I’m not sure I could work without music and it goes perfectly well with a life drawing class.
We always have a soundtrack to our evening of drawing and its tone certainly affects the drawing.
Frank (our tutor) curates the music to match the stage of the evening. So things tend to be energetic to start, an attempt to loosen us up (we only have five minutes a drawing after all).
Reggae & Ska often feature with examples such as Roy & Millie’s We’ll Meet or Born to Love you by Derrick Harriott. In contrast, as we move into the final hour, the soothing tranquility of a Jazz piece such as Bill Evan’s Peace Piece sets a reflective mood for this more reflective part of the evening.
I think it would be really strange to draw without any music at all, I wonder how many life classes out there draw in complete silence?
Our model tonight was called Stella.
Giving me guidance, my class tutor is Frank Gambino, trained as a graphic designer, however in recent years his main practise is in portraiture and figure studies. Frank’s studio is in Belsize Park, London, where he works on commissions and runs popular life drawing classes. However, conveniently for me, he is also running classes in East London, at the Tokarska Gallery.
The Tokarska Gallery, a contemporary art gallery run by emerging artist Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska.