Photo-set: The Grand Drawing Circus Pt. 1 (Patreon)

The Drawing Circus exists in liminal spaces - it is part fiction, part reality, constantly telling the cyclical story of its own creation as the models who play the characters of the 'Circus each year become more like their characters, and the characters more like their players. The Circus-themed Drawing Circuses are shows about shows, intended to be drawn. Each Circus story gives rise to narrative set and poses, which in turn sparks new narratives in the minds and pens of the artists who draw us, making more of the story than the cast alone could ever have contrived. Each set of past 'Circus photographs is an invitation for you to join us in the Circus of our collective imagination. Each image is a gateway which you enter by drawing from it - discovering the characters that we portrayed through the lens of your own creative vision and making them you own. By doing that, you bring yourself to our Circus and make it more than it was before. 

This month we look back at a turning point in Drawing Circus history - The 2014 Grand Drawing Circus. The tale of a violent circus murder it was the most ambitious of our events at the time, taking place over all of the spaces of a theatre, from changing rooms and basement practice rooms to the bars and main stage. A 6-hour event of continuous poses, the narrative of the 'Circus was repeated three times in two-hour cycles across the whole theatre and was impossible to watch as a single linear narrative - a quick and discerning sketcher would have been able to pick up on clues from the first rotation and follow the models around the space to tie together the threads of the visual narrative and solve the mystery of Columbina's murder. We'll be sharing this photo-set in three parts - the first half this month, second half next month and  black & white photos of both halves in January. 

(For anybody who does a lot of online life drawing, you might recognise our Coulmbina is Michaela Meadow, who now runs Miss Muse life drawing in Australia.)

Photos by Nick Brekespeare & Mary Martin 

Warmest wishes, 

Jake 

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Remember to use the Draw Patreon Navigator to find the photosets you'd like to use.

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Guidelines for using the photographs

Please do:

• Download these pictures to your own computers and devices, downloading the Zip files for all images, or saving individual photos.

• Use the pictures to draw, paint, print and sculpt from, being as realistic or creative as you like

• Share the artwork you’ve made with us and the world - in books, in exhibitions, on social media, or on your fridge

• Tag us in work you make (@drawbrighton / #drawbrighton) – you don’t have to, but we love to see what you’ve made!

• Edit the photo files as reference for your own drawings - you can change the contrasts, colours and backgrounds to provide more tailored reference for yourself.

Please don't:

• Share these pictures with anybody else – they are between you and us

• Share the photos themselves online – thanks for respecting our models’ privacy

• Edit the photo files themselves for artwork – we want to see original work you’ve made

Thanks!