Happy New Year

I'm so sorry friends for being away from this page for so long. There has been so much going on with the book and the learning curve for me publishing my first book has been much more that I had thought. But here I am, onward and upward as they say. The print version of my book is now up at
Amazon just a few days ago. I hope you will find it interesting. So many have told me it was print for them or nothing so I have finally got that going. It will be in other stores over the next few weeks. If you have a favorite place to purchase let me know and I will try to get it there for you.  Happy and Healthy New Year to you all. Lets all join hands and make 2014 a greatly improved living experience. Peace be with you all.

 Oh, as you can see I finally got the train running around my Christmas tree again. Diesel our dog keeps pushing houses on the tracks but he seems to like the train going around. He doesn't chase it like he does the mailman.

Body shapes in art.

How do you see art? Certainly many forms are present but for my post today I am speaking of shape and form as seen in human anatomy and architectural structure. Some may not see the connection but surely there is beauty in both.
The human body when properly maintained has both form and function with swelling muscle shapes and curvy body mass forms. The same is true of a nicely designed building or an exotic sports car.
Once again I am watching "Dancing with the Stars" while writing. The dancers here certainly exemplify great shape and form which gives them the ability to function so gracefully. Appreciating the curves leading to shapely lines and full forms that indicate graceful motion is to recognize art in its most natural existence.

If we were to look at the exotic sports car in the same fashion certainly all the above would be true with the form and function adding even more value to performance. Shapes that reduce wind resistance can add to miles per gallon or even top speed. The road handling of the well designed sports car compares to the sure footedness of the trained dancer. Both become art in motion and their beauty can be equally appreciated.

My working as a artist model has given me a much greater appreciation for this form and function I speak of here. You can learn about that in my new book "It Takes a Naked Man to Tell a Naked Story" everywhere e-books are sold.

The Art of being a model

Figure art has been around since the beginning of man. The evidence is still in caves. Today the figure artist has the advantage of a model that is standing still. That in itself is an art. I am a model, I guess you know that by now. Who would think that standing, sitting or even laying down would be so difficult and develop into an art form. I have heard student artists complain about a model that moves too much. Perhaps a model has been in a pose for 30 minutes and sometimes more so they take a break and come back to the pose. It is very difficult to get the same pose back exactly and new artists in particular have a difficult time making the adjustment in their drawing or understanding  how to use the foundation they started with to continue with the drawing. I have often heard the teacher say "don't chase the model"
It is the models job to be still as much as possible. Not always an easy task. Muscles and joints are not used to being motionless for long periods even in sleep. A focus is needed mentally to be still and here is the "art" of being a model. I sometimes will pretend I am a granite sculpture. My eyes will focus on a an object or shape of any kind to hold my head straight. This is a key because most of the body will follow suit if you hold your head still. If you are contemplating being a model try practicing at home first. Use a timer and see how long can you sit still. The minimum would be 20 minutes as these are commonly repeated in a classroom setting.
Doing standing poses for long periods puts a lot of stress on knees, ankles, feet and back. Certainly adjustments can be made in pose but always keep in mind the original pose to settle back into it.
The experienced artist will have much less a problem with a moving model but most would say they would much prefer one that does not move.
The art of being a model is much more that just holding the pose, it is also understanding the pose itself and what the lesson is calling for or what an artist is looking to accomplish. The experienced artist will most certainly have ideas if you can't think of something. Always listen and try to give what the artist needs. This is the short lesson, much more is involved, just remember if you are an artist - - your model has a tough job that few people want to do,-- try to be patient.

Happy drawing!

Weight loss - the naked truth

Weight loss is never easy and that is the "naked truth." I use the term "Naked" a lot you will notice. There is an honesty to that which is rarely really understood. Certainly it means without clothing. If we realize that clothing hides our true self - our real appearance - then "naked" becomes the truth, nothing to hide behind, just nothing but the "bare" facts.

