Dennis Mealor – Art <dm@dennismealor.net>

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    I always find the “The Nude” turns any ordinary setting into a piece of Art, but I especially love the interior of old buildings as a backdrop. Another setting I have featured with various models has even been a junk yard-style farm situation, with farm machinery. The Nude still dominates the scene, whatever.

    Since I began my passion for Life Photography as I call it, I have always loved to represent the older woman. It may have started with a coffee table book I once owned, “In Praise of the Older Woman,” when I was in my twenties. Quite a long time ago. It was a book of art nude photographs of mature women. Not boring “glamour” women, heavily made-up to suit society’s constant pressure to look a certain way, but real women, real people, a better kind of (natural) beauty, maybe with a “bit of lippy,” etc. It is really up to them. Apart from these inner views I have, I never dictate to models, but will suggest ideas at times.  I have also done male model photoshoots. But as with Life Drawing, many artists find the female form better to draw, or photograph, perhaps due to their curves. As one female artist told me, “there is more to draw, & not so many straight lines.”

    That sounds rather sexist, but in my view is generally true. Having been admin. for a Life Drawing group in the past, attendance numbers were often rather low when a male model was featured. And that is with maybe 80% women artists in a Life Drawing group. As I have found, men are not into art very much, anyway. It is predominantly women artists. At least in regional towns in Australia. I absolutely love the natural vibe that Suzanne brings to modelling. 

An early morning read . . .

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I think I must have been in a bit of a Chagall moment when I painted this goat. But I ended up painting over it, as I sometimes do. Glad I took a photo of it at the time, which I always do anyway. I even take a pic of each stage of any paintings. Sometimes the first draft is better than the finished painting. From that, I have learned to walk away before I ruin a painting. Only a fine line between good, and totally ruining a work.

I think my main inner motto is (apart from walking away), to avoid making it look contrived. Rough is good. I love this painting. Shame I painted over it really, but C’est la Vie. 

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