PSA Dallas, May 2006

[David Draime]

It was so great to see all the SOG and Forum buds at this conference, and make new friends - I'm still buzzing from it. And I am so excited and anxious and inspired to get back to work, to improve. The talks were really wonderful, I got so much out of them. The demos were fabulous - Thurs. night I wished I were 4 people, to be able to sit through all of them. I would like to share a quick story - I suspect others will find it amusing, as I have:

My brother lives in Taos, New Mexico, and is also an artist. A little more than two years ago, he and his wife bought a house, that has a very large studio space attached. It's all a bit unfinished, but they are remodelling it a little at a time. It's huge. I visited them the summer before last and, as they did not have a finished guest room, I was brought into the studio. My brother had put a futon, some sheets, blankets and a pillow on this model's stand which was situated against a large wall. This was my bed for two weeks. Well, in a few days I was told to "clean up." It was Thursday and every Thursday evening the studio is opened to area artists for a live model drawing session. So I cleared off my "bed," put my clothes and stuff away, etc. That evening, about twelve or so artists and a beautiful model showed up... and so we all got started. During one of the breaks, I walked around and saw a drawing that this older guy was working on. It was incredible. I told my brother, "this guy is really good." He said, "yeah, he's a pretty good artist."

Well, last Sunday morning, as I was listening to David Leffel and Sherrie McGraw's talk, I was thinking, David Leffel sure looks familiar. Then he or she mentioned they were now living in Taos...and then it dawned on me. It was like "Oh...my... God! I can't believe it." That "pretty good artist" was David Leffel. I had heard of him for years, and admired his work but never knew what he looked like. Then as I was musing, I came to this realization, this seminal fact - (this is just how my brain works):

David Leffel was in my bedroom, drawing a naked lady who was standing on my bed!

Wow! How many people can say that!?! And, yet, I didn't even know it at the time. Well a few hours ago I called my brother and said, "you know when I was visiting, that drawing group, that guy....etc? Do you realize who he is?!?" And he replied, "yeah, that was David. David Leffel...Art Student's League. What about him?"

- Do you ever have those moments where you feel like the stupidest person on the planet?

But what really impresses me is that even though David and Sherrie could certainly hire a model themselves whenever they want to, they go to this Thursday night drawing group at my brother's studio - and fairly regularly, according to my brother. It's very cool. To me that speaks volumes about the dedication, the character, the spirit of these two incredible artists, these two incredible people. Anyway, I'm going to go to Taos this summer to attend a workshop with both David and Sherrie (hopefully, if they are not already full). And I can't wait.

David