There are lots of photos of life drawings of me, together with photos of me posing on the 'Poses' webpage.
As you will probably gathered
by now, I just love being nude and I'm not particularly bothered
about who sees me nude. One of the things that I always fancied
doing was nude modelling. It is difficult to say why I fancied
doing it, but I think that it was a combination of three factors.
These were my love of being nude, my exhibitionist tendencies,
but probably the most intriguing factor was the thought that
I would be pushing my nude experiences in to a new area, namely,
being nude when surrounded by total strangers who were not nudists.
Most nudists, including myself, spend their time naked either on their own, with other nudists at the local club, or with non-nudist friends who are used to seeing them nude. The thought of turning up in a class room, with a dozen or so clothed strangers, and then taking all my clothes off, would certainly be different!
For some reason, art classes
in UK that concentrate on drawing nude models are called life
drawing classes. I'm fairly fortunate as our local Council runs
a good adult education system, which includes several life drawing
classes. I tried writing to the 'head of art' and the various
tutors, but to be fair I did not get much response. I then decided
that the direct approach might be better, so I paid a visit to
the various classes and introduced myself to the tutors. This
approach was much more productive and I found it to be the best
way to get work. I think that it also helps the tutors as they
can actually see what you look like and can get some idea of
what type of person you are.
My first attempts at modelling were in 1999. As the day approached, I did wonder what it would be like, but never regretted my decision to say that I would do it. On the day I turned up as arranged slightly earlier than arranged. Several members of the class had already arrived and were busy setting up their easels etc. Some were studying for A level qualification, and others were just there because they enjoyed painting. Fred (the instructor), showed me the type of pose required. The main problem, regardless of the actual pose chosen, was that it was necessary to hold the pose for an hour. There would then be a 15 minute rest, and then go back to holding the same pose for another hour! Needless to say, to hold any pose for an hour, without moving too much, means that pose has to be in a fairly relaxed position.
Fred showed me the changing
room. I went and took all my clothes off. Even though I'm a hardened
nudist and through these webpages people from all around the
world have see my nude body, as I stood there completely naked,
about to walk out through the door into the class room, it did
feel rather odd to emerge nude in front of a bunch of complete
clothed strangers. Needless to say, it was only a moment's hesitation.
I opened the door and presented myself. As I stood there naked,
I could only think to my self 'this is me', as it is not possible
to hide anything.
Have you ever had the dream that you are naked in somewhere like your local High Street. Nobody else is that bothered about you, but you feel slightly uncomfortable about the situation, as it does not quite feel right. Emerging through the changing room door was a bit like the dream!
There were no reaction
from the class at all, they just continued setting up their equipment.
They would have seen it all before, in fact seen it every week
before, as it was a regular weekly class! I got into my pose,
and off we went for the first hourly session.
So when was the last time that you sat still for an hour? Like
me, I suspect never! So what do you do? you can't move, all you
can do is to observe and think. 
There
were 16 students in the class, 6 male and 10 female. The males
were older than the females with an age range 30 ish to 40 ish.
I got the impression that most of the females were studying for
their A levels, and consequently over half of them were in the
age range 16 - 17. The whole class were concentrating on me with
great intensity. It was quite amusing trying to work out which
bit they were painting at any particular time.
I use the word 'painting', but the various media included charcoal,
water colour and oil. Eventually the hour passed and it was time
for a tea break and to inspect the half finished masterpieces.
One of the 'girls' kindly volunteered to get me a cup of tea
to save me the bother of getting dressed. Needless to say all
the drawings were quite different. The main reason being that
each one was drawn from a slightly different angle, and also,
at this stage, they were only half complete. There then followed
an impromptu conversation on various styles of drawing. As the
discussion continued, none of the class seemed the slightest
bit bothered that I was naked while they standing there clothed.
As far as I was concerned there was little point in getting dressed
as the room was quite warm, and they had been sitting looking
at my nude body for the past hour.
After a 15 minute break, it was back to work! For some reason, the second hour passed faster than the first. Towards the end of the session, several of the students finished their drawing, discussed it with Fred and their colleagues, then packed up and went home. I felt quite disappointed that I could not see their finished work. However, at the end of the session there were still quite a few students remaining, so I was able to see their finished work. Some of the styles were quite different. None of them were like photographs, as they clearly all had a degree of 'artistic licence', but never the less they were quite impressive.
