By April Kim Tonin and Lisa Dinhofer
Whether you are an art student, a professional or a hobbyist, Start Naked highlights the creative process of drawing. Join one class that has been meeting for over 20 years at the National Academy School and witness the lighter moments and challenges of figure drawing.
To preview and purchase a copy of Start Naked, visit http://blur.by/18wGG62
To learn more about New York artist Lisa Dinhofer, visit http://lisadinhofer.com
I met Lisa Dinhofer twelve years ago, after a long hiatus from making art. My professional life has involved teaching students of all ages to appreciate art from around the world. The more time I spent in a classroom or at the museum, the less time I had to make my own work. Around the time I met Lisa, I had finally recognized the need to dedicate time to drawing again.
Every Saturday morning in Lisa's class at the National Academy, we draw the nude figure. We follow a classical approach to drawing. The three hours of class time pass like five minutes. We begin with warm-up exercises consisting of one- and two-minute gesture drawings. We move onto blind contour drawings, in which you do not look at your paper. This process encourages you to disengage from any preconceived notions of what you think the figure should look like, and to train yourself to really see. Towards the end of class, we focus on longer poses, taking all the elements of our warm-ups and combining them. Along the way, Lisa guides us with her knowledge of what good drawing constitutes.
Over the years, Lisa's class has attracted students of all ages from diverse professions. Her students represent a cross-section of the New York area: teachers, architects, a retired photojournalist, doctors, homemakers, an editor, a financial advisor, a banker, a physical therapist, a human-rights lawyer, tattoo artists, illustrators, and full-time art students from around the world. For three hours a week, we gather in the studio at the National Academy to hone our drawing skills. I have created this book as a tribute to Lisa's wisdom, as well as to the many friends I have made at the National Academy through Lisa's Saturday morning drawing class.