The thoughts of the artist Chris Francis on…Classical Art and Academic Drawing

A rare example of what may seem a Classical Art nude by the artist Chris Francis - but it isn’t for a number of reasons:-

It’s painted direct from the model, no monotone underpainting, in fact, no initial drawing.

It’s rendered in Acrylic including silver metallic paint.

There was no pre-conception of what the model would look like

It was painted in response to immediate observation of the colour, tones, forms and shapes present which combined to create an image that also captures the texture of the flesh

To me, it is questionable to employ or develop skills laid down in Classical Art or Academic Drawing doctrine.

The purpose of having  model in a Life Drawing and Painting session doesn’t have to be  exercises in draughting or painting but to render a picture based on an actual vision.