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In 2006 I retired from work so had lots of time on my hands. I though that would be a good opportunity to get back into life modelling again. I managed to pick up work modelling for drawing and sculpture classes. One interesting class was for students who were in the year or so before they go to university. In the event it turned out to be a group of 16 and 17 years girls. I spoke to the tutor prior to the class and he thought that they had only previously done life drawing of female models. I suspect that many of them had never seen a live naked man before. Even the ones that had seen a naked man before it would have almost certainly not been in a non-sexual situation, i.e. with a soft penis! Their drawings were interesting and just a bit different, with the penis clearly being the centre of their attention. As a life model, when being drawn it is very obvious that the students are constantly switching their view between their canvas and the model. Some switch almost every second or so. It was clear that some of the girls hardly ever looked at me, and that they just drew what was in their minds. That certainly gave rise to some interesting drawings! One actually finished up with my penis being as thick as my arm! Some of the others had my penis significantly larger and more erect than mine was during the modelling session, which I suspect is another example of drawing what they imagine rather that what they see.
In January 2008
I was asked to model for a class at a Catholic girls school.
Again, the group of 16 to 17 year olds needed some life drawing
experience for their exams. I did warn the tutor about my earlier
experiences and explained that she should be aware that there
was a good chance that many of her pupils had never seen a nude
man before and that even if they had, then it would not have
been in a non-sexual situation. By the time of the class the
tutor had obviously done her home work and had informed the girls
that the model would be a 'man'. Appararently, when this was
announced to the class it was greeted by a few 'Oh my gods!'.
In another class that I modelled for, a woman did a tremendous
drawing of me, but gave me a purple and red penis!
I managed to get involved with a sculpture class, during which I had to maintain the same pose for 6 sessions spread out over 6 weeks. It was great working with the same group over a long period as we all got to know each other quite well. They were fascinated by my all over tan. I just told them that I was a nudist and that I spent most of my life naked, whether that was gardening, walking, sailing etc. They were receptive to the idea and we chatted for quite a while about it. I tended to arrive in good time for the class, take my clothes off and then wander around chatting to them without a stitch on. During the break, one of the girls did say that they all went for a coffee in the canteen, but that I would have to put my clothes on if I wanted to join them. I got the impression that one of their earlier models had gone to the canteen with just a towel wrapped around them, which did not go down too well in the canteen.
| The Pose |
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As the weeks progressed, it was fascinating to see how all the sculptures progressed. Some tried to model me exactly, while others used me as a reference and applied some artistic licence, producing their versions of the sculpture.
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Over the 6 week period I was able to chat with various members of the group on all sorts of issues. One young lady had clearly done lots of nude drawing and sculpture. I told her about the young girls that I had modelled for and how it was probably the first time they had seen a naked man in the flesh. She told me about the first time she did some nude drawing. It was of a woman, but as she started to draw, she was shaking with nerves. She put it down to the fact that society conditions you to think that looking at naked people is wrong. I asked her how she got on when she did her first drawing of a naked man. She said that by that stage she had got over her nerves and was alright about it. I got chatting to one of the men about did students find some of the younger women models attractive from a sexual point of view. His reaction was that when you see an attractive naked woman, you can't help but think that she is 'nice'. But as you start to get involved with the drawing or sculpture, you get more involved with the shape and the curves and any sexual side to it gets put on the back burner. So if the men find the women attractive, the women must find the men attractive. I suggested that he should ask around, but he declined!
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The six week period finished at the end of the autumn term just before Christmas. After the last class we had a Christmas party. We all brought in drinks and eats for the party. At the end of the class, the sculpture equipment was cleared away and the food set out. I knew that I had to make a decision whether to attend the party nude or dressed. Obviously I had been nude up to the end of the class, so it would have been just a case of not getting dressed. I suspected that nobody would have minded. I did however think about the situation of me sitting there nude after a few glasses of wine and what might happen to my penis when I and everybody else got relaxed! In the event, it was a freezing day and the sculpture room was quite cool, so the and I was quite grateful to get dressed and attend the party textile!
