Point of Exquisite Suspension

Thoughts & life experiences of a Chicago area graphic artist

01 November 2024

Live Art Class Memories

The Academicians Of The Royal Academy In London, Painting By Johann Zoffany

During my first year at university, I took general studies, which included introductory classes in both drawing and sculpting. Originally, my plan was to take a year or so of general classes before enrolling in a specialized program in what was then called “Commercial Art.” However, during an orientation for the program, I realized the demanding schedule would allow little time for electives and interfere with my part-time job as an illustrator for a non-profit outreach newspaper—a job that paid little but that I loved.

So I declared an Art Major with a specialization in Sculpting. Having worked with clay in high school, I felt it would be worthwhile to continue exploring the medium. At that time, university art training typically included Life Drawing and Life Sculpting, with live nude models as references in class. Since my focus was sculpting, I looked forward to an assignment involving the creation of a figure in wax that would be cast in bronze.

I had a penchant for thinking beyond the syllabus, and I already envisioned a specific figure for the assignment. I wanted to cast a bronze figure of the biblical David as a young shepherd—not fully nude, but clothed in a sheepskin tunic and sandals, holding a shepherd's staff. I also intended to make it a self-portrait.

In class, I began working on my project. However, there was one snag: our live model was a woman. As my sculpture progressed, my professor noticed I wasn’t using the classroom model as a reference. Once I explained my goals, he arranged for me to attend a class with a male model, which was fine by me—I was simply eager to create the art I’d envisioned.

I didn’t feel necessarily uncomfortable with nudity in a life drawing classroom setting or as a subject in art. Before college, I had studied artistic anatomy books, which presented skeletal and muscular structures, often with nude models in drawings, photos, and classic paintings (and in the 70s, American culture had yet to develop a more conservative sense of propriety).

In my alternate class, working with a male model was actually useful; his form was similar to what I was trying to sculpt. He was around my age, with dark, curly hair, and a slender but unremarkably athletic build. Like the female model, he wore a robe before posing and during breaks, which was customary for live models.

Sometime later, I saw him in the locker room at the University Rec Center. I introduced myself as one of the students in the sculpting class where he modeled. He was friendly and open—I’ll call him Monty. He mentioned he had modeled for other classes and confided that at first, it was awkward for him. Fortunately, the classroom instructor assured Monty he could take a break at any time he felt necessary. He said he sometimes, when feeling uncomfortable, would step down, put on his robe, and inform the instructor he needed a short breather. He might even visit the washroom, splash cold water on himself, and returned to pose when he felt ready.

I told Monty he was a braver man than I, and after some small talk, we went our separate ways. I occasionally saw him around campus, though we didn’t develop our acquaintance further. Looking back, I appreciate his friendliness and candor.

I didn’t take another live model class until the '90s when the art school where I work offered a teachers-only clay class, which included a live model. This time, the model was a young woman in her late twenties or early thirties who had posed for nearby college art classes.

Our class was small, with about five students, and it was invaluable to review techniques for creating the human form in clay. I completed two terra-cotta sculptures: a nearly life-size head and a small, seated figure about twelve inches tall, with one hand on the ground and the other draped along the thigh. Because I have little room for displaying 3D art work in my home, I gave the head sculpture to a fellow teacher which she placed in her garden. The seated figure became a popular white elephant gift at our staff Christmas party, circulating in subsequent years (I don't know who finally ended up with it).

No matter what level of sensitivity is one's priority, using life models as references is essential for training artists; depicting the human form is foundational to developing keen observational skills, as well as fostering an ability to understand and express empathy toward others. In our more socially sensitive era, models’ dignity and propriety are respected, and appropriate coverings are often used.

When the important context surrounding the use and depiction of nude human forms is openly addressed, I believe that respect, maturity, and a sense of decorum can guide art students well in their studies.


My finished bronze sculpture of David the Shepherd


Bonus: Video Discusses the Value of Live Model Drawing



02 October 2024

Sonnet 29 to a “Fair Youth”

 A beautiful sonnet performed beautifully by the inimitable Judi Dench

Read the lines along with her below:

Sonnet 29

William Shakespeare


When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes 

I all alone beweep my outcast state, 

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, 

And look upon myself, and curse my fate, 

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, 

Featured like him, like him with friends possessed, 

Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope, 

With what I most enjoy contented least; 

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, 

Haply I think on thee, and then my state, 

Like to the lark at break of day arising 

From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate; 

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings 

That then I scorn to change my state with kings. 


There has been much speculation over the identity of the “Fair Youth” alluded to in the poem.

Sir Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton

Although Shakespeare's contemporary Sir Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton (augmented portrait above) has been postulated and then discounted as the sonnet's subject, I used AI to make some fanciful conjecturing on what he might look like today as an actor.

AI modern renderings of Sir Henry W.