So - when I first started to model for art schools I was heavier than I wanted to be and more than I had been in a long time. Yet here I was prepared to bare all to make a few bucks in a part time job. That first class scared me right into a gym within a week. Why? you may ask, and the answer is, "the belly." Middle age men start getting the beer belly even if you don't drink beer and as a former long distance runner I was not use to that. During and after the class I got to see the drawings students were doing of me and holy cow batman, where did that belly come from. I joined a gym and started working out and running again, (mind you I was 62 at the time). Let me tell you the amount of exercise needed to loose 20 lbs at any age let alone a slow metabolism 62 year old seems to be about the same effort the space shuttle needs to clear a launch pad. Vanity would be the primary reason of course but certainly not the important one. When you loose weight you feel better, you walk easier , climb stairs easier, sing and dance easier and just plane wonder why you didn't do it sooner.
I may suggest if you have been considering your weight that you try it my way first - ask to be a model at an art class and strip to nothing while strangers examine your body and then draw what they see -- or you could just stand naked in front of a mirror if that first thought scares you. The mirror will not forgive the truth for you to see and there is your motivation my friends.

If you're not an exercise nut or evenly remotely considering the task at hand, take a little advice- don't go jogging or riding a bike or working out on machines at a gym. You won't like it and you can get hurt which is worse -- just start slowly with evaluating your food intake - reduce it a bit at a time and go for a 30 minute walk every day. Try working your walks up to an hour with a slightly elevated heart rate and I promise you - the weight will come off.

The picture you see here is me in Vietnam in 1967 and it reminds me of what skinny was really like and how I will probably never be there again -- but I can have a goal and keep looking at the picture to stay motivated. Good luck. Stay naked.

It's WOW time.

Wow this is great, my book hit the Kindle store at Amazon today and at Smashwords as well. It's so exciting to finally see this all come together. Thanks so much to blog readers and YouTubers, the view counter is rising daily. I hope you will all like the book.
The book is a snapshot of a life that often takes the unconventional approach to a question. The question we all get on a daily basis - that is - what do I do with this situation? or this task or this relationship. From Vietnam to nude model and everywhere in between, lots of life happens and risks are taken. Stepping outside the box can be a new experience for anyone, especially if you're conservative by nature. Perhaps you will take a new step in a whole new direction after reading this book. Enjoy.

New YouTube video

Finally friends, a new video that will give more insight to my new book coming out this week. I expect we will see the e-book version by midweek in most places you can find e-books online. The video will give you some idea of my daily experience on the job. Next week I will be back in the classroom for a new semester of figure drawing. New students, new drawings, new lessons and a whole lot of enjoyment for me. Daily events often bring new stories I will be posting here and who knows perhaps in another book.  Peace

Art and your daughter's portfolio

Imagine your artist daughter (or son) is taking figure drawing among her art courses in college. You have just invited me to your home for a design consultation on remodeling your kitchen because I have 45 years experience in kitchen design and you wanted a pro. While I am in your home, your student daughter or son comes in the room and says "hey Steve, what are you doing here?" Now you are wondering how they know me, so you ask. The answer comes back, "Steve is my model in art class" and now your jaw hits the floor because you had no idea I was also a nude model. Sound funny? well it is true and this has actually happened to me more than once in my kitchen design business. There are many humorous stories in "It Takes a Naked Man - To Tell a Naked Story" The drawing shown here is an actual scene I posed for with another model. There is a story about this drawing in the book. Book should be about 2 weeks away now.

I m sure some of you are wondering what could be such an unusual part time job that got me all fired up to write a book about it. Life changes for all of us from time to time, and those changes can impact us in many different ways. I was discussing with a friend one day my interest in some kind of a part time job that would afford me casual hours with better than casual dollars. I had a need to improve my income but did not want to destroy my recreational time with a full time job. Little did I realize that finding the right part time job would not only pay me but improve my recreational time. How could that be possible? The answer is in the book, ha ha ha. I won't tease you too much here, I really hate those leading lines the media has gotten into.

Maybe you took a guess by the title and cover of the book. (still coming soon) Well my good friend brought me an ad from the local paper which was posted by an art school. They were looking for "nude" figure models. I think he did it as a joke but I took it seriously and went to apply. I had the job the next day. I have been a figure model now for almost 7 years and enjoyed every minute. It is more recreational time for me than work and even as I write this , I am smiling. I never would have guessed I would be doing this at any age let alone 69. The good news also is, I have been able to mix this job with my self employment as a kitchen designer and found more humor in that as well. I will explain that in my next post. Till then keep smiling.

I'm so excited to be here as a first time blogger. I hope you will find it interesting as I have much to say about this amazing part time job I found. A part time job like no other and as a senior citizen I found both joy and humor to the point that I wrote a book about it. Watch for more info on the book in the next few days. The book itself will be released soon, so stay tuned as I will be happy to share with you.