By RJ Ledesma
There were two naked people in the middle of the room. And one of them was, unfortunately, male.
I have to say, when I arrived at UP's "100 Nudes, 100 Years" nude sketching session, I felt gypped. I was ready to be overwhelmed by 100 Rubenesque bodies splayed all over the exhibition hall of Mandarin Oriental Suites in Gateway Mall publicly displaying their privates. Alas, the models did not make the quota. Damn. Another adolescent fantasy remains unfulfilled.
Not only did I feel gypped, but I also felt quite uncomfortable because I wasn't sure what constituted appropriate behavior at a nude sketching session. Although my wife thoughtfully etched a couple of reminders onto my forehead on how she thought I should conduct myself during the session: first, do not stare at any R-rated body parts for more than three seconds. Second, do not hyperventilate. And, third and most important, do not touch. Yourself or the model.
So in-between those three-second intervals that I took staring at the nude model (the female one, okay? The female one), I recall my mom telling me that good behavior suggests that you make the people you are with feel more at ease in your presence. And since the models looked a bit tense onstage (it's a bit more obvious that you are tense when you are naked), I though it would be polite to also remove my clothes and make them feel more at ease. However, I also realized that not everybody would be comfortable with my nudity. So I kept my fig leaf on, just in case.
While the female model was being captured in all her Rubenesque-ness, I spoke with nude sketching event organizer and artist Romy Carlos. Tito Romy is a landscape and portraiture artist who has the uncanny, eunuch-like ability to stare at a naked woman without reaction, without hesitation and without his wife present. I swore to myself that, before this session was over, I would find out how he keeps his composure during nude sketching sessions, how I could get him to invite me to future nude painting sessions without fear of reprisal, and how come he wanted me to put my clothes back on.
NUDERED
RJ LEDESMA (a.k.a. Wanna-be Nude): Tito Romy, are you a normal man? Allow me to elaborate on this question before you stab me with your paintbrush. Normal men will find it very difficult to stare at a naked woman without having a physiological reaction that your life would like to beat out of you. So how do you do it? Is it medication? Stapler and rubber bands? Fear of the Lord?
ROMY CARLOS (a.k.a. Nude is Never Enough): For artists, I guess it's different. Basically, you'd like to finish your artwork. But surely, like any other human being, you feel also a sensation before the session starts.
Ah, so you get the sensation before the session starts?
Of course, just like any normal male.
Is it the same sort of sensation that you get when you have a urinary tract infection?
Ahem. But the moment the nude sketching session starts, you can see that everyone is so quiet and focused. You want to finish your work and do a good job.
Tito Romy, aren't you afraid that if you stare at her too long that your eyes might melt? That's what my yaya says.
You don't look at the model continuously anyway. The only time that you really spend looking at the model is at the start of the session because you'd like to choose the angle and lighting of the model that will be best-suited to your sketch.
I discovered that the best way to stare at naked women is by pressing the pause button.
Most of the time, you are looking at your canvas and not at the model. You only glance at her from time to time.
What do you look for when you request a model for a nude sketch? Do you say, 'I'd like a size 36C cup, please'?
Actually, that's a misconception.
A misconception? Why? Is it a D cup? Wow, you artists are demanding.
Normally, when you are looking for a model, the manager often asks you, 'Do you want a beautiful woman?' Actually, we don't. What is important is that the model knows how to pose. And that she is also patient. In fact, the great models are the ones who are already kulubot na. Because they have character lines.
Kulubot na? O, yaya pwede ka pa palang mag-model.
YAYA: Ulol.
We aren't looking for a Miss Universe, you know. What is more important is the interpretation by the artist of the nude model on the canvas. During Renaissance times, the ideal form of beauty was voluptuous. The emphasis was on the breasts. So the breasts had to be full. However, standards of beauty change through the ages.
Tito Romy, I think we should emphasize that some standards should never change.
For me, I like our model over there. Not too fat, not too skinny. She's just right.
The Goldilocks philosophy works well for me, too, Tito Romy.
NEVER TOO NUDE
Which nude is easier to draw? The female nude or the -- God help me -- male nude?
I guess it's easier to draw the male model. Primarily because I am a male.
So that means you know where all the body parts belong.
But for the female, there are a lot of nuances. There is a bit of subconscious that enters the drawing. Because, let's face it, not all the models are generously endowed. Maliit ang kuwan ng model.
Ah, yes, the non-Renaissance kuwan.
Kapag kinopya mo yung kuwan, somehow you feel that something is missing. So usually, you add a little something, to make it more... proportional.
Sigh... If only we could use our subconscious to make things more proportional. So, Tito Romy, let us talk like real men who do not live in fear of their wives. Staring at the nude model doesn't do anything for you at all? It doesn't make you frustrated? Excited? Temporarily insane?