31 August 2024

Absalom: The Undead - Part 1

 

Illustration © by O. Douglas Jennings


History states that after Absalom's death, his body was treated with a lack of honor. Absalom, the third son of King David, was killed by Joab, David's military commander, during a battle in the forest of Ephraim. Joab found Absalom caught by his hair in an oak tree and killed him. Following his death, Absalom's body was thrown into a large pit in the forest and covered with a heap of stones, a burial typically reserved for criminals and those who died in disgrace. But that is not the whole story.


DATELINE 979 BCE...


The moonlight filtered through the gnarled trees in the Forest of Ephraim the night the disgraced prince was reborn –if that is what it could dare be called. A hunched and shadowy figure clamored over the rubble of heavy stones under which the royal assassinated body had been discarded. 


With uncommon, supernatural speed and strength, the form shifted the burial boulders aside in the cool desolate hours when no one could hear the scrape of rock against rock as the bloody and broken body with its tragic yet still handsome form could be discerned with glowing crimson eyes.


Like a spider approaching its prey, the dark, cloaked interloper drew closer to the now-exposed neck of the corpse and extended a talon-sharp fingernail that made a thin yet deep scratch along the jugular vein from which came a small trickle of dark blood . If a witness had been present they just might have heard the faint, raspy murmur, “The life blood has not fully congealed, praise be to the Dark Lord!” 


“You’ve done well, Tubal,” hissed a dulcet yet sinister voice behind the miscreant.


Whipping around, the startled scavenger beheld a tall, slender but imperious woman in a hooded yet resplendent black robe adorned with gleaming silver clasps that matched the tresses that could barely be seen underneath the additional scarves framing her chiseled, icily composed face. 


Now bowing low in the still night air along the rubble, Tubal hoarsely exclaimed, “You honor me, my mistress. The sleeping prince awaits you!”


As if transported without the slightest gesture the woman was instantaneously poised with her face near the neck of the broken corpse. Tubal, in anticipation even as he had spoken, moved synchronistically with similar speed out of the way of his darting mistress.  


Obscured, now, by the crouching body and flowing cloak of the eerie lady, the corpse of the slain royal became a hidden object from which emanated sickeningly gurgled sounds of an unholy and disturbingly unclean communion taking place. 


Tubal averted his gaze and looked toward the densely darkened treeline near the cast aside boulders. Nor did he turn back around when the sound of a hacking cough, then a croaking breath and finally a sudden and chilling, ominous silence took hold. He knew the process had been completed. His eyes gleamed and a twisted smile curled his cracked lips in knowing his mistress would now have a fitting consort. 


To be continued.


© by O. Douglas Jennings. All rights reserved.


26 August 2024

A Remarkable ”Broken Nose Reset”

Prior to car wreck
 
After car wreck



22 August 2024

History of Style (Mine)

I don't remember this school photo outfit. My mom probably picked it for me.
circa 1965

In the 1970s, I felt like a fish out of water. While blow-dried, long, flippy hair was all the rage, I preferred mine short. The 80s, however, suited me best. I sported short hair on the back and sides, with a long forelock adding some flair. I also loved the skinny ties and the retro look, reminiscent of the “Mad Men” style popularized by the TV show set in the 1960s advertising world. 


Work photo circa 1983


Creative Style Accents: Beyond fashion norms, I enjoy creativity and cross-purposing (not cross-dressing—not that there would be anything wrong with that.). I have fond memories of using a Boy Scout neckerchief clasp as a belt buckle. During my college years, I transformed a large black trash bag into an emergency rain poncho, complete with a matching cap. While I’ve toned down my “edgy” style choices, I still like to flip down the front of certain basic knit caps, creating a subtle bill-like flourish.

Lunch-time walk selfie 2013

As I’ve aged, my priorities have shifted. Material quality and fit matter more to me than ever. My hair has vanished, and my face boasts more wrinkles, but I’m determined to maintain a trim appearance and dress with a modicum of dignity. When I acquired prescription glasses for the first time in my mid 50s I opted for thick-rimmed, black frames which I still will wear often. I rather enjoy an iconic, geek-style look. Who knows how long I’ll keep it up, but for now, it suits me just fine! 

Note: This is a stub entry that I plan to expand upon in the future. Stay tuned.


21 August 2024

Making Magic

 Taking a pencil or pen to paper and creating an image using line, shading and color still seems magical to me after all these years. Magic usually involves craft, markings or writings, as well as a story, a.k.a. incantations. It's that way of creating something that will interact with reality to change things. When I create something, those who behold it and thus interact with it undergo a change, however slight or great, within their consciousness. It's human magic of symbol and story. It can change the world ...or make someone think. Those two things are connected more often than not.


Below are some comics I made a while back that reflect the idea creating "Art Magic"







19 August 2024

AI Study in Art Production

 I've been testing AI tools since 2021. 1st it was as a passive prompt initiator using WOMBO Dream. Then 3 years later, I revisited the same theme using Adobe Photoshop's Generative AI tool & FOTOR to help me make elements for which I added my own effects.

The above A.I. generated Art using WOMBO Dream with the prompt “Picture of Dorian Gray”.

Using the more advanced Photoshop Beta Generative AI feature along with FOTOR AI filters, I created this Picture of Dorian Gray Gif below.