Reasons why you as a high school art student should always Draw From Life and not draw from photos or other reference material.

• Copying from the work of others is plagiarism - cheating - stealing intellectual property - a crime.

• But even if the photo you copy from is your own you still cheat yourself of the experience gained that only drawing from a live three dimensional object can give you.

• You relinquish all of the artistic decisions to someone else that you need to be practicing at this time in your artistic career. 

• You need to practice seeing not copying.

• Drawing from life builds the confidence in your skills that you need as a young artist.

•  Here are a very few representative examples of images drawn and/or painted from life by Moeller student artists.

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Noah Pfaar 

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Joe Wierenga

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Drawing of his teacher, by Bob Fisher '86   Pencil, Pen, acrylic paint, tempera paint mixed media.

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Self-Portrait in a mirror, Robert Coby '07  Compressed Charcoal Drawing

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Mark Reisen, '02  Ball Point Pen Drawing

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David Brackney '94   Pencil Drawing

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Joe Wierenga '03   Pencil Drawing

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Nick Storer, '04  Ball Point Pen Drawing

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Rick Hagee, '04  China Marker (grease pencil)