Reflections on Life Drawing III: Naked or Nude?

Posted by on Sep 5, 2025 in Drawing, Figurative, Meaning

While washing my hands in the model’s makeshift “changing room” (really just the toilet), she walked in and started getting dressed. I quickly apologised, saying I’d be out in a moment. Just as she was about to step into her polka-dot knickers, she burst out laughing: “I always find it funny when artists apologise for […]

‘Mark Making’: Art-world Jargon?

Posted by on Sep 5, 2025 in Meaning

I’m with a group of artists looking at a piece of poor-quality artwork that is being critiqued. Someone adds their penn’orth, commenting enthusiastically on the “mark making.” I sigh inwardly – here we go again. This is a classic example of baffling art-speak, used by the sometimes clueless to sound knowledgeable. It’s a phrase I […]