The painter-model relationship: An article written by art model Roy Joseph Butler

Roy Joseph Butler is an actor, writer and art model. He and Leo Crane are co-founders of Figuration, a creative studio specialising in fine art and animation. They produce films, exhibitions, workshops, and events in partnership with cultural and community spaces across the UK, including the V&A, British Library, Sotheby’s Institute of Art and The Hepworth Wakefield. They have been featured in print, radio, and tv, including the BBC Radio 2 Arts Show and Sky Portrait Artist of the Year.

In their new book Contemporary Figures in Watercolour, Leo and Roy explore how to interpret the gestures and movements of the figure through the language of paint. Through a range of exercises, they show how to work with the fluidity and immediacy of watercolour to create lively paintings that are bursting with character and narrative possibility. With a focus on the dynamic exchange between artist and subject, speed, gesture and story, this book will appeal to artists looking anew at life painting and who are eager to capture the essence of character in movement.

In this article Roy talks a bit about the relationship between artist and subject, giving a fascinating insight into the indispensable role of the art model.

Amber is an Illustrator, Artist, Activist and recent graduate working in Luton. Mostly using Ink, spray paint, acrylic and pastel, she would describe her work as punk, punchy and expressive. 

Amber feels most inspired when there is a strong message behind her work and something she can emotionally connect with, intending to use her art to raise awareness of things that are important. She has a lot to say but she also likes to share the stories of others through her work, as well as her own feelings.

Amber will be running a workshop entitled 'Be the Change: Use Your Voice' on Saturday 2nd October with Big Draw Sponsor Partners the Courtauld Institute of Art as part of their day of online Big Draw Festival events! We were so excited to catch up with Amber and find out more about her practice, talk all things creativity and activism, and find out more about what's in store for her Big Draw Festival event...

blkmoodyboi is a Non-binary trans self-taught illustrator that centers Black and Brown trans people in their art. Inspired by comics, anime, friends, and community, blkmoodyboi crafts their own unique style. Through their work, they aim to showcase love, tenderness, and softness as a form of radical resistance against white cis-het patriarchal capitalism. 

In April 2021, The Big Draw announced its first ever digital residencies. blkmoodyboi was one of the five artists selected with their brilliant proposal Blind Faith. Blind Faith is an illustrated anthology series featuring the stories of six Trans people of colour in the UK. This anthology will serve as an archive that platforms the voices of people of colour with a trans experience, their stories, thoughts and lives.

It was wonderful to catch up with blkmoodyboi to talk about Blind Faith, and find out more about their heritage and inspiration. They also shared greater insight into their experience navigating their identity as a non-binary trans person of colour within the artistic world.