Las Vegas Art Models Group – July Workshop 08

Once again, another good art nude workshop is in the books. As I mentioned before, Faerie was the model for this workshop and it was one of the best ever. I attribute this to 3 reasons. First and foremost was Faerie. Gorgeous…great bod…and best of all, the perfect muse. She is the consummate professional in the business of art modeling, but she knows how to be comfortable and relaxed with everyone. Faerie is a well balanced model in every since of the word and I am all too fortunate to have the privilege of working with her and better yet, to call her friend.

The photos I have up now were actually taken the day before the workshop. That’s how much of a trooper Faerie is. My friend Garrett was not going to be able to make the workshop and asked about getting Faerie out on location the day before. We went out in seemingly bad weather. It threatened to rain on us the whole time. We got ready to leave and the sun popped out. I loved all the shots I got of Faerie in the wind. This one image is particularly captivating the way the wind whips her hair around her head to frame her face. Does this woman take an excellent portrait or what? There’s no way you can look at this face…this bod…and not be envious of every person in this workshop.

The second reason for such a grand success this time out was the number female photographer participants. I was naturally over the amount that I normally have out. We had 10 photogs out this time. But of those 10, we had 3 that were women. I’ve been trying to attract more lady shutterbugs to grace our events and after patiently waiting and more promotion, more have. Summer has been with us the whole time as she has accompanied Felix for every single one so far. However, this particular event was her second time coming out as a photog. I invited Michelle to come out and see what we do. This was her first time shooting the nude. All in all, we had about 4 or 5 new faces in total. That’s always a good thing. There are approximately 60 members in the group, who lurk between model and artists. Not all are photographers. Some are sketch artists, painters, and even sculptors. Still, I am quite sure that 10 will be the limit on the number of photogs that I’ll allow in a workshop for a single day.

The third reason for such a big success was due to the third female participating photographer, Roselyn. Its not easy organizing and controlling the flow with 10 photogs. Ros, interrupted this flow, but in a good way. Just as I think I’ve got down how I want things to go, Ros pulls out a basket full of props to create a scene that she’d like to photograph. I’ve got everyone divided up into 2 groups who will wait their turns to shoot. Ros is in the first group. The minute she sets up the model with a beautiful red oriental parasol, puts her on a blanket, gives her a book to read…complete with spectacles, EVERYONE wants a piece of the action! Orderly chaos ensues, meaning everyone came in on that scene and everyone was shooting. The whole demeanor of the group has now changed. And for the better, I might add. It was proposed that everyone chip in $10 or so and let Ros, buy the props from now on. By her leadership, we are also now doing group portraits at the end of every event. That’s Auntie Ros, for you.

So as I anticipated, I knew bringing in some women photographer into the group would have an impact. I just didn’t realize how much! Thank you Faerie. Thank you Summer and Michelle. Thank you, Roselyn. And thanks to everyone for coming out. From left to right: Brad, Michelle, Felix, Summer, Charlie, Terrell, Jeff, Faerie, John, and Jamie. Down in front, Win, and then there’s Roselyn…the Aussie in the cowboy hat! That’s the way they do it, down unda!