How a Hamilton life-drawing model inspires the artists he poses for

Nude or wearing a costume, in front of a classroom and online, a Hamilton life-drawing model poses and inspires professional painters.

Every week, Etienne Buxton sets up his camera, lights and backdrop at his home to model for Portrait Pals - eight artists connected from different parts of the hemisphere - to draw and paint over Zoom.

Part of what I love about modelling is the friendliness of colleagues - teachers, artists, models, coordinators - that can form wonderful friendships," Buxton said.

Portrait Pals has been meeting every Sunday since April 2020. Etienne said one of the challenges of modelling remotely is being unable to read" the artists' responses to his poses.

Other models have posed for the group, but Etienne's facial expressions, body movements and ability to stand completely still for more than 20 minutes have turned Etienne into this group of painters' true muse."

The Hamilton life-drawing model was a special guest at Centre[3]'s January exhibition Our Muse, Etienne" alongside artists K.M. Bosy, Antonio Cangemi, Corinne Duchesne, Suzanne M. Carotte, Parker, Clarence Porter, Felicia van Bork and Megan Williams.

Last year, Etienne's silhouette gained the attention of Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro; portraits of the model produced at Sheridan College - where the model poses for art students - were used as props in the Netflix show Cabinet of Curiosities" episode 5, Pickman's Model."

The portraits in the exhibition were a small part of the group's drawings and paintings of Etienne. Portrait Pals was founded in early 2020 by Bork, a Canadian artist based in the U.S.

Described by the founder as a celebration of Etienne - he is such an exceptional model" - and a revelation" of the group's work - produced mainly during COVID lockdowns - the exhibition came out of isolation to a public art space.

Inspired by personal experiences, Etienne's face, arms, and legs embody and manifest emotions through an acting performance. The model said that each pose contributes to telling a story.

Acting has always occurred to me as a natural curiosity, to pursue it in some form," said the model, who took part in acting workshops at Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts.

Etienne was also a life-drawing teacher at the Cotton Factory - a local creative industries complex - in 2019 and 2020.

He can be very subtle and inhabit a mood," said Megan Williams, a Toronto-based artist who is part of the painters' group. Etienne can be anything."

Williams joined the group amid COVID lockdowns and said the social aspects and collaborations with other painters and art professors made isolation feel less lonely.

Burlington artist and Portrait Pals member Corinne Duchesne refers to Etienne as the group's sense of inspiration."

Sometimes, he will tell you the story, and then he drops his face into an emotion," Duchesne said. There is an excellent source of storytelling from him."

Antonio Cangemi, illustrator and instructor at Sheridan College in the Art Fundamental program, found it challenging to work through Zoom. Still, he enjoyed the collaboration with the artists and the models. The initial stages were very uncomfortable. I much prefer having a live person in front of me."

Hamilton artist Clarence Porter said Portrait Pals was a way to spend time with his friends and meet people.

Porter aimed to capture Etienne's expressions and essence with his pencil. I was trying to see whether those expressions were anger, joy or tiredness."

For Bork, painting from the other side of the screen meant freeing herself from being too polite."

I have always loved painting, but as a Canadian woman, I was always inhibited by a need to please others," Bork said.

The online sessions with paid life-drawing models - who cannot see how the paintings look in real-time - comforted Bork.

I made great strides as a painter and as a woman through this experience," Bork said. And my friends were right there, even though they were on the other side of the screen."

Beatriz Baleeiro writes about arts and culture. Contact her at bibalderrama@gmail.com.