top of page

The Art of Collin Douma

"A gesture could whisper something honest without saying a word" 
- Collin Douma

 

At first, I didn’t see the point. Just a room full of people, quietly drawing naked strangers. It felt awkward, a little absurd. But eventually, I started to notice things—posture, weight, the way a gesture could whisper something honest without saying a word.

 

Then it shifted. The poses stretched longer, the lines grew more intentional. It stopped being about bodies and became about structure—how a body holds space, how light moves across skin, how a shoulder can speak. That’s when I started using watercolor. I liked how unpredictable it was. Like the body, it refused to behave unless you met it halfway.

 

I don’t show this work much. It’s not about the result. It’s a ritual now. A quiet place to focus, to practice, to fall in step with others doing the same strange, beautiful thing—trying to hold on to something brief and make it last a little longer.

After 30+ years, I’ve come to value the community life drawing fosters. Sessions bring together artists and models in a supportive, creative space. We draw, laugh, exhibit and celebrate life together, and life drawing artists remain some of the loveliest people I’ve met.

Some of the open workshops I have drawn at include:

Toronto School of Art: Toronto ON 

Spring Studio: New York NY

Unison Art Center: New Paltz NY

Woodstock School of Art: Woodstock NY

D.R.A.W. Kingston: Kingston NY

New York City Subway: New York, NY

Drawing From Life

1993 - Ongoing

Rose_Rested08.jpg
bottom of page