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I’m fortunate to spend most of my days posing for movie animators and video game designers. One thing you must know about me, I don’t do things halfway, it’s all or nothing. My preparation begins weeks before a booking. Planning, purchasing and often making my costumes. And don’t forget the props. Essential for creating a scene. Many years as an Actress have prepared me. When I take the model stand, I’m as serious as if I were playing at Carnegie Hall. Having said that, what “happens’ on the model stand after that is all play: Slaying dragons, shooting criminals, lassoing horses, flying as a fairy, crawling as catwoman, and pirating ships. It is the land of make believe… where I believe what I create.

Springing from my feet, I contort my body into positions I never knew possible. Being a SuperHeroine is not for the weak of heart. It requires a strong body and mind. After a two to six hour sessions, I am pumped like a bodybuilder. I leave exhausted yet filled with adrenaline. The artists engage in my role playing with enthusiasm. The more I commit, the more the images come alive on their drawing boards.
When I leave the session, I take that imagined SuperHeroine strength, intention, conviction and truly try to make the world a better place.

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That’s what I thought to myself standing in stiletto heels on one leg with my fedora, gangster outfit and prop gun, “I would die for this pose…rather then break it”. The pain in my arches, ankles, back.. none of it mattered, because I was living-out a moment in an action heroine’s life and it was duly being recorded on computers, canvases and sketchpads throughout the room. My commitment to this character mattered. I needed her to fulfill her action, her story and her purpose. I don’t do anything halfway. It’s “All Or Nothing” as Cher sings.

Artists are very gracious towards me and comment on how much life, story and expression I put into my poses. I attribute it to being an Actress. I must get inside every pose. I want to feel the emotion hidden in the twists and torques. I want to know why my character is pointing a sword or weapon. Who am I fighting and for what worthy cause? My character’s (poses) must have heart, intention, inner monologues and a multitude of feelings. It’s not enough to just stand there. This is why I prefer action modeling. The stakes are high. Nothing is casual. Senses are on alert. It’s Code Blue.

Dying for a pose is also a love letter to a particularly satisfying moment/pose. These letters will ultimately write my entire love story with art modeling.

Continue reading »]]> There are moments and there are posements (as I like to call them). When doing a series of short poses (anywhere from thirty seconds to five minutes), Artist’s often ask me “Are you always thinking about your next pose?” The answer is “no”. A pose has a life of it’s own, emotionally and physically. Sometimes they are incredibly challenging to hold and other times they contain a gesture that tells an emotional story. The later has often brought me to tears. The Actress in me creates a story or feels a nuance of sadness or joy.
If I was to “plan ahead”, as tempting as it may be, I would mentally leave the moment. I am quite sure that Artist’s perceive the loss of spirit in a pose. They are studying the model so intensely. There is a synergy and if one breaks it, the other feels it. I am well aware when an artist is done drawing me in a particular pose. I feel the impatience, see the glance at the clock, and know they are ready to move-on. Models eyes, though locked, have a wide peripheral view. So I like to live-out my posements to the fullest.
Like in life, that’s where the meaning is, right in this precious moment. Thanks for sharing this one with me.

Continue reading »]]> Isn’t that the mystery of creation? Something from nothing. With what means does an artist fills a blank canvas? Do “spirit” and talent combust at the same time and form an image? And how do the quick pencil lines and dabs of paint on a brush form a complete human portrait so accurately that it could almost walk off the canvas? I continue to believe it is divine. And keeping it a mystery is just fine with me. I just never want to lose my awe of it. Next, what do I, as an art model, have to do with this process? I think I know the answer. Be a part of it. Willingly. With all of my heart and soul. Be in the moment. Commit to poses that may be challenging for me but visually interesting to artists. Find the emotion in every pose and stay with that feeling, joyful or sad. Find out what the artists want. As much as I am performing, I am interacting. I am in an intimate realtionship for three to six hours so I want to enjoy it and make it fulflling for both partners. The artists and myself. But perhaps I cannot take all the responsibility either. Might there be a divine reason why I am there in the first place? And why I am inclined to pose the way I do? Perhaps it’s better to live following these unknown internal impulses. Like the artists, I am drawn to create images, except mine are with my body. That’s enough. I don’t need to know more. And when I do, I will. But for now, I love dancing, twisting, torquing, counter posing and knowing that my body is getting stronger and more agile every day. I have become more daring, graceful and balanced. And what a gift that I am able to take these new strengths out of the art studios and into the world with me. I am now moving with purpose.

