Violet is a Scotland based life model. Before the pandemic hit was a in-person life mode. When lockdown hit Violet had to think outside the box to keep life modelling from home. She has kindly agreed to chat about the journey that took her where she is now.

Violet so when did you first life modelling?

I started life modelling in 2016 when I was at an art group as an artist. One day, the model didn’t turn up and they were about to send everyone home, so I stood up and volunteered. It was completely spontaneous but I’ve loved modelling ever since!

Can you remember how you felt in your life modelling session and who was it with?

My first life modelling session was in a group called All The Young Nudes. I remember feeling quite exhilarated and just happy to be helping keep the class going.

What is the best and worse part of being a life model? 

Best part of being a life model for me is being able to be completely still and silent. My life is extremely hectic, so it’s a very welcome break to actually be paid to be quiet and not move!

The worst part is trying to hold an uncomfortable pose for a long time, or being cold, which is rare but does happen.

If you were captured in one medium, i.e. painted, cast, drawn, which one would you choose and why?

My favourite medium of being captured is painting, I love seeing people’s uses of colour to capture the changes in skin tone throughout the session.

What is the most challenging pose you have had to hold and the easiest? 

The most challenging pose I’ve had to hold was an all day session where I wore a dress and high heels. I was in a standing pose over several hours and it was so painful on my feet and calves!

Easiest is any lying down pose. The only challenge is not snoring!

How do you think life modelling has changed since the pandemic?

Since the pandemic, I think life modelling has changed for the better. I now model online for classes all over the world, which I wouldn’t have thought about before.

Moving from in-person life modelling, was it an easy transition? What additional pieces of equipment did you need?

Moving from in person modelling was fairly easