I was very excited when I heard about this great Hen Party idea. Over to tutor Penny for a sneak peek behind
the scenes of a Hens with Pens class.
What actually happens at
a hen party life drawing class? One of the most frequent questions I’m
asked is “How rowdy are the hens?”, quickly followed by “Is the model nude?”.
I really enjoy teaching the classes and find that there is a
massive variance in mood from the quiet and studious to the very lively. It
depends on the personalities within the group and, of course, what time of day
the class is held. In all cases I try to provide some tuition so that those who
really want to learn how to draw get the chance to pick up a couple techniques.
At the same time I’m aware that it’s a party activity so I don’t put too much
pressure on anyone to produce a masterpiece!
As for whether the model is nude – yes he is! In the academic
tradition of life drawing, models would always be nude so that students can
gain an understanding of anatomy. The same is true for a hen party life drawing
class.
A Hens with Pens class -
timeline
As a hen party life drawing tutor, my weekends are spent
dashing round the countryside with sketchbooks in tow – one of the nicest
aspects of the job is getting to see all the fabulous accommodation that hens
are using – in one case we even held a class in a yurt!
After I’ve arrived and set up, my first
task is to get all the hens wearing their berets and moustaches and furnished
with drawing materials. We then spend about an hour doing some low-pressure
portraits of each other that can and usually do have hilarious consequences.
At half-time our male model will arrive, and my job is to
secretly usher him in to get changed without the bride catching sight of him.
Once he’s modelling the hens often ask questions about whether he gets nervous,
but for a professional art model it’s all in a day’s work. Both myself and the
models love seeing the hens’ drawings and it’s really rewarding for both of us
to see a progression in technique and an improvement in drawings over the two
hours.
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Penny is a life drawing tutor at Hens with Pens.