Personally, it does nothing for me. All you want to do while sketching is to capture the essence of the model.
That is also what many D.O.M.s want to capture as well.
Carnal desire just doesn't enter the body somehow. But as the model takes off her clothes, siyempre nakakuwan yung senses mo eh.
Ah, so even the kuwan does something for you pala?
Pero, it's another thing altogether when a model takes off her clothes on stage in a beerhouse. But the be-all and end-all of the nude sketching session is that you are able to complete your work.
Tito Romy, I don't really know what its like for a model to take off her clothes in a beerhouse. I have never been to one before.
YAYA: Ulol.
So do you usually sketch the whole body of the nude, or do you leave some parts for the imagination to prevent domestic warfare?
It depends on your mood and on the time available. Normally, if you are pressed for time, then you just choose certain parts of the anatomy.
I often choose certain parts of the anatomy when I have limited time to look at nudes as well.
Tito, there is a question my three female readers have been too sober to ask: What exactly is that fine line between nudity in art and just plain pornography?
Pornography caters to the more primeval sensations of a human being. Pornography arouses your basic instincts. But in art, there is a more sublime reason behind it. In each creation that you make, you always leave a little something of yourself in that particular artwork. That is not only your time, but also your emotional and spiritual self as well.
I see. So I should always leave a little something of myself after I look at nudes. Speaking of which, just how many nudes have you painted in your lifetime?
Um, not very many, actually. About 30, I'd say.
Well, that's 30 more than I'll ever paint. After your 30 nude drawings, can you say what would make a good candidate for a nude model?
There is no hard and fast rule. Whatever model is presented to me, I guess I won't mind. As long as the model is pleasant enough to pose and as long as the proper facilities are available, like the lighting and the background music. Then that's all right with me. I'm not too particular about the looks of the model.
Fantastic! There is still hope for me then. So, please make me happy, Tito Romy: Would I make a good nude model? I took some pictures of myself in the banyo this morning just in case.
Why not? In fact one of our male models was a UP student before. He had no previous experience but he had a fair complexion, just like you.
It's not me, Tito. It's the Glutathione. I've been jockeying for an endorsement, but damn that Gabby Concepcion and his Dorian Gray good looks.
The model adjusted very well. There were first-time jitters. It took him quite a while befoore he could come out of the room and pose. But after coaching him a bit, he finally came out. All's end that ends well, I say.
And I hope that all of his is still well.
«««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««
But of course, this little tête-à-tête with Master kuwan Romy Carlos was merely a prologue to the moment that all the No Girlfriends Since Birth (NGSB), Quezon City chapter, have been waiting for: The no-holds and no-clothes-barred interview with the nude model. So, after checking my blood pressure, binding my hands with barbed wire, and placing me behind a wall crowned by broken soft-drink bottles, the interview with our nude female model began under heavy surveillance.
HETO NA, HETO NA, HETO NAAAAHHAAAAA!!!!
RJ (a.k.a. Hubo't Hubad Lumilipad): So, do you, um, come here often?
HUBAD (a.k.a. Hubad): Well, it's my first time here, but I've been modeling for some time already.
What kind of modeling have you been doing?
Ayan. Nude.
Well, yes. I could see that.
Sometimes there are pictorials. But more often they are for nude paintings.
So, how exactly do you become a nude model? There are many ways I can think of how you became one, but they are all illegal.
Actually, I was just recruited.
Oh, that being the case, can we have the number of that recruitment agency, please?
I had a friend who was posing for nude paintings, then she dragged me along to a session one time. Then her manager, Kuya Jonski, liked me. So that's how it all started.
Who is this charismatic Kuya Jonski? Can I meet him personally and give him a certificate of recognition? And how did he know you would be an ideal model for nude modeling? Was he Kryptonian? Did he have X-ray vision?
It was like an audition. There was a pictorial, and if Kuya Jonski liked your body, he would show these pictures to clients. If the cliens like your body, then they will request a session.
Do you check if any of these clients have a record with the NBI? Um, scratch that. (RJ mumbles: "Yaya, inayos mo na ba yung sa NBI?") Let's get back to the interview: How many years have you been nude modeling?
Almost three years now.
Three years!? May I ask how old you are?
I'm turning 20.
Wow. I would like to explore this topic more but I am afraid that the authorities are monitoring this interview. And what exactly are the benefits that you get out nude modeling? Is it the love of art? The exhilaration of being captured on canvas? The recognition you get from being drawn by the country's foremost artists?
Money.
Ah, that is a very rewarding benefit. How much of that rewarding benefit do you get for nude modeling?
It's different. But the compensation is much better during pictorials. The hourly rate there is... ay basta! Secret.
Yes, please do keep it a secret. I could hear some D.O.M.s writing out blank checks.
