Belle in Drawings: One Year On

It has been a year since we lost one of Look & Draw’s best-loved models.

Belle was a familiar presence at life drawing sessions, often settling herself beside the human model—and sometimes becoming the one everyone chose to draw instead. She also had a habit of getting into a carefully arranged still life where she wasn’t meant to be, turning herself into part of the composition.

Over the years, she appeared in so many sketches, monoprints, charcoal drawings and paintings. Looking through them now brings back lovely memories of her comforting presence in the classroom: sleeping through poses, wandering unashamedly over everyone’s drawings, making sure we all knew she was the real star, and becoming part of the drawn work herself.

I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who drew Belle and captured something of her character. I have so many drawings of her, but here is a selection celebrating a very special model who is still greatly missed.

A Gallery of Belle

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