Continue reading »]]> As I approached the Getty for my art modeling booking last evening, I had an excited feeling of anticipation, knowing that this would be unlike any other museum outing. Parking on the “Top of the Hill” was more immediate then the scenic tram and afforded me time to peruse some galleries before I began work. The late afternoon sun on this L.A. mountain top oasis is quite exquisite. I wandered into a watercolor exhibit and was instantly pulled into in the David Hockney landscapes just as if I were sitting beside the artist himself. Next, I visited the Greek sculptures, feeling comforted and proud that I, too, was part of a long legend of models that would contribute to and hopefully be immortalized into a piece of art. At 5:30 I arrived at my work destination and was greeted by and warm, talented and appreciative group of artists. I sprung into action, contorting and twisting my body like a dancer for my audience. Creating shapes, shadows and lines that would be challenging and inspiring to draw. I could not help but think of my proximity to the masterpieces that hung in the galleries surrounding me. Is it possible that their historic energy and timeless meaning wafted through the walls lifting me to new heights of expression? As I brought out my signature Angel wings, I thought of Botticelli paintings, “The Fountain of Love” by Jean-Honore Fragonard, and Gianlorenzo Bernini’s “Ecstacy of St. Theresa”. The evening ended all too quickly. I had many more poses in me, just waiting to give birth. But alas, they have asked me to return to this meca of creativity in the spring…just in time to see their infamous Van Gogh Iris collection in bloom.

Continue reading »]]> My afternoon at Dreamworks was delightful. As I moved through my first hour of one and two minute poses, my Angel Fairy took life. In some moments she was innocent and coquettish, and in others she was menacing and forceful. She jumped from leg to knee, chair to floor, and almost took flight in the ecstasy and joy of creation. If poses were still frames, we would have had a complete film. The Artists were gifted, creating a living character out of a single black marker. My fairy got into a bit of mischief in her five minute poses…playing with scarves, jewelry, a pink fur, and of course, a tiara! When it was time to go, I was sad to leave her behind…although I could have sworn I found a little bit of pixie dust on my pillow this morning. Perhaps she lives within, waiting for her next flight.

Drawing by Dave Pimentel

Continue reading »]]> I was riding my pink bicycle along the banks of the Seine last evening. It was a warm spring day and I could smell freshly baked croissants and feel the sunshine on the back of my neck as I starred off into the distance at my handsome French lover. Ahhh, to dream! In actuality it was a hot September evening in a crowded art studio in Costa Mesa but that made no difference in my mind. In preparation for a real trip to Paris this spring I am “getting in the mood”. It was a delightful evening. Many professional artists gathered around me painting and drawing in silence. The mood was intense. After my trip to Paris, I transformed into a pirate in a sexy black suit with chunky men’s style shoes (my idea of how a corporate woman should look). Sort of Victor Victoria meets Jack Sparrow. Can you see it?

Continue reading »]]> What a fascinating whirlwind into the art world (Am I actually in a movie? An eccentric Fellini movie perhaps?) Packing and repacking my faithful travel bag with fanciful costumes and props, I feel more like a traveling circus performer (Ah, I’m Giulietta Masina in Fellini’s “La Strada”!) I’ve portrayed the lives of a multitude of people in the past 80 days.From a red beret wearing French sophisticate at The California Art Institute to a hooded Goth Red Robin hood at Studio 1021, to a burlesque dancer at Teale Street Studios (and many more). It’s never a dull day working as an art model. Each job offers a new challenge, fresh characters and poses to explore, and a multitude of talented artists with whom to join forces. Each job has its own menu. The art schools are very structured while the workshops and galleries are more like the old artist salons in early Paris. Worth noting are the wonderful people I meet! All ages, all levels of ability, with a shared excitement about creating! As I make “the rounds”, I am seeing some of the same artists and teachers. There is a level of camaraderie and comfort. While I travel this road, I find doors upon doors opening leading to new adventures. What began as a purely academic experience is growing into a specified area of interest. I am most passionate about the action hero modeling. Already at home with the broadsword (Thank you Shakespeare plays) I am now pursuing and finding work at video game companies. While the Animation Studios have prepared me for the quick gesture poses, adding a forceful and confrontational movement seems to satisfy the actress in me. I can quickly create scenarios that lend emotion to my poses. I recently worked with Comic Book creator Tim Gula who commented “You look like one of my comic book characters that has come alive off my page”. Looking back, I have always fantasized about creating a female super heroine. I just didn’t know she would be born in an art class. Ah, the wonderful surprises in life! If we can just trust the road less traveled, it might be the one that takes you to the place you were searching for all along. Onward I go. I am adding nine new venues to my repertoire this month. I can’t wait to see what new discoveries await me! Engarde!

