The young ladies who pose for me never know what to expect when they first walk into the studio. Some are quite nervous while other are so laid back they fall asleep while posing. A few even set boundaries as how close I can come to them. Others tell me to arrange the folds in their skirts myself.
I always begin with doing a nude. If they stay through a nude session and return I know they will work out for my larger pieces. Nothing worse than getting into a large piece and having the model quit. Many of the young ladies who work for me keep in touch after quitting the modeling game. They take steady jobs or head off to college. A few have joined the army for the education the service promises. One ended up driving a tanker truck during "Desert Storm". The other is in Afghanistan right now. She and I email and text each other. Some are even grandmothers now and I hear all about their grandchildren.
To me, they are all good looking, some are just a bit more good looking than others. After one model's arrival a knock on the door followed. It was a guy searching for the "great looking babe who came into this building". Another was followed up to the studio, not because of her looks, but because of the 1970's muscle car she drove over in. Models seem to drive old beat-up cars. I guess it is because most cannot afford a new car - or even a nice car.
They are always in need of money, it's how most became models. Working two jobs they find posing for me restful. I do a lot of paintings of girls relaxing, reading, napping or just laying about with other girls. After eight hours of waiting tables, getting paid to do homework or just nap sounds pretty good. It isn't always easy holding the same reclining pose for hours, I try not to over work them. Some, seeing the painting and the progress, put in a bit more for me, like taking poses that are near impossible to hold. These are poses I usually like for drawing and sketching.
We trade stories while working. I hear about boyfriends and trouble they got into as kids and these lead to paintings I wind up doing. This is a bit of how I work and a reason why I love working from life.
