Presenting a selection of drawings by Marion Boulter, Barb Brown, Patsy Granberg, Didi Henderson, and Marilyn Unger, who have long standing practices of life drawing in the studio of Parkside Art Gallery, Body Experience: Life Drawing speaks to life drawing as a practice in presence.

While traditionally life drawing is a formal art practice that seeps the humanity from the model, presenting the human form as a living statue, each work in Body Experience represents a moment of exchange between model and artist. The five exhibiting artists use life drawing as a practice of being present in the moment, and creating an artifact of the experience of each model, session, and pose.

The exhibit shows the breadth of these artist’s practice both in life drawing studio session with a still model, and life drawing inquiries outside the studio. In the studio, artists draw one, three, seven, ten, and thirty minute poses. Models bring their own outlook and goals to the session, and create their own poses. When looking for subjects outside the studio, Marion Boulter is drawn to capturing movement, creating life drawing abstractions.

Barb Brown takes her drawing to a band’s practice sessions, where she captures the musicians while they play. In keeping with these improvised subjects, Body Experience shows the quick sketches of the one-to-ten minute studio poses. The drawings from these “warm-up” length poses are rarely shown publicly.

They represent an intimate view into each artists’ unique hand when sketching, and their path from sketch to completed drawing.

“Body Experience” refers to the way “a person experiences and appreciates his or her physical appearance, intactness and competence.” Slatman, 2011.

Life drawing, particularly in a studio session, is a unique opportunity for artists and model. Both are focussed on their body experience, and the body’s involvement in the task. The session is a celebration of unique features, and the variety in the human form.

For models, it can act as a space of empowerment and safety. For the artists at Parkside, it is an opportunity to clear the mind and focus on capturing the person in front of them. As the viewer, how does looking at life drawings effect your body experience?

My name is Teresa Donck-Matlock. I am a white, queer/lesbian arts worker currently residing on the unceded lands of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc (Kamloops) within Secwepemcúl’ecw, not far from where I grew up in the unceded territory of the Tsq’escenemc (100 Mile House). I hold a BA majoring in Art and Performance Studies from Simon Fraser University. 

The practice of life drawing is a wonderful example of how art practices change over time. Historically women artists were not permitted in drawing sessions with live models. I am honoured to celebrate and uplift the important work of woman identifying artists Marion Boulter, Barb Brown, Patsy Granberg, Didi Henderson, and Marilyn Unger, who practice life drawing in a collaborative, community setting.