Artist Statement

Robin Paine  ̶̶̶  Dessins de la Grande Chaumière

I have been passionately engaged in drawing the human figure from life since I was sixteen years old. This difficult and very complex discipline has been a core component of my artistic endeavours, especially helpful with my work as a painter of portraits. I have practiced the art of life-drawing in different locations and situations throughout the world and teach the subject also.

In recent years I have had the good fortune to discover the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Montparnasse where one can draw and paint from the model in association with other artists. In this historic place (apparently unchanged in at least a hundred years) there is a sense of being part of a serious tradition with historic roots where many great artists of the past (Giacometti, Picasso, Bourdelle, Claudel to name a few) came to draw. At this special place I continue to explore the challenges of life-drawing and to develop new methods. For me, the colourful and unique atmosphere of the Académie is very propitious to creativity.

These drawings executed at the Grande Chaumière are in keeping with the general pattern of my artistic work together with oil paintings of figurative subjects. It is a great privilege to exhibit them for the first time.

October 2008

Watch a slideshow of this exhibit and listen to Robin describe her work