September 2009

I had a very pleasant surprise in my email inbox on Sunday:

" It's been about 3 or so years so you might not remember me.  My name is John Forkner.  One of your models, Delilah Buitron, brought me in to model for your Three Martini studio the summer of 2006.  It was the first time I'd ever modeled for anybody and I had no idea how to do it or what to do.
You guys were so great in making me feel at ease and letting me get my feet wet, learning that a 5 minute pose is WAY different than a 20 minute pose! I moved to New York City that September and all my supposed job opportunities fell through unexpectedly--that's how the City works...you think you'll hit the ground running, then everything gets yanked out from under you.  It's a Venus fly trap.

Sink or swim time.  I contacted Dorian Vallejo whom I met at your studio and he made some calls and gave me some advice on how to find work.  The rest is history.  I've been modeling constantly since.

I was encouraged to finally put together an online portfolio of all the projects I've worked on over the years.  And there, at the bottom of the page are two drawings I believe were yours from that summer. I don't know if you remember them--if they are, I would like to credit you for them. I believe that's a "DT" signature at the bottom?   Check them out here: www.johnforkner.com/modeling.html.

I owe you a tremendous thanks.  Without you and your studio I probably wouldn't have made it very long in New York City.  And while I never imagined I'd wind up doing anything remotely like this as a career, here I am.  As it is, I'm in the middle of a major painting, two sculptures, a book on drawing the nude/clothed figure, and this fall a book on sculpting the male figure!!

I can't thank you enough.  If you ever find yourself in need of a model, I'm at your service."

Of course I remembered John, both as a fantastic model and a great person. I was sad to see him leave Dallas for both reasons, but happy for him to move to NYC. I remembered the drawings and they are indeed mine, and I've included them on this post.

If you visit his site, you will see that he is working some top artists and has quite a career. Obviously, I was thrilled to see his email and I'm very happy to have played a part in his success. I hope to work with him again soon; maybe the next time I go visit Dorian.\