Good late night! --Or likely morning or day where most are!
My drawing progress is crawling as I am facing my hometown's unprecedented heat wave. I stated earlier that it was hot-- well, it got worse. The official temperature at the Anchorage airport read 90°F (32°C) on July 4, shattering our old all-time record of 85°F (29°C) that has held for 50 years.
My "studio" (the dining room table, haha) has been unbearably hot, even with windows open and several fans running. It has gotten up to 95°-100°F inside the house (35-38°C) because, understandably, this is Alaska. Our homes are designed to keep heat inside during the winter.
I've holed up in the bedroom, the only room with a portable A/C, while the rest of the house cooks. I have my phone, my Netflix, and my Nintendo Switch. Several hundred thousand people in the region are going through the same thing, finding creative ways to stay cool. I saw a picture of someone holding a box fan in her lap!
The hot weather is supposed to stay for at least another week. Drawing can only happen if I take it to the air-conditioned coffee shop, but I can keep this blog going with my crazy stories about this part of the globe.
We have really big moose. Over a thousand of them live within the city limits. It's easy to find videos of these giant animals walking between stopped cars during rush hour. In the warmest days of the summer, sometimes they sneak into residents' kiddie pools! I'm certain they've been unbearably hot as well.
To change the subject a bit, I want to talk about something more relevant to this site, modeling in particular. I have always had huge respect for modeling. I did a lot of life drawing when I was in art school, and I wouldn't have some of the skills I have today if it weren't for the models that posed for our classes.
When I drew for life drawing, I did my best to put myself in the model's shoes (or feet for nudes). I found that trying to empathize with the subject produced more authentic art. The gigs are tough sometimes. One has to be 100% confident with themself. Holding poses, especially long poses for drawing/painting, can really put strain on muscles and joints. I took classes in the autumn and winter, and the studios got chilly; we had to bring in portable heaters and blankets for models posing nude.
I don't know a lot about photography modeling, but I could imagine that similar challenges are at play, like holding poses for specific shots. The finished products look amazing, of course, but as an amateur artist, I like to think about the work that went into each set and the people involved.
And of course, thank you all for all that you do. I love this community. There are many like-minded artsy types here and it feels like a safe space in what can sometimes be a really fucked up world.
Stay cool!
J