Figurative art has a long and rich history in the Bay Area, even during the periods when non-representational art dominated popular taste. Supporting that tradition is the ritual of drawing from live models.

Since 1996, Tom Mogensen has held Friday life-drawing sessions in his Church Street studio. The seven artists represented in this show meet to paint or draw from a professional model,  chosen for his or her unique qualities. The final poses are always naturalistic, in that the model develops the attitude, costume (if any) and expression based on his or her own personality and physique. We often use the same models, developing relationships with them that enhance the art. There’s no jostling for vantage points among the group, as all of the artists recognize that every view of the model offers something exciting to work with. It’s a democratic arrangement; there is no instructor or leader conducting the session.

We have chosen three-hour poses (nine to noon), because the format accommodates both fully-developed drawings and paintings. The model resumes the same pose the following week, with some artists choosing to continue the same piece, while others start a new one. Unlike many other drawing groups, we work using only natural light from Tom’s garden-oriented windows. The absence of an artificial light source grounds our work in the experience of the moment: grey, rainy days as well as bright, sunny days influence shadows—and our palettes.  

The personal relationships among the artists range in duration from four to forty years. While on occasion other artists may participate, seven artists represent the core of the group. Tom, Susan Trubow, Nancy Baughman and Barbara Ravizza made up the original group. Diana Howard joined the group in 1999, Serge Kogan and Greg Lynch in 2004. No matter what preoccupies us on other days of our week, we all are dependent on the focus, support and discipline we get from the Friday sessions. 

While the art represented in this collection shows a wide range of approaches, all of the artists are sensitive to one another’s ways of solving problems of composition, color, light and technique. In many cases one artist will appropriate for her or himself a solution used by another artist.

We work in different media: charcoal and ink; oil and gouache. We use different techniques and see color differently. We live different lives, and travel from San Mateo to Oakland. But come Friday, we assemble again and again to be inspired by the most compelling subject there is: the human form.

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