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Statue in the garden at The Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach

Three days of art modeling in Laguna Beach…Just what the Doctor ordered! I had a “mental vacation” and journeyed south for a three day booking at Laguna College of Art and Design this past week. The School is a slice of heaven! Situated in one of Southern California’s most beautiful beach towns, I felt an ocean breeze waft through the art studio while I held seven hours of long poses each day. My morning class was for educators. It was fascinating to listen how one might “teach art”. It’s almost unimaginable that such a skill can be taught (it can). To me, it seems that art is an ethereal meeting of spirit and body. It is a place where divine intervention enters and cohabitates within an artist’s body. I am sure that it is THIS, not the paint that gives me a contact high when I model. To dwell in this place of creation is like bathing in gauzelike clouds with cherubs singing in the distance. The chorus is accompanied by brushes clinking against jars of water and pencils scratching excitingly against canvas. The energy in the room builds like a tsunami until my timer goes off, excusing me for a five-minute break. Then the action resumes all over again. At the end of the session, nirvana is achieved in all different forms, colors, shapes and interpretations on the various art easels occupying the room. Some may call this a day job, I call it utopian.

Continue reading »]]> A girl can’t have too many diaries. I began art modeling as an interesting way to earn money to support my acting career, unaware that this would become another new vocation. I now await with anticipation my modeling bookings. I crave the unique almost surreal experience that I enjoy when I step on the model stand. Very different and yet strangely similar, the art modeling world couldn’t be further away from Hollywood. Yet, it is the same as getting on stage or in front of a camera. There is one necessary common element. Honesty. As with any performance, it must come from the heart. Even if that heart is in a broken state, the expressions must be true and revealing. The poses must hold anguish, joy, seduction, fearlessness or vulnerability. A true art model has her own palette from which to work. She possesses her own mental and physical brushes sweeping her from one pose to another. Effortlessly, like a dance. One movement to the next, twisting and turning, all the time aware of the shapes she is creating with her torso. Shapes that will create shadows, shading, and foreshortening. She knows that she is creating a story that will be interpreted differently by each person in the room. The dedication must be impeccable: No moving, no shifting, often no comfort. Although there may be constrictions, it is her body. Her gaze. The model is ultimately set free up on the stand. There can be no “stand-ins” in this job. Each model is one of a kind. She or he is a living breathing work of art: A muse, an inspiration, a challenge to recreate or reinterpret. As grand as this sounds, we are but a small cog in the wheel of art. A model is nothing without her class, her instructor, her students, the paints, the charcoals, and the pencils. It is a collaboration and an ethereal meeting of mind, body, and spirit. Something is created from nothing. This is the nature of art. It is a birthing experience. The artist and model are the parents. They reach out to one another and the art is the offspring. It is pure and uncomplicated. Perhaps the reason I adore art modeling. I completely surrender myself to the completion of fully realized moments. My mind has to find ease in my body. There is nowhere to run but inwards. I just am. I’m am me. A hard to find place in this busy world.

With such an appreciation of this new treasure I’ve uncovered, I can’t help but want to share my experiences. It seems that I leave each class with a pearl of wisdom. It may be something that a Professor says or a personal revelation, but there is always a gift. It’s always more exciting to open gifts with other friends present, so gather around, I’m pretty sure there will be one or two gifts in there for you as well.