Life Drawing at RHA

Earlier this year, I went to Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) in Central Dublin for my first ever life drawing class! I would be drawing a live, nude model in a busy classroom, alongside other students and a teacher.

All I would be using for drawing would be pencils, charcoal, pastels and a LOT of courage.

Well, it was an understatement to say that I was a little hesitant at first at the idea of drawing a nude model, right there in person. But I also understood, if I want to study art in college, I would have to get over this embarrassment — life-drawing is be a regular feature in any art college curriculum.

I was so anxious before I stepped into the classroom as it was something new that I had never experienced before. My nerves were wrecked, to put it mildly, when I walked into the room with the model and other students.

As soon as my pencil touched the paper, I thankfully gained a lot more confidence. The other students were really encouraging, giving me tips on how to deal with any embarrassment. The classroom thrives on peace, quiet and respect for each other’s artistic process. The room was really quiet and serene when we were all drawing. You learn quickly that everyone takes their art seriously!

The art teacher was absolutely brilliant. She was happy to answer my many questions and really gave me new perspective in life drawing. The class felt really relaxed, as the teacher was so helpful and approachable. Despite my initial embarrassment, I realised that all bodies are natural, and come in different shapes and sizes, just like our sketches.

Up until this particular class, I have always drawn a body shape from the outside in, drawing first the outline of the overall shape of the frame.

However, my teacher encouraged me to do the complete opposite and draw from the inside out. Looking back, this totally makes much more sense! She asked us to consider the bone structure and the muscles first, before finally drawing the outline of the body. She also encouraged us to use different colours to identify different body shapes and textures. So, I sketched in red pencil for the bones, green for the muscles, and black for the overall outline, which helped them stand out. It’s a great tip that you should try out for yourself!

Walking around the class afterwards, I felt relief looking at everyone’s art. Although we were drawing from the same male model, we all viewed something from a different angle to sketch onto our easels. It was inspiring to see everyone had their own unique and beautiful style of drawing the human body.

A week later, I couldn't believe the difference the class had made to my drawing skills. I was now looking at the human body in a completely different way. I learnt so many new skills that I will use from now on when doing life drawing and preparing my portfolio.

Thanks to everyone at the RHA for a wonderful day.