This life drawing workshop redefines the practice of “working from the model” by shifting the focus from replicating appearance to seeing the figure through the language of drawing itself. Rather than striving to make drawings look more like figures, participants will explore how figures come into focus by looking more like drawings. Through careful study of select figure drawings and guided exercises, artists will engage with alternative ways of seeing natural forms—modes that even contemporary figurative artists have largely overlooked. This approach places the idea of natural movement at the center of life drawing, allowing participants to break away from rigid, lens-based observation. Artists will learn to recognize the unique qualities of life drawings that prioritize bodily movement over photographic accuracy, construct drawings through comparison rather than direct transcription, and convey the position and direction of the body’s major masses. By embracing this dynamic method, participants will “choreograph” their drawings, allowing each major form to move along its own trajectory, resulting in expressive and compelling figure studies. Randy Melick is an accomplished artist and educator specializing in figure drawing and artistic anatomy. With over 35 years of experience teaching life drawing at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, he has instructed students at numerous institutions including the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts.
