Figurative work, to me, has always been more than working in the studio from a model. My first experience with a model was an educational one. I learned not about artists and art, but rather the history of Vietnam. He was a student at Columbia who spent his time protesting the Vietnam War.
My next model was also a student at Columbia, and was an exchange student from Paris. She told me about life in Paris. Her parents ran a cheese shop there and sold cheese only. I could not conceive of a store that only sold cheese. She told me about where the cheeses came from and the little farms that produced different types. Her little stories were wonderful to listen to, and I was lucky to get a painting of her done.
Every model I hired while living in New York had their story, and I discovered I had a talent for pulling their story from them. I think I could have been the next Johnny Carson if painting had not been my real love. To this very day I love hearing my models tell me who they are, tell me about their families and their experience. One model told me about her dad, who did not believe in girls going to college. She joined the army just before the first Gulf War. She served in Kuwait as a tanker truck driver, got her college degree and stayed in the army. She is twenty years in now.
Not all stories I hear are great stories, some are of abuse. I listen to each, some I keep to myself, others I smile while sharing them to friends. Meeting one model's dad, and hearing him talk, I grabbed my paints and did one of my best portrait studies. For me a face is a story untold. I lay out my paints and let the person before me tell me the colors to use with their story.
