

Enrolment page

Jenny won the highly competitive Lethbridge Gallery 20,000 Small Works competition earlier this year with her symbolic self portrait “A Pagan’s Prayer to the Muses”. This painting was also a finalist in the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine prize.

Jennifer Allnutt A Pagan’s Prayer to the Muses Oil on panel 30x23cm

Jenny has an exceptionally delicate and rich handling of oil paint that digital images simply cannot capture. But you can see in these pictures the subtle use of impasto as well as transparency, the equisite use of colour, and the clear love of the forms of the human face.

Jennifer Allnutt La Belle Oil on ACM panel 12.5 x 18 cm

It is often the case that a photo does not capture what it is like to see the painting, and that is very much the case here - layers and delicate corrections and intuitive developments go into making Jenny’s paintings exceptional, jewel like small works, dense with meaning and beauty.

Jennifer Allnutt Relique Oil on panel 25x25cm

Jenny will be discussing important points about the structure of the skull and face, colour and light and painting process. She is an insightful and gentle teacher too, and will be guiding students through a portrait painting to apply this knowledge.

There is still a couple of spots available for Jenny’s workshop so if you’re in Brisbane and free this weekend, come along

Enrolment page

You can see more of her work and connect with Jenny on her Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/jennyallnuttart/

Shaping Meaning: at the core of the plastic arts

When talking to artist friends I find we always end up talking about one thing: creative process. I think this is because the core of our work is a weaving together of competing elements, an arrangement of interelated and delicate but thorny qualities.

The work of the artist is to get to know those elements, and to develop intuition for orchestrating them such that meaning results. Each time is an arduous, non-linear sequence of problems solved.

“Sleepwaters” Oil on linen, 61x122cm

Like a director, we have to consider not only our protagonists, setting and props, and our implied narrative, but also our viewpoint and lighting. And then as painters and sculptors we must consider our handling of the media and design principles which captures so much of our own feelings about the subject.

What tools can we use to bring these various aspects into harmony?

Traditionally sketches from the model or imagination, model making, drawn or colour thumbnails help to clarify ideas and retain this clarity rather than being lost in the weeds of making the painting.

"Black Candle (Between Courage and Despair)" Graphite on paper, 60x42cm

This non-linear, rough to refined process can be a rather awkard puzzle to solve - but a satisfying one as the elements start to come together.

It can be surprising how useful inititial sketches can be during the development of paintings to keep things on track… or to discover solutions

Work in progress "Perspectives"

I have been gradually adding to a large, free resource available here that clarifies my ideas about composition.

The tools and principles apply to any subject matter you might wish to approach and help to clarify how different compositions do their work on us.

 

For those in Brisbane, I am delivering this content with a range of exercises to help artists clarify their own direction, and use some of the tried and proven tools and skills that I use myself.

Find out more and enrol here

https://square.link/u/iC5ZNNNo

Two places remaining!



 

Also for those in Brisbane, I will be doing an artist talk at my current landscape painting show at Lethbridge Gallery on Thursday the 3rd of October from 6pm. I’ll be discussing the work and my approach with gallery owner Brett Lethbridge and will be availble for questions.

I will also be doin some demonstrations of compositional process drawing live in the gallery. Get you ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/artist-talk-with-scott-breton/tickets

My new show opens at Lethbridge Gallery on Friday!

My new collection of landscape paintings “Doors Through the Ordinary” opens this Friday the 20th September 2024 at 5:30-7pm.

136 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington, Queensland, Australia

You can register your attendance at the opening here

“Cloudform” Oil on Linen 120x120cm

See the full collection here:

https://www.lethbridgegallery.com/artist/scott--breton/primary

I have included a range of studies with the show which I think can provide an interesting insight into my process and thought.

The gallery has printed a lovely catalogue featuring the main work from this collection that you can pick up there.

“Sunset Moonrise” Oil on ACM 80x80cm

“Stormfront” Oil on Linen 120x120cm

“Two Saplings” Oil on ACM 60x60cm

“Rainlight” Oil on Linen” 90x140cm

There will be a ticketed artist talk on the 3rd of October from 6pm

https://events.humanitix.com/artist-talk-with-scott-breton

Show runs from the 20th September to the 15th of October 2024

I will be around the Gallery to chat on the 21st September and the 12th of October. Come and say hi.