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One question that regularly gets mentioned is what you would do if you met somebody in one of the classes who you knew. Let me tell you about it! I sing for our local opera group. We had just performed a Mozart concert. I mentioned it in conversation, when one of the girls (Ann) said that her husband (Stuart) had also been in the same concert. It turned out that we had been sitting next to each other while singing the Mozart Requiem! While his wife was doing her sculpture class, Stuart was doing a life drawing class upstairs. As the coffee break arrived, Stuart actually arrived to take the break with is wife. As Stuart arrived, Ann pointed out to him that I was doing the modelling for the class. I just laid there in my nude pose and greeted Stuart. We then discussed how well the concert went.
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The following week another one of the girls (another Ann) saw the logo on my sweatshirt and recognised it. Se said that she was sure that she had seen me somewhere before, but could not pin point it. Once she saw the logo, she made the connection with singing and realised that we had both sung for the same group about ten years ago. What's more she knew my wife (Maggie) and had actually been to our house! A week or so later Maggie and I went to the local theatre, and we bumped into Ann in the Foyer. Ann said to Maggie 'Has Peter told you about what we get up to on a Monday morning!' Fortunately, Maggie was fully aware of my nude modelling, otherwise it could have taken quite a bit of explaining!
So when meeting non nudist friends in such a situation was not a problem for me. Neither they nor I were embarrassed. They now know a bit more about me and certainly know what I look like!
I always have a bit of a dilemma as to whether I should cover up when not actually modelling. As all the classes only use one model at a time, it means that you never get to meet other models, so you never get to know how they inter-react with the class. I tend to work on the assumption that as they spend all the class drawing every bit of me in minute detail, then there is little point in putting on a robe before or after the class or during the break. I have raised the issue with some of the students during our chats during the break periods to see how comfortable they are with me and my nude lifestyle. The general reaction is that the people on the classes are adult and mature enough not to be bothered by it all. When I was modelling for the young girls, the girlfriend of the tutor was also in the class and while I was chatting with her about the matter, she thought that young girls and possible older people might find my nudity hard to cope with. She suggested that most models do use a robe. Another girl in the sculpture class thought that as a nude model on a platform, there was always a 'comfort' space between the model and the student. When you leave the platform, then that space disappears and as a result could make some people feel rather awkward. Neither of the two girls had a problem with me wandering about naked, but were just putting themselves in the position of others.
So it appears that the students, as far as they are concerned, are not that bothered about whether I cover-up, but some think that I should cover-up in case there might be somebody in the class who might not be willing to ask me to cover-up if offended.
Most of the tutors I work for, I have worked for many times before. There is only one tutor who is very strict on the matter and absolutely insists that I cover up. There was another tutor who clearly was more comfortable when I covered up. All the other tutors appear not to care less. As a nudist, it is great during a break not to have to cover up, and to chat with the students bout their work, with me standing next to them in the same state as they drew me. It is also very pleasant to be presented with a cup of tea, and chat with the whole group, 'as nature intended'.
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While modelling for another class in January 2007, was chatting with the tutor during a break and she was complaining about all the admin that the tutors have to do. She mentiomed that in these days of equal opportunities, she could not actually refuse admission to a blind person. I said that knowing just how resourceful blind people are, I could imagine them drawing from feel, using their hands. I said that in retrospect the idea of being drawn by somebody feeling my shape sounded quite a fun idea!
She also had to make an announcement to the class that she suspected that there might be a fire drill soon. She went through all the usual stuff about leaving the building as quick as possible and not to stop to pick up your belongings. Then somebody said, 'what about Peter if he is sitting there with no clothes on'. I said that I would be quite happy to go to the assembly area as I was, but she thought that may be I should put some clothes on first! An interesting aside was what happens to people in wheelchairs, bearing in mind that we were on the first floor? The instruction was to leave them at the top of the stairwell. We all thought that the idea was a bit unfair, but the tutor suggested that the person in the wheelchair probably gets the best deal (especially if they are female), as they get rescued by a big hunky fireman in a uniform!
I remember one group that I modelled for, which was un-tutored, had about 10 very accomplished students / artists. Each week one of them would select a famous artists style, and then all the artists would work to that style for the session. One particular week Lucian Freud was selected. A book showing glossy photos of his drawing was produced, and with mutual agreement, a suitable pose adopted for me to model. It was great fun, with lots of conversation about how we could best capture his style.
