I\u2019ve done life drawing before, but this time I am a bit worried. The woman across the room from me has done life drawing too, \u201cbut not with dogs\u201d.<\/p>\n
The problem with drawing people from life is they tend to move. The same is true of greyhounds, but they also don\u2019t understand when you ask them to hold a pose.<\/p>\n
As I enter TKO Tattoos, where greyhound life drawing classes are held once a month or so, I\u2019m greeted by a white whippet wearing a fetching yellow, blue and black striped jumper. \u201cThat\u2019s Fettuccine,\u201d says TK, the parlour\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re in Eltham, about 20km north of Melbourne\u2019s centre, in a small industrial building set back from the road. The walls are lined with tattoo designs and other art, many of them stylised greyhounds. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted my own little art studio,\u201d says TK.<\/p>\n
Host TK with their whippet Fettuccine. Photograph: Charlie Kinross\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
Finding I have no treats, Fettuccine loses interest and wanders towards the back of the studio to join the other star of the show. Nina, a smallish black greyhound, is lounging on a plush red cushion. She\u2019s wearing a floral yellow collar and a jumper that matches Fettuccine\u2019s \u2013 even inside, the weather is brisk.<\/p>\n
Whippets and greyhounds look similar, with long, narrow heads and thin, muscular bodies. Whippets tend to be smaller than greyhounds. And, unlike greyhounds, they aren\u2019t raced commercially in Australia, only by hobbyists.<\/p>\n
Fettuccine the whippet strikes a pose. Photograph: Charlie Kinross\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
TK\u2019s mum rescued greyhounds, so they\u2019ve lived with these dogs since childhood. Now they host classes to raise money for Greyt Greys<\/a>, the rescue service through which they adopted Nina.<\/p>\n Victoria has one of the largest greyhound racing industries in the world, with thousands of dogs needing rehabilitation and good homes each year. This life drawing fundraiser sold out in about two days.<\/p>\n I take one of the seats oriented around Nina\u2019s cushion as about 20 other artists file in \u2013 Fettuccine greeting every single person at the door.<\/p>\n One of Josh Nicholas\u2019s sketches. Illustration: Josh Nicholas\/The Guardian<\/p>\n There\u2019s a wide mix, including some who have never taken a life drawing class. But there\u2019s plenty of greyhound lovers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are six greyhound \u2018faces\u2019,\u201d explains Charlotte, sitting next to me. She has owned four greyhounds over the years; her current two dogs \u201chave the same face\u201d.<\/p>\n It\u2019s my first of many lessons about greyhounds over the next two hours \u2013 such as did you know some greyhounds have translucent legs? It\u2019s a skin flap on the back, really. I try hard but can\u2019t see it. Maybe it\u2019s just the way Nina is sitting.<\/p>\n Greyhound Nina sprawls on a plush red cushion. Photograph: Charlie Kinross\/The Guardian<\/p>\n I do some warm-up sketches of Fettuccine as he does the rounds, diligently investigating our bags for any undeclared treats. I keep drawing his face too narrow and mucking up the angle and curve of his hind legs.<\/p>\n Someone hisses: \u201cThey\u2019re just goofy-shaped animals!\u201d That\u2019s it! Have you ever noticed how weirdly shaped whippets are? Someone else mentions a \u201creverse chicken leg\u201d. This may not be correct anatomically, but just about nails the problem.<\/p>\n Fettuccine does the rounds during the class, investigating participants\u2019 bags for treats. Photograph: Charlie Kinross\/The Guardian<\/p>\n I switch over to Nina, who is facing me with her front paws off the end of the cushion. She has gorgeous, deep-brown eyes that are hard not to stare into. She\u2019s five years old, says TK\u2019s partner Leah, who has Nina\u2019s leash clipped on to her belt. Nina \u201cwas intended to race\u201d, but they don\u2019t know whether she made it on to a track, she says.<\/p>\n By my second attempt, Nina has shifted to face away from me. I draw the long sweep of her belly, all the way around her leg. Mostly from memory, as she keeps moving. Do greyhounds\u2019 knees always point away from them when they lay down? Are those even knees? This leads to a heated group discussion.<\/p>\n \u2018I draw the long sweep of her belly, all the way around her leg.\u2019 Photograph: Charlie Kinross\/The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cI keep drawing and thinking: this can\u2019t be right! But no, that\u2019s how she\u2019s actually sitting,\u201d says Emma, Charlotte\u2019s partner. \u201cI\u2019ve just been ignoring the paws.\u201d<\/p>\n So have I \u2013 they\u2019re a very complicated shape with lots of joints. TK saves us with cards they\u2019ve drawn of greyhound body parts, showing how to use circles and other shapes to construct the joints. It definitely helps.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever learned to draw a human head via the Loomis method<\/a>, or break down the human body into a series of stacked boxes<\/a>, then you\u2019ve seen this approach. The Loomis method starts a drawing of a head with a circle and uses that to work out the facial features. Similarly, you can think of a greyhound\u2019s head as a circle with a cone attached. The joints in their lower legs and paws are a series of circles you slowly flesh out into a cylinder.<\/p>\n Nicholas\u2019s subject is prone to moving. Illustration: Josh Nicholas\/The Guardian<\/p>\n By my sixth sketch we\u2019re winding down. We leave our drawings on our chairs and take a tour round the room. There\u2019s a huge variety of sketches, including some incredible, quick renderings in pencil and charcoal.<\/p>\n In the end, I\u2019m not overjoyed with any of my drawings. But it\u2019s not because of Nina and Fettuccine\u2019s reverse chicken legs, or that they wouldn\u2019t sit still. I just need practice. Perhaps a lot of it. And I\u2019ll remember to bring treats for Fettuccine next time.<\/p>\n Josh Nicholas (centre back) and the other life drawing participants show off their sketches. Photograph: Charlie Kinross\/The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve done life drawing before, but this time I am a bit worried. 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