I have to say, when I arrived at UP's "100 Nudes, 100 Years" nude sketching session, I felt gypped. I was ready to be overwhelmed by 100 Rubenesque bodies splayed all over the exhibition hall of Mandarin Oriental Suites in Gateway Mall publicly displaying their privates. Alas, the models did not make the quota. Damn. Another adolescent fantasy remains unfulfilled.
Not only did I feel gypped, but I also felt quite uncomfortable because I wasn't sure what constituted appropriate behavior at a nude sketching session. Although my wife thoughtfully etched a couple of reminders onto my forehead on how she thought I should conduct myself during the session: first, do not stare at any R-rated body parts for more than three seconds. Second, do not hyperventilate. And, third and most important, do not touch. Yourself or the model.
So in-between those three-second intervals that I took staring at the nude model (the female one, okay? The female one), I recall my mom telling me that good behavior suggests that you make the people you are with feel more at ease in your presence. And since the models looked a bit tense onstage (it's a bit more obvious that you are tense when you are naked), I though it would be polite to also remove my clothes and make them feel more at ease. However, I also realized that not everybody would be comfortable with my nudity. So I kept my fig leaf on, just in case.
While the female model was being captured in all her Rubenesque-ness, I spoke with nude sketching event organizer and artist Romy Carlos. Tito Romy is a landscape and portraiture artist who has the uncanny, eunuch-like ability to stare at a naked woman without reaction, without hesitation and without his wife present. I swore to myself that, before this session was over, I would find out how he keeps his composure during nude sketching sessions, how I could get him to invite me to future nude painting sessions without fear of reprisal, and how come he wanted me to put my clothes back on.
NUDERED
RJ LEDESMA (a.k.a. Wanna-be Nude): Tito Romy, are you a normal man? Allow me to elaborate on this question before you stab me with your paintbrush. Normal men will find it very difficult to stare at a naked woman without having a physiological reaction that your life would like to beat out of you. So how do you do it? Is it medication? Stapler and rubber bands? Fear of the Lord?
ROMY CARLOS (a.k.a. Nude is Never Enough): For artists, I guess it's different. Basically, you'd like to finish your artwork. But surely, like any other human being, you feel also a sensation before the session starts.
Ah, so you get the sensation before the session starts?
Of course, just like any normal male.
Is it the same sort of sensation that you get when you have a urinary tract infection?
Ahem. But the moment the nude sketching session starts, you can see that everyone is so quiet and focused. You want to finish your work and do a good job.
Tito Romy, aren't you afraid that if you stare at her too long that your eyes might melt? That's what my yaya says.
You don't look at the model continuously anyway. The only time that you really spend looking at the model is at the start of the session because you'd like to choose the angle and lighting of the model that will be best-suited to your sketch.
I discovered that the best way to stare at naked women is by pressing the pause button.
Most of the time, you are looking at your canvas and not at the model. You only glance at her from time to time.
What do you look for when you request a model for a nude sketch? Do you say, 'I'd like a size 36C cup, please'?
Actually, that's a misconception.
A misconception? Why? Is it a D cup? Wow, you artists are demanding.
Normally, when you are looking for a model, the manager often asks you, 'Do you want a beautiful woman?' Actually, we don't. What is important is that the model knows how to pose. And that she is also patient. In fact, the great models are the ones who are already kulubot na. Because they have character lines.
Kulubot na? O, yaya pwede ka pa palang mag-model.
YAYA: Ulol.
We aren't looking for a Miss Universe, you know. What is more important is the interpretation by the artist of the nude model on the canvas. During Renaissance times, the ideal form of beauty was voluptuous. The emphasis was on the breasts. So the breasts had to be full. However, standards of beauty change through the ages.
Tito Romy, I think we should emphasize that some standards should never change.
For me, I like our model over there. Not too fat, not too skinny. She's just right.
The Goldilocks philosophy works well for me, too, Tito Romy.
NEVER TOO NUDE
Which nude is easier to draw? The female nude or the -- God help me -- male nude?
I guess it's easier to draw the male model. Primarily because I am a male.
So that means you know where all the body parts belong.
But for the female, there are a lot of nuances. There is a bit of subconscious that enters the drawing. Because, let's face it, not all the models are generously endowed. Maliit ang kuwan ng model.
Ah, yes, the non-Renaissance kuwan.
Kapag kinopya mo yung kuwan, somehow you feel that something is missing. So usually, you add a little something, to make it more... proportional.
Sigh... If only we could use our subconscious to make things more proportional. So, Tito Romy, let us talk like real men who do not live in fear of their wives. Staring at the nude model doesn't do anything for you at all? It doesn't make you frustrated? Excited? Temporarily insane?
