And sometimes our modeling sessions are planned.
Allie and Roxy have both been with me since the beginning. They’re both very different models.
The funny thing is, neither of them started off as models. It just happened that way.
I’m in fact the only person they model for. We’re friends that turned into models.
Both love modeling
Despite what some people tell you, women love to feel beautiful. It’s a great feeling. Just like a man likes to feel manly. If he’s not strong, there are other ways to be manly. Like building a successful business for instance. Or writing the Great American Novel. What could be manlier than writing a novel under the influence of copious amounts of Scotch and tobacco that generations later still gets assigned in college?
There are moments when we’re in a zone. Where the modeling sessions turn out perfect. Where I can get three or four worthy paintings from one session.
It’s a great feeling indeed. We both know it. We both can feel it. It would be the equivalent of when a band executes a song in the studio and they know that that’s the one.
Allie warmed up to modeling faster. When Roxy did, she really did. But she didn’t warm up as fast as Allie did.
Almost all my paintings though are of Allie because Roxy’s hard to get a hold of. I don’t take it personally. That’s just how she is. If you knew her personally, you’ll understand.
Allie’s very dependable. And predictable. She’d probably make a kick ass accountant.
Sometimes I have an inspiration
Sometimes before the modeling session, I’ll have an idea where we want to go. Like the upcoming one with Allie, we already planned witches. She’ll have evil faces and evil gestures prepared.
I’ve got my evil witches and their evil familiars series started already. I just finished the second painting. But I need two more.
The imp was the easiest one to do. So many ways to draw an imp. For this one, the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz were my inspiration. I remember seeing those as a kid and they scared the hell out of me.
What a thing to be scared of! Evil flying monkeys? Yeah, they scared me big time.
For the second painting, I did the evil witch and her nightmare familiar. I painted her with red hair. She looks more creepy than beautiful, which is great! It’s good to mix things up. I’ve done straight beautiful for too long.
Quick background – the evil witch with a nightmare familiar is the worst in combat. They attack you in your dreams. Not directly.
Special moments
The very last time I saw Roxy, she was really getting into her poses. I got some spectacular sketches from that session that I’ll turn into paintings later.
It was a special moment. There I was with pencil in hand and she was in front of me, fully nude except for her jewelry. Roxy loves her jewelry.
It felt so right. Every pose she did looked cute.
She has a huge smile with each one. She may have even laughed a little.
It’s hard to get Roxy to laugh. It’s hard enough to get her to smile. Roxy’s a totally different kind of girl. More serious, straight up.
When I said Allie would be a good accountant, I didn’t mean the boring ass accountant stereotype who never leaves the house and just crunches numbers. I’m talking more about responsibility, dependability, and memory, who will every once in awhile let loose big time. Allie has all in boatloads.
Roxy though is so different. There’s a sadness to her, which I secretly find intriguing. I hope she’s not reading this and mad at me. But I promised I’d never use her full name anyways. It’s not like there’s only one Roxy in America who’s a brunette with long hair and a killer body.
I do miss that girl big time. She sent me a text last week that she misses me. But no word when we’re going to get together next.
That’s her to a T. Uncertainty ought to be her middle name.
That may be why I treasure time with her so much. I see her so rarely.
I don’t show my sketches
My sketchbook is mostly notes. I never learned to shade correctly. My shading almost looks childish.
When I actually paint, I keep the sketch by my side when I’m painting so I can see where to put the shadowing. I also note where and how the muscles move. And where I can see traces of bones and tendons through the skin.
My painting is better than my sketching. My outlines however look pretty good. I’ll share those. But you don’t get to see my shading techniques until they’re translated into paint.
