125 - A New Wave of Drawing the Figure
The photograph above (one of the Loo Break series) is published here with kind permission from Francesca Cluney and was made in collaboration with @griefandpine and @sekinue (on Instagram). Please do not reproduce it without permission.
In blog post 59 The Online Modelling and Drawing Scene I wrote a factual introduction to the new figure drawing community that I tapped into.
It is new, because it seems to have emerged since 2020 as a direct result of coping with the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown restrictions. But that episode was just the beginning. A huge excitement and interest has bubbled up amongst artists and models. And the really exciting thing for me, is the crossover between the two. Models are taking control and directing the show by collaborating and setting up their own events and linking the work to their own creativity. This is a radical change in the art world. I'm actually struggling to write about it, because I've noticed so much going on. Where to even start?
I'll begin today with three models who work in the UK. Click through to their Instagram account profiles to find links to their photo libraries and events.
Francesca Cluney
Frankie has amazing, fairytale length hair, as described in her Instagram profile name. She has just posted about an intriguing online event called Loo Break Level Five. There is a short write up of it below. I think that says it all really! Super creative and super inspiring. Off the scale inspiring.
Her event is in collaboration with @sekinue and @griefandpine with curatorial support from Dr Thomas Elliott. It's on 12 July 2025 and you can book tickets on Eventbrite.
Loo Break Level Five
"New England House has long been a cultural hub for creatives in Brighton. Models and photographers, @sekinue and @griefandpine and Francesca Cluney met in the infamous building over a decade ago and have long been inspired by the colourful spaces within the 1960s ‘high rise industrial business centre’. Prompted by the imminent closure of the building, the three friends came together to document their encounters with the building and the interpersonal and imaginative connections that the space has fostered.
These photos, taken in the women’s toilets on Level Five of New England House, are a celebration of the unique space. Of all the building’s communal areas, the level five toilets and singular for their rich natural light and biscay green interior. Throughout the years, models and artists, drawn to the vibrant life drawing scene surrounding Draw Brighton, have been moved by the location to take selfies and photos of their own.
Additionally, the images point to the toilet break itself as a specific temporal space, one which marks the passage of the day and intersperses the hours, be they the structured hours of a life drawing class or a working day in one of the adjacent offices, with time for thought and reflection.Alongside this project Francesca is working on a collaborative group exhibition of selfies taken in the location."
https://www.instagram.com/floorlengthfrankie/
Nicole Melpómene
Nicole, based in London, is studying Physics, Dance and Biology and funding her studies through modelling for drawing and photography, or as she describes it "paying [for] her studies with her artistic expression". She is so busy with study and work that I had to wait a month for a half hour session with her (she is the model for my most recent piece of work).
She often teams up with Nasim for 'in-real-life' events in the city.
https://www.instagram.com/bluede_model2/
Nasim Luczaj
I believe Nasim is also a student in London. She recently won the 2024 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize in Poetry with her incredible poem The Village which you can hear her read in a video on Facebook (sorry if you don't use FB it's the only video I could find).
Nasim has the most fantastic photo library containing consistent sets of professionally shot figure poses.
https://www.instagram.com/nasim.artmodel/
