Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About Drawing Nudes
Get nude, get drawn? Yes, it features nine artists, one day of drawing, and one exhibition. Images courtesy of Mike Perry and Josh Cochran.
In 2011, artists Mike Perry and Josh Cochran started “Get Nude Get Drawn”, a Brooklyn-based event that celebrates the nude as archetype and as meme. They were surprised by how many people signed up–everyone had their reasons. Some people have body issues and wanted to get over a feeling of shame. One was a cancer survivor. Artists modeled so they could see what it’s like on the other side of the easel. And, of course, there were a few exhibitionists who just like to show everything.
This year, the Emmy-award winning Perry, muralist Cochran as well as artists Amber Vittoria, Andy Friedman, Ellen Kahn, Dadu Shin, Na Kim, Taylor McKimens, Jillian Evelyn, and Kaye Blegvad, have brought back “Get Nude Get Drawn” for the first time since the pandemic. More than 200 people signed up for their individual sessions on May 13. During the back-to-back, half-hour drawing sessions, the artists thrive on the challenge of creating multiple portraits in limited time. Models switch their poses every few minutes. “You have to observe the personality of the person posing, and in a very short time, figure out how to capture their body and vibe while you’re making split-second decisions about color, tool, and paper,” says Perry. At the conclusion of the sessions, each artist gives the model a signed drawing of their best portrait. The remainder will be shown at the Get Nude Get Drawn exhibition on May 20 at 925 Bergen Street in Brooklyn, There, attendees can purchase these one-of-a-kind, striking, and affordable nudes. The pieces are sold cash and carry, which creates a sense of urgency with the audience. When viewers see something they like, they have to get it quickly. (During the show, people are often taking drawings off the wall while others are looking at them.)
If you’ve ever wondered what goes into drawing nudes, you’re in the right place! Here, Perry and Cochran take us inside their respective processes, explain how the time constraints force them to embrace spontaneity, and share the hardest human body part to draw.
Josh Cochran (left) and Mike Perry (right) like to draw and have fun. Photos by Jack Maraghy.
What led you to start Get Nude Get Drawn?
JC: We shared a studio at the time and both wanted to get back into figure drawing. But we wanted to change it up from what we experienced at art school. It was early days for social media and we put an ad out on Craigslist and social media. We were nervous about filling the spots, but it turned out that tons of people want to pose nude.
Why do they?
MP: We have one person who posed for us in a previous year and recently went through a gender transition and will pose this year. They want to compare the new drawing to the previous one. Other people do it to get over a phobia. There are older people who do it to remind themselves that their bodies are awesome and valid. We always get someone who is pregnant. We’ve even had people who were on a date and this was part of their date.
JC: That was funny. I think the woman wanted to use it as a test to the future to see if he would get into it as part of their relationship building. We fantasize about turning these drawings into a book someday and these stories need to be part of it. Like the young couple that came in with their newborn baby. Everyone got naked, but when they took the diaper off the baby it peed on Mike’s studio floor.
MP: The interesting aspect of this project is that it takes the idea of stripping away the personality and context of the person and puts it back into this experience of drawing the future. The drawing sessions tend to be a little messier. The subjects bring more tension into their posing session and, for us as artists, we are excited and inspired by that.
Cochran draws quickly and usually begins with the subject’s head.
Where do you tend to see the most tension?
MP: People don’t know what to do with their hands–that’s why pockets were invented. All of a sudden you're nude and you need something to do with your hands. So we have fun props people can pick up and interact with.
There are a number of creative constraints here, including time. How long do you spend on each drawing?
MP: We tend to do about three-minutes per pose. It’s nice because it doesn’t allow us to overthink anything. It’s about the spontaneous mark.
The artist’s colorful tools allow them to capture the different sizes and shapes, of people.
What's your starting point for the drawings?
JC: I usually start with the head. I was taught to find the shape of the body, but I just start with the head.
MP: I hate starting with the face because that’s the hardest part. Josh, maybe that’s why you start with it, to get it over with.
Mike, you once talked to us about the challenge of drawing horses because of their unique skeletal structure. What is the hardest human body part to draw?
MP: I still get stuck on hands. Which side is the thumb on? Which way is the end?
Scenes from the Get Nude Get Drawn exhibition.
What is one thing each of you have learned from this that you’ve incorporated into your creative practice?
MP: It’s an opportunity to mess around, see what happens, and make some mistakes. There is some pressure to it, but it's really just your own. You have to remind yourself that you can spill some paint on the piece, and it's going to be fine. Chaos is a helpful element.
JC: Often we’re drawing out of our heads from our imagination. And for this we’re not looking at the internet or our phones. There is a living reference in front of us. There are subtle, exciting energy shifts.
How do participants view the drawings of themselves?
JC: One of the funny things is that the models want to buy the most drawings of themselves. Some people don’t want anyone else to have them.
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