The Beautiful Troublemaker

Top:

Nude on the Couch (from the movie The Beautiful Troublemaker). 2019. Vine Charcoal on Old Master's Paper. 10" x 18.5". Casey Klahn. Actress Emmanuelle Béart.

Bottom:

Nude on the Couch Seen from the Back (from the movie The Beautiful Troublemaker). 2019. Vine Charcoal on Old Master's Paper. 10" x 18.5". Casey Klahn. Actress Emmanuelle Béart.

It's not the best practice: using a photo for your reference. Worse, yet, someone else's photo. Worser, yet, from a movie. But, I told myself when I started this 200 Figures Project, that instructional figure model videos were allowable. After all, I'd be needing practical, fresh sources on a constant basis, and it is about practice.

La Belle Noiseuse (1991, which is The Beautiful Troublemaker, is as much an instructional video as any other. It features long shots of the model posing, and also long sequences of the artist just drawing, or re-arranging the studio furniture. I think that's courageous of the filmmaker; it dares to bore the viewer. I wasn't bored at all! I grabbed my iPad and started sketching along with the sessions.

I am a little more than halfway through this project, but it doesn't help that I go through and cull out works occasionally (I got rid of 2 this morning!). Most of my source work is sketches from life models, and I am constantly re-mining those for new works. I am allowing master copies, and by my count those make up 9-10% of what I've posted. Instructional sources, such as Croquis Cafe and this movie, are fewer, yet. 

Thanks for following along.