Freud has built up a formidable reputation as one of the most powerful contemporary figurative painters. Portraits and nudes are his specialities, often observed in arresting close-up detail. Many of his portraits are reclining and clearly focus on the genital area.
These are examples of his work.
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I'm not convinced that we got that close, but it was good fun trying!
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Looking at the final drawings I could not help but notice that while Freud's paintings were slightly on the sensual side, the resulting drawings were probably more sensual than Freud intended!. Not being a shy person, while in convsersation wth Sue, who was the group leader, I mentioned that I thought that the pose was a bit more sensual than may be Freud intended. The whole class were clearly quite happy to draw the poses without any smudged out areas or adverse comments, so I kind of concluded, that the class were not unduly perturbed by the poses.
Her reply was along the lines: "As they were a small group of mature adults it really did not cause a problem at all, especially as the poses were based on Lucian Frued's drawings which can be sensual in their own right". She did say that with larger more mixed groups it might be a problem. She did say that she would not be sure what kind of comments she might get if she posted some of the drawings on the College noticeboard!"
These and other drawings from the class are in my 'Poses Webpage'.
When adopting a pose, I just stand, sit or recline according to the desires of the tutor or the arts class. Obviously the final pose is 'fine tuned' by me to make it as comfortable as possible. Although I have been life modelling for quite a few years and have seen literaly hundreds of paintings and drawings of my nude body, I have never really given the matter much thought as to how I look. Believe it or not, to my eye, a photo of the pose can be quite different to the way that the pose gets drawn. I do not have many photos to me posing, but in early 2009 I was doing a pose that was going to be the same for four sessions. I always have my camera with me so I suggested that the tutor take some photos of the pose for reference in later weeks when trying to get back into the pose.
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When I saw the photos it was nothing like imagined the pose to look like. All the best tutors encourage some rotation and twist in the pose, lots of angles and negative space is always good, so is a variation in levels. So in a reclining pose, having your shoulders and hips at a different angle is always good, and having your legs raised gives a difference in level and some negative space. But when I saw the photo I thought that it looked as if I had just had an orgasm, not to mention some very clear views of parts that the 'sun never reaches'!
Just before the second session I had a word with the Stuart (the tutor) to check that he was happy with the pose and to make sure that it was not too 'suggestive'. He had no problems with the pose, and as you can see from the resulting drawings, at least two of the students admirably captured the mood.
When we embarked on a series of 5 minute poses, realising that the photo of a pose was not necessarily what you see in the drawings, I asked the Stuart to take some photos of the poses so that I could compare them with the resulting drawings. The results of this experiment are shown in my 'Poses Webpage'.
I must admit that I am a little confused where to draw the line between where a nude pose ceases to be a good pose and become 'suggestive'. I have been doing poses similar the one above for years, and I have only ever received a positive reaction and lots of repeat work!. Consequently I have started to conclude that may be I'm too sensitive to the issue and that I should not be afraid of doing poses that are a 'hint' more suggestive to me, but the check with the tutor that he or she is happy.
These are example of such poses, which are also in the 'Poses Webpage':
In this pose I'm just standing
with my legs slightly apart. My hands are clasped firmly on my
bum, the cheeks of which are being pulled up. This defines the
muscles in both my arms, upper and lower body, while giving my
spine a curious outward curvature.
This pose is based on a
cat stretching. Again, it gives lots of negative space and unusual
angles and perspective. My concern with this pose is that anybody
with a 'rear view', really does get a view of not just my bum,
but anus as well. Stuart was quite happy with the pose, but the
class found it difficult to get right.
I've done some more experimenting with this pose as described below.
This pose was suggested
by Stuart, who wanted me to 'show my muscles' while having a
broom stick behind my back. It was a 30min pose, but I managed
to last out, with just about every muscle having a go!
