We Work with Artists.
Back in art school, in around ’97, what made me uncomfortable about drawing nude models wasn’t that they were naked.
It was the secondhand embarrassment.
There they were, standing like props in a still life, while some professor told them how to hold their elbow—or their soul.
And they, who knew more about anatomy than all of us combined, bit their lips and did as they were told.
It felt like watching an engineer teach a bird how to fly.
So when I built Quarantine, I made it clear: no mannequins.
We work with artists.
With a voice. With ideas.
It’s simple, really.
Respecting the talent, expression, and creative instinct of the person inspiring you shouldn’t feel revolutionary.
It shouldn’t be rare.
But some teachers, they think giving direction is what matters most. They overvalue control and undervalue freedom.
And that kills the dialogue.
And without dialogue, why even use a living body in the studio?
At Quarantine, we work with co-creators.
People who pitch in. Who build with you. Not decorations. But catalysts.
Modelling isn’t posing. It’s a conversation.
It’s a silent back-and-forth between two souls who just get each other.
A passionate tug-of-war between two beautiful kinds of crazy.
And when you see the model as an artist, something real happens.
Stories emerge. Old wounds open.
Moments that can’t be staged or repeated.
Because inspiration doesn’t come from control. It’s born in the collision between your gaze and their truth.
Beautiful Bizarre Magazine just dropped a piece on this, challenging the outdated idea of the artist studying some mute, obedient, stone-like models:
P.S. — Ask yourself:
What if your next masterpiece doesn’t come from control? What if it comes from letting go? What if, by giving the model space to leave their mark, you finally create something new?
Something we said lit a spark?
Good. Follow it.
Each week, one sharp idea to cut through the noise.
You’ll get instant access to all our books.
Including the one that’s helped hundreds “Overcoming Impostor Syndrome.”