Comfort

Photo by:Michael Barton Art

I am comfortable in my own skin ( no,I was not always) And most of my income from modeling comes from Art Modeling, that is to say ,modeling for painters, sculptors,those that work in graphite, charcoal,pastel and ink.  Most of the time fully nude. ( occasionally in costume) I work at art schools, clubs and for individual artists. I very, very , very rarely do nudes for photographers.

Why?
Well, for me, there has to be a REASON for nude. For example an artist working on how the body moves and works,needs to see the body actually doing it...so, that makes sense, does it not?
People ask "HOW do you DO that?" One key thing is that the artists typically are breaking you down...into proportion, line, shape,shadow.... you really are not being looked at as a body, hardly at all.  Go ahead, watch an artists face while working ,there is a focus, and intent there,that is wonderful to see,and you can see in their eyes, that you could be an apple, or fruit basket sitting there. And that is exactly as it should be.

For photography, There is a different vibe between the photographer and model. There is more interaction,typically. Though photographers also break things down to composition,shadow and light, in my experience there is still an awareness of you as a body.

What have been compelling reasons for doing nudes in the past?

One was for Gracie Hagen's Illusions of the Body series.  For me ,it made a real statement,that I agreed with.  That the way a person holds themselves can make them beautiful, and the perception of beauty perhaps plays too much upon that. So I was happy to contribute images for her upcoming book.

I will be doing a Yoga based shoot soon as well.  One,because Yoga poses are inherently beautiful,and with the addition of shadows  , will be playing off the lines and angles that the body makes. The human body is a beautiful thing It is art,it is beauty, and making it move though yoga or dance is beautiful to capture.

I do, obviously have to trust the photographer as well.  The first time I shoot with someone, probably is not the time to bring it up to me.  It is certainly not the time to bring it up if I am not getting paid for the shoot. If you just want me to stand there,and be naked....that is not a compelling reason for me.  It's just not.  And won't happen.   I am not looking to do Playboy type shoots ( nothing wrong with them,just not me) I am not looking to bare it all,just to do it....I am not looking to prove that I am comfortable,I am not looking to prove that I am desirable. I am just looking to make beautiful images.  Images in different genres, images that call up different emotions.   I am looking to make art.... and if that seems a lofty goal , maybe it is.  Sometimes I will hit the mark, sometimes I won't , but the striving to the goal, is just as important as getting there.