THATS LIFE
'Clothes sexualise us; not nudity' - Geeta Von Tease
Geeta Von Tease is a full time professional artists' life model. She poses for students on a regular basis in arts and community centers, colleges, schools and universities up and down the country. 'I have posed in an eclectic mix of venues from village halls to warehouse floors, a church to a working farm, prestigious museums and even a shop window for animation students, graphic illustrators, graffiti artists, fashion design students, architecture students and I've even been body painted'. Geeta has posed at the IKON Gallery of Modern Art in Birmingham, King Edwards Grammar School for Girls, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Warwick Public School for Boys, the Women's Institute in London and as the Hindu Goddess 'Kali' for pop-up death drawing salons hosted by Art Macarbre. She is proud to be included in students' portfolios for their university entries as well as for their final year pieces and feels flattered to have been a part of their journey as artists. Geeta is a regular life model for Paul Bartlett, winner of 'Not the Turner Prize' in 2003, tutor Tina Willis-Jones, RBSA Portrait Prize 2019 finalist and Wolverhampton based Sue Briscoe, whom she has posed privately for as five female figures of the Old Testament. In 2018 Geeta was thrilled to be taken on by the prestigious School of Art in Birmingham.
As well as being in many exhibitions Geeta also poses for several sculpture classes and often films and interviews the artists themselves. She is currently developing her Youtube channel and is busy building up content for 'Geeta's Guests' - The Artist's Couch. 'I am privileged to be in a job where I am able to inspire and be inspired by an array of talent on a daily basis and be surrounded by so much eccentric style that lends itself to individual expression and creativity'. Geeta often sits in on the lectures, which she loves because they enrich her understanding of things like painting techniques, composition and light sources, which in turn elevates her skills as a film maker.
Geeta's greatest achievements as a life model so far has been to see a sculptured bust of herself in an exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of Partition and to interview the sculptor Keith Gilbert. More recently Geeta has been collaborating with artist Clifford Collins on a series of poses for portrait prize competitions and has been filming him to help raise prostate cancer awareness through art. 'Working with artists like Cliff Collins has been a humbling experience.' In July 2019 Geeta was thrilled to take part in a programme about body confidence for the BBC called 'Easy Ways To Live Well' which came out in January 2020. Also in late 2019 and early 2020 Geeta was invited by Esther Bunting, creative director of Spirited Bodies to take part in a series of sold out symposiums at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts based at Birmingham University to do a Q&A about her journey as an artist's life model. It was 'A chance to be 'heard' as well as seen'. Geeta was delighted when the art critic Will Taylor of REDBRICK Magazine wrote 'chatting away to someone who is completely naked...with the barrier of silence broken...filled the room with a sense of creativity...made me wonder why this isn't more common, why life models continue to be silent objects in art schools across the world.' Geeta says 'I've learned not to feel precious or insecure about the way that I look and to focus more on the artists themselves and the relationship that I have with them'.
Geeta uses inspiration from classic cinema as well as from the world of burlesque, especially the pin up photos of Gil Elvgren to recreate beautiful and elegant poses. Geeta always takes her cherished towel featuring Dita Von Teese along with her to the life drawing gigs to keep close to her heart. 'There is often a debate about whether artists should paint what they see or what they 'want' people to see. I've learned that art is not necessarily about flattery, it's meant to make you 'feel' something. There are no photo-shopping tools, editing, cropping and filters unlike in photography plus 'photo-realism' is still quite controversial in art circles'.
In the summers of 2016 and 2017 Geeta hosted her own 'Drink and Draw' themed life drawing events and commissioned Daniel Stedman, an autistic artist whom she poses regularly for, to design the art work. The life drawing parties took place in the landscaped gardens of the award winning ‘naturist’ Clover Spa and Hotel. 'The brief for 'Anyone for Tennis' was based on the iconic photo of the Athena poster girl Fiona Walker, which was taken at Edgbaston Tennis Club in Birmingham in 1976. Daniel used the original photo and painted his own version'. He then designed the leaflets for the other themed events ‘Ship Ahoy’, ‘Beside the Seaside’ and ‘Checkmate’ which incorporated the use of the hotel's outdoor chessboard with giant chess pieces.
Students use mixed media and all kinds of materials to sketch and paint her such as charcoal, acrylics, oils, watercolours, ink, conte, chalk and pastel pencils which are Geeta's loves because of the soft edges.
to the finished pieces. Geeta lists the Victorian Romanticist Lawrence Alma-Tadema as her favourite artist.
'When people ask me with raised eyebrows in a slightly surprised and judgemental manner. Am I completely naked when I pose? I always answer "Of course not; I wear flowers in my hair". Geeta Von Tease
Where ever possible artist's work has been accredited, if you see your work and would like to be credited please get in touch via email using the contact form on this site. Please note that some of the work on this site is unfinished and that all copyright belongs to the artists.
