Photo by Toffy Prakittiphoom ’24/The Choate News
On the second floor of the Paul Mellon Arts Center (PMAC), easels are scattered on the concrete floors, canvases line the walls, and still-life setups are laid out on tables. In this studio, artists in the Life Drawing class diligently work on their pieces.
Life Drawing (VA450HO), an honors-level visual arts course taught by Ms. Jessica Cuni in the winter term, allows students to further develop their abilities to draw from observation, understand the basic human anatomy, and learn to convey the human form expressively.
When asked about why he decided to take Life Drawing, Braydon Ellis ’22 said, “I really wanted to challenge myself and try to learn how to draw things from life.” Cathy Liu ’24 was also intrigued by the course because of the opportunity it provided to further develop her artistic abilities. “The class seemed cool, and I wanted to learn more about drawing people,” she said. While Liu and Ellis were enthusiastic about the class from the start, Kate Bailey ’22 had taken a break from art and hoped to use this course as an opportunity to get involved again. Still, she said, “It ended up being a really great choice. I’m glad that I switched in.”
One class activity included a direct-observation drawing of a nude model. Bailey appreciated the experience and thought it was “the best way to learn about anatomy, form, and how to draw it.” Liu also liked that she could draw a real person. “Before, I drew more from sculptures or from other pictures but not something real life in 3D,” she noted.
Students also engaged in a blind drawing activity, where they had to draw without looking down at the page. Ellis appreciated how it let him “laugh at what [he] made” and “establish a good dynamic for the rest of the class.” Completing this activity earlier in the year allows students to approach the course in a less stressful environment. “It’s good to remember that you don’t always need to compare yourself to other people,” Ellis added.
Ms. Cuni incorporated fun activities into the course to help students de-stress and find inspiration. Bailey noted that she enjoyed meditation drawing, in which students meditated for a few minutes, then drew freely. “A lot of other parts of that class were really focused on getting everything right … but the meditation drawings were more like letting your brain flow,” she said.
One common challenge that students faced was the rigorous coursework, as Life Drawing is the most advanced drawing class at Choate. “It was definitely a learning curve for me to kind of get back into [drawing]. But, with it being serious, it was also a very supportive environment,” said Bailey.
The time-sensitive drawings also proved to be a challenge. Ellis said, “Since we’re drawing live models, it’s much more pressing that you need to finish your drawing within the class because, obviously, the model is going to get up and leave; you can’t spend as long as you’d like on it.” Liu concurred that the class helped her adjust to working faster: “We really have to draw the outline and do the shading in that period of time.”
Overall, the students thoroughly enjoyed the class and its unique opportunities. “My takeaway is that there’s always a new way to look at the world because you spend so much time looking at the little things — looking at people and the objects we draw,” said Ellis.