A month until my next composition course starts!

The Fundamentals of Figurative Composition aims to give you two main benefits:

  1. A range of skills and understanding related to designing, modelling and executing figurative paintings

  2. A series of guided exercises that will help you narrow in on the approach most exciting to you - saving you time and allowing you to learn from masters more similar to your aims

This in-person course starts on the 5th of October 2024, held at the Petrie Terrace studios of the Royal Queensland Art Society

There are 5 core sessions over 5 saturdays, plus 2 extension sessions for additional studies and work from the artists model to let you apply what you have learned.

Each session has a morning of theory, excercises and/or scene building, while the afternoon is working from the model over a long pose suitable for a particular approach to figurative art.

“Sleepwaters” 2024 Oil on linen. During the course I will go through the proces from start to finish for making my paintings. Sketches, studies, 3D software, painting process.

 

Suitable for beginner painters looking for a way forward or experienced artists wishing to clarify their process and solve particular problems.

 
 
 
 
 

New Mentoring Group for those in Australian timezones!

Due to several requests from fellow Australians, I am establishing a monthly mentorship group at 6-8pm AEST Thursday evening.

Our first session will be tomorrow evening the 15th August 2024!

This will run the same as the existing group with everyone having the chance to go through what they have been doing for the month, then getting technical feedback and paintovers if desired.

The aim is to help you gain clarity have some support from myself and the group as you wrestle with the difficulties of pursuing artwork.

If this sounds interesting to you, please see here for more info and to apply.

One place available for my online group mentoring this Friday!

Once a month I meet with a handful of artists who I mentor via group video call. We discuss their work from the last month and plan out some goals for the next.

I do paintovers using photoshop to give clear feedback about technical aspects of compositions and sketches, and help each artist clarify the direction they want to go.

It is a very kind and supportive group of artists, and we often touch on topics such as interesting and useful books, as well as the emotional ups and downs of the creative path.

I write out the plans we arrived at in our group chat for each person after the session so that everyone goes away from the session with clarity, and can refer back.

So the session is both practical as well as supportive.

We currently have one spot available, next session is at

8pm Thursday 15th August UTC

Use this link to calculate your local time:

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20240815T2000

the cost is $33USD per month

Find out more and apply here.

(I assess applicants to ensure they are a good fit for the group)

Don't make my biggest mistake...

Perhaps it is part of creativity that I have always doubted authority.  I have always asked: what if the orthodoxy is mistaken in some way?  what if my inexperienced vision could actually see something valuable even though it is new?  For all the fear, doubt and hardship, perhaps the redeeming aspect of being an artist has been the joy of going my own way as I explored something I love.

Geometry of Thirst

Graphite on paper, 55 x 75cm 2020

 

The Abyss Stares Back

Oil on linen, 2022

And this has had its benefits.   I’ve trusted my eye in terms of seeking teachers - the only qualification I have required is how well a person can do a thing (judged by my own perception not academic qualifications or status) and how well they can teach it to me.  Even when it is hard, I've taken criticism seriously and looked into it.  I’ve leaned into the discomfort of learning skills to correct my weaknesses as I became aware of them.  I have sought to follow my authentic vision - to struggle towards connecting skills, ideas and imagery in ways that might not make sense to others until the thing is done and then they say: “oh now I get what you were doing!”. 

 

HOWEVER, this same sense of independence has caused me to not ask for help in a broader sense: to not seek a guide or support to help keep me on track while I fumbled in the darkness of my path.  It is very challenging to try to balance the training, the visual ideas, and the unrelenting practicalities of living the artist’s life.  

I often feel like a spider who has shot threads in multiple directions and is now trying to reel them in and weave them into a workable web  (while my hands are full and I end up tucking additional threads under each of my 8 armpits and putting the rest between my teeth!).  I have felt overwhelmed, lonely and like giving up more times than I can say. But unlike spiders, humans are not built to work entirely in isolation.

Sand-ripple Reef

Oil on linen, 120x120cm 2023

 

Falling Upwards

Graphite on paper, 75 x 55cm,

As social animals, human thought can be clarified by discussion, by constructive debate and the attempt to articulate complexity to share it with another.   I now wish that I had put more effort into cultivating a group or finding a mentor to help me to do several things:

  1. Set goals and priorities within my overarching aim, and stay on track going foward

  2. Gain insight from perspectives that are different from my own, allowing me to benefit from their differing experience and skillsets

  3. Sustain my confidence when I am overwhelmed and disheartened

  4. Feel less lonely on this difficult road

 

Models for support groups/mentors

There are different models for this that perhaps suit individuals based on personality.  Here are some key options:

A group of peers:

Psyche

Graphite on paper, 75 x 55cm 2020

Early 20th century business coach Napoleon Hill said, “No mind is complete by itself. It needs contact and association with other minds to grow and expand".  He advocated carefully selecting a group of peers who can reflect together and help each other to pursue their goals.  Make sure that the people you select have goals that are sympathetic to your own even if quite different to your own. For example, a dancer and a figurative painter could benefit from each other’s respective disciplines, particularly if they share a similar spirit.  Also make sure that your peers are not toxic in some way - the people you have around you should expand your feeling of clarity, imagination and possibility rather than closing it down, and having you feel defensive, cautious or overwhelmed. Watch out for these feelings as they are alarm bells.

 

Sketches and process images for The Abyss Stares Back 2022

An experienced mentor:

A master in your field can help you cut through the noise to the essentials that really matter, to the skills you need to drill in order to move forward.  They can efficiently help you solve the challenges they have already faced.  However, a master can also be biased towards their own conclusions so you need to make sure you are being assisted rather than indoctrinated.  Select a master of the craft who can see beyond their own artistic direction to the larger context in which their own work sits, the larger context into which yours can ultimately sit.

 

Thrown-ness

Graphite on paper, 75 x 55cm, 2020

A wise person external to your field:

Wisdom is perhaps distinguished from intelligence by its focus on clarifying values rather than merely achieving goals.  I think that a wise counsellor who cares about you can aid you simply by asking the right questions to drill into what you really want to achieve.   Be careful that this person is not biased by their own fears and habits, that they are able to see things from your perspective rather than projecting their own values (eg security or status above artistic integrity).  While they should challenge you, this should be with the intention of empowering you not making themselves feel superior.

Whichever way you go, a support group or guide will ideally leave you feeling clarity towards the next step, and feeling at least a little bit more optimistic and energised.  At the very least you should feel like this person/group is on your side even if they don't fully understand your vision.   If you don't feel this, I suggest you look elsewhere, or change the structure of the process - perhaps setting timing and conversation topics more deliberately.

 

Options for mentoring with me:

If you resonate with the spirit of what I am saying above, there are a few ways to access mentoring with me that can suit a range of budgets:

In person classes:

Process for Threads

Oil on linen, 60x60cm, 2022

If you are in Brisbane, my next "Fundamentals of Figurative Composition" starts on the 5th of October.  This is a great way to explore some of the possibilities for representational art to see what might suit you the best.   From an emphasis on storytelling to psychology and surrealism to insightful observation to the creative use of medium.  We go into the aspects of line, tone and colour design that give you the biggest bang for your buck, as well as practical techniques for modelling an imaginary scene and developing ideas from imagination, as well as working from the life model.

The aim is to expose you to a broad context, drill into the essentials and help you get a plan for your own artistic development going forward.

Full details and enrol here.

 

The Colour of Falling

Oil on linen, 60x60cm, 2021

A cost effective way to have both the guidance of someone with experience in the field plus the support of a group of peers is with a Mastrius group.  This is an online zoom call based platform with lots of benefits.

In my own small group on Mastrius, we look at each person's work from the month, help them set the next set of goals and I give suggestions via paint overs in photoshop or demos.  Currently I am working through colour theory supported by the extensive notes and diagrams I made here.