In April 2009 I was modelling for a several new classes and new tutors. During one class I was modelling for Karen. It was only a small class, so I tried the 'Cat' pose as part of a short pose. They clearly liked it, with words like 'exquisite' being used. In a different class I was modelling for Sue, it was the second class in a series and I had it in mind to try the 'Cat' pose again. It is not something that you spring on a tutor without warning. During the first session I mentioned that I had some slightly unusual poses, and that if she did not like them, just tell me immediately and stop the pose. During the second session she wanted a 30 min pose so I went for the 'Cat' pose. At the time I said that I had a 'cat stretching' pose, which I could try if she liked it. She had no objection. I got into the pose, but as I did, I stopped, and reminded her that if she did not like the pose, then all she had to do was to say so. Her only reaction was to ask me to rotate the pose slightly.
As I got into the pose the general reaction was 'Gosh! That is a bit different'. There were jokes about praying to Mecca, but once they settled into drawing the pose, the comments became much more favourable. Apart from the unusual angle of the buttocks, I don't think that they had seen the muscles around the shoulder blades and upper arms in such a way before.
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After 30 mins it was clear that the pose was a great success, with some great drawings being produced. After the class was finished, I had a chat with Sue about 'life in general' and touched on her reaction to the Cat pose. She said that it was certainly different. The reason she asked me to rotate the pose was because initially my anus was too visible to one of the students. We then had a discussion about life drawing and the bits of the body that normally get drawn, and the bits that do not. I said that I thought that it was a bit strange that while the full frontal view of the male body was drawn all the time which shows the real 'business end' of the male body, i.e. penis, scrotum etc, the buttocks and anus never got a 'look in'. Its all a bit strange, when the buttocks are just large muscles and the anus is just an orifice, which is no where near as significant as the penis. We both agreed that Society has a lot to blame for it, and that generally the buttocks and anus get a 'bad press', hence the reluctance to draw that part of the body, However she was quite relaxed about it.
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She then went on to say that she spends lots of her time tutoring for life drawing clases, so she spends lots of time with naked people, so much so, that it becomes second nature and that she stops thinking that they are naked in a clothed environment, but it just becomes a normal situation. She thought that may be she should stop and think about the situation rather more consciously. I think that she already knew that I was a nudist, but I said that personally nudity is the norm. Its great to pose nude and I'm quite happy to adopt weird and wonderful poses, but when you have been nude in front of the class for so long, it does seem 'no quite right' to have to get dressed at the end of it! Basically it was very interesting talking to a 'textile', who was so relaxed with nudity.
I did some more modelling for Karen. Her class is quite advanced and during one session we basically did two related 30 min poses. The first pose was me in a comfortable position, with the students drawing me in their usual style, but drawing me in maximum detail. During the second pose she asked me to adopt a 'self indulgent' pose, with the students drawing me in a style that was alien to them. But what did she mean by 'self indulgent'? I asked her to 'set' me in the type of pose that she had in mind. She set me up facing the class with my legs stretched wide apart in a vaguely seated pose. She then suggested to move the pose until it was uncomfortable, and then to move it back until it was just comfortable! I finished up resting on my elbow with my hands across my chest, near my nipple. But I still could not figure out the 'self indulgent' bit? Until it 'clicked'. With my fingers on my nipples, the obvious thing to do was to totally focus in on my penis. You can't get more 'self indulgent' than that! (in public anyway).
She thought that the resulting pose and drawings that it produced were stunning!
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In conclusion, all my nude modelling sessions have been fascinating and memorable experiences. The people in the classes are good fun and very friendly. If you fancy having a go I would recommend it. Contact your art classes, nude models are always in demand. I'm sure that you will not regret it, and you actually get paid for taking your clothes off!
If you are interested further, then these are some relevent links:
See Peter In The Flesh!
I'm more than happy to do nude modelling for life drawing classes within a reasonable distance of home (ie, London and South East England). So if you run an art class or camera clubs, etc and need a nude model, drop me an email. No reasonable offer refused!!
I was recently invited by the Gymnos group to give a talk about my webpage. Gymnos are a naturist swimming group who hold occasional nude socials. The talk covered a wide range of nudist issues, all of which are included in the webpage. Needless to say, both the speaker and audience were nude. It was a most enjoyable experience,and the Gymnos members clearly found it entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I just enjoy being nude, and if I can do something a little bit different, while being nude, then so much the better!
So if you belong to an organisation that you think would enjoy a talk and discussion on the subject of nudity, why not drop me an email. I'm quite happy to talk to any group of people whether they are nudists or not. Regardless of the group, the speaker would of course be nude.
