40 Days of Art: Drawing from Life

I'd been putting this section off because I wanted to devote a whole week to it, but now the time is here. Brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, for the hour is at hand:

LIFE DRAWING WEEK!

I'm going to start out with a little bit of semantics, because I'd like to make the distinction between 'life drawing' and 'drawing from life.' I will be using both phrases this week and I don't want people getting confused.

Life drawing I use to refer to drawing a live model, nude or clothed. Drawing from life is a much broader term which refers to drawing something you see in front of you; translating a three-dimensional object in real life into a drawing on your paper. Life drawing is drawing from life, in that you are making a drawing of the real live person modelling for you, but drawing from life also includes drawing your cat, your car, a vase of flowers, the view out your window, an interesting silicaeous sponge, anything that exists before you.

( Why Drawing from Life is Important, and My Secret Wisdom Thereon )