The next session is this week: Thursday 13th at 3pm MT which is equivalent to Friday 14th at 7am AEST (Brisbane time).

 

Life Drawing (Jaelith)

Pastel on paper, 29 x 21cm, 2022

Introducing individual mentoring

You can book a zoom mentor call with me individually, which costs $50USD per hour or $200USD for a pack of 5 hours.

I can mentor you in a way similar to the group mentoring above - clarifying your direction, doing paint overs and assisting you to solve your creative challenges.

Alternatively, I am able to guide you through my online figure drawing course, or my fundamentals of figurative composition course

Really we can just look at your aims, your availability and budget and I can work around that. To get started, contact me here, give me an idea of what you are looking for and I’ll see if this process is a good fit to assist you.

Website Overhaul: how to access the new pages and content!

The Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course has been recently overhauled with new diagrams and improved content. More to come soon, in particular a deep dive in the building blocks of the pose and its expressive potential! Watch this space!

Renovations!

I have been overhauling and adding to much the teaching content of my website, so hopefully you find things cleaner and simpler to access and understand.

I have also had to move to a new paywall system, which means that if you have not already done so, you will need to join the new system to access both paid and free content.

 

Access your paid content

If you are a paid member of The Form, Gesture Anatomy Course, you should have by now received an email with how to migrate to the new system for free. If this has somehow not found its way to you, please contact me!

 

Free Content

Free members can access the new free content page that consolidates the free content to one place, including the work in progress “A Guide to Figurative Composition” and “The Elements of Classical Figure Drawing” and much more!

 

This summary of the life drawing component of the Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course is a useful point of contact if you’re focussed on the drawing side of the course.

 

The Simplified Écorché Kit

The kit is in stock, available with or without the plasticine clay (to save cost if you prefer to source locally)

A set of 10 modelling tools suitable for clay and polymer clay is now included with the Kit

The Simplified Écorché Kit skeleton armature is designed to work with the Form, Gesture, Anatomy Kit

Want both the FGA Course and the Kit?

GET $20 OFF the cost of the The Simplified Écorché Kit skeleton armature by purchasing the FGA Course first!

1.Sign up to the FGA Course below - choose “One Time Payment” or “Payment Plan” to access discount

2.Click on “Your Account” in the main menu at the top of the page

3.Click on “Simplified Ecorche kit discounted for FGA members” to mail order the kit

(note if you have already purchased the kit, and wish to purchase access to the online FGA Course notes, just contact me with the details you used during purchase and I’ll forward you a discount code for an equivalent amount)

 

Watch a quick video about the way the Kit and Course are designed to work together, and how this is designed to support the figure drawing compenent.

 
 

In-person FGA Course

For those in Brisbane, Australia, the next in-person Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course will begin on the 9th of March 2024. Learn more and enrol here.

If you already own the course notes and/or the kit, please contact me and I’ll give you a 10% discount on the in-person course (since the notes and kit are included in the course)

Be guided through the Form, Gesture Anatomy Course in-person in the classroom. Demos, hands on learning, and plenty of support and feedback. Accelerate your learning!

 

“The Geometry of Thirst” Graphite on paper

from the show “The Shape of the Sky” 2020

 

Happy drawing!

Last chance for 10% off FGA figure drawing course!

Do you want to fast track your skill with drawing the figure?

Working with Simplified Écorché Kit skeleton armature model allows a fun, hands on, 3D approach to learning.

Last chance to get 10% off: Early Bird Special finishes on the 4th December!

My in-person Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course starts March 9th 2024

Enrol here.

Scholarships and secondary/tertiary discounts available

 

Learning anatomy from 2D books only can be confusing…

Find out more about the origin of this course here

How I developed the process and sequence of learning activities.


 

Multiple senses are involved in the process of building the anatomy with my unique and efficient process, available as an in-person course in Brisbane or online

If you’re not in Brisbane, you can get the kit here, and do the course at www.formgestureanatomy.com

How the course works

 

Each of the images above represents one of the lessons.

I have a novel, carefully crafted series of learning exercises for working from the life model to help you apply your anatomy knowledge to drawing the figure. Find out more about the curriculum here.