Van Gal(lery)

Tom with my sepia ink drawing, in his van.

A double challenge.

FAST (TerriG). Quick; also, racy.
PICTURE (DDW). An original life drawing I made in 1987.

My picture is fast because it drives around with Tom the fisherman (note yellow slicker) in his red 1958 International Harvester Metro step van. (Click here for a photo of Tom's red van tootling across a bridge.)

I was regretfully discarding some old drawings - who would hang these nudes in their living room? - when I remembered Tom, a pool buddy, and his van with its pin-up pictures. He accepted my offer of a drawing, and it has hung in his van for years.

This morning I was mulling over today's challenge as I splashed in the pool. I looked over at Tom, who was splashing nearby, and decided that his portrait with my drawing would do nicely.

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A word about life drawing.

The practice of drawing from a live nude model is a serious and respectful endeavor. It is not racy in the least. The model is treated with utmost courtesy and appreciation by the artists. I was fortunate to attend drop-in life drawing sessions that met three times a week, and my drawing skills benefited greatly from these studies.

Another member of this same life drawing group wrote a thoughtful, interesting, and well-received book about his experiences there; see "The Undressed Art: Why We Draw" by Peter Steinhart (reviewed here by the great cartoonist Edward Sorel).