Personally, it does nothing for me. All you want to do while sketching is to capture the essence of the model.
That is also what many D.O.M.s want to capture as well.
Carnal desire just doesn't enter the body somehow. But as the model takes off her clothes, siyempre nakakuwan yung senses mo eh.
Ah, so even the kuwan does something for you pala?
Pero, it's another thing altogether when a model takes off her clothes on stage in a beerhouse. But the be-all and end-all of the nude sketching session is that you are able to complete your work.
Tito Romy, I don't really know what its like for a model to take off her clothes in a beerhouse. I have never been to one before.
YAYA: Ulol.
So do you usually sketch the whole body of the nude, or do you leave some parts for the imagination to prevent domestic warfare?
It depends on your mood and on the time available. Normally, if you are pressed for time, then you just choose certain parts of the anatomy.
I often choose certain parts of the anatomy when I have limited time to look at nudes as well.
Tito, there is a question my three female readers have been too sober to ask: What exactly is that fine line between nudity in art and just plain pornography?
Pornography caters to the more primeval sensations of a human being. Pornography arouses your basic instincts. But in art, there is a more sublime reason behind it. In each creation that you make, you always leave a little something of yourself in that particular artwork. That is not only your time, but also your emotional and spiritual self as well.
I see. So I should always leave a little something of myself after I look at nudes. Speaking of which, just how many nudes have you painted in your lifetime?
Um, not very many, actually. About 30, I'd say.
Well, that's 30 more than I'll ever paint. After your 30 nude drawings, can you say what would make a good candidate for a nude model?
There is no hard and fast rule. Whatever model is presented to me, I guess I won't mind. As long as the model is pleasant enough to pose and as long as the proper facilities are available, like the lighting and the background music. Then that's all right with me. I'm not too particular about the looks of the model.
Fantastic! There is still hope for me then. So, please make me happy, Tito Romy: Would I make a good nude model? I took some pictures of myself in the banyo this morning just in case.
Why not? In fact one of our male models was a UP student before. He had no previous experience but he had a fair complexion, just like you.
It's not me, Tito. It's the Glutathione. I've been jockeying for an endorsement, but damn that Gabby Concepcion and his Dorian Gray good looks.
The model adjusted very well. There were first-time jitters. It took him quite a while befoore he could come out of the room and pose. But after coaching him a bit, he finally came out. All's end that ends well, I say.
And I hope that all of his is still well.
«««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««
But of course, this little tête-à-tête with Master kuwan Romy Carlos was merely a prologue to the moment that all the No Girlfriends Since Birth (NGSB), Quezon City chapter, have been waiting for: The no-holds and no-clothes-barred interview with the nude model. So, after checking my blood pressure, binding my hands with barbed wire, and placing me behind a wall crowned by broken soft-drink bottles, the interview with our nude female model began under heavy surveillance.
HETO NA, HETO NA, HETO NAAAAHHAAAAA!!!!
RJ (a.k.a. Hubo't Hubad Lumilipad): So, do you, um, come here often?
HUBAD (a.k.a. Hubad): Well, it's my first time here, but I've been modeling for some time already.
What kind of modeling have you been doing?
Ayan. Nude.
Well, yes. I could see that.
Sometimes there are pictorials. But more often they are for nude paintings.
So, how exactly do you become a nude model? There are many ways I can think of how you became one, but they are all illegal.
Actually, I was just recruited.
Oh, that being the case, can we have the number of that recruitment agency, please?
I had a friend who was posing for nude paintings, then she dragged me along to a session one time. Then her manager, Kuya Jonski, liked me. So that's how it all started.
Who is this charismatic Kuya Jonski? Can I meet him personally and give him a certificate of recognition? And how did he know you would be an ideal model for nude modeling? Was he Kryptonian? Did he have X-ray vision?
It was like an audition. There was a pictorial, and if Kuya Jonski liked your body, he would show these pictures to clients. If the cliens like your body, then they will request a session.
Do you check if any of these clients have a record with the NBI? Um, scratch that. (RJ mumbles: "Yaya, inayos mo na ba yung sa NBI?") Let's get back to the interview: How many years have you been nude modeling?
Almost three years now.
Three years!? May I ask how old you are?
I'm turning 20.
Wow. I would like to explore this topic more but I am afraid that the authorities are monitoring this interview. And what exactly are the benefits that you get out nude modeling? Is it the love of art? The exhilaration of being captured on canvas? The recognition you get from being drawn by the country's foremost artists?
Money.
Ah, that is a very rewarding benefit. How much of that rewarding benefit do you get for nude modeling?
It's different. But the compensation is much better during pictorials. The hourly rate there is... ay basta! Secret.
Yes, please do keep it a secret. I could hear some D.O.M.s writing out blank checks.
Taken from The Philippine Star
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