When painting the nude figure in the studio I tell my models to twist and turn as they please. In the fleeting second from one position to the next I see a position that would otherwise have eluded me. But even even with that freedom, the pose is to some extent concocted. The studio isn't the real work-a-day world. It's better that the model is doing something; and better still, if she has to contort her body in doing it. Those "ungainly'' positions are what Degas was after. But other than when bathing, the movements seldom reveal the nude.
By chance, a rare opportunity presented itself some years ago when my wife took a break from painting the studio balcony rail to model for me. Her offer was made on the spur of the moment, and I needed ten minutes to prepare my materials. In the meantime Denise, with her working clothes cast aside in readiness for modelling, returned to painting. By the time I was ready she was upside down painting the underside of the balcony rail. What was to have been a session painting the reclining nude in the studio became an inspirational session painting and sketching the nude working at all angles in the sunshine.
In that half-hour, the rail benefitted from a coat of paint. Denise benefitted from accomplishing two tasks in one, and I benefitted from capturing the nude figure unabashed and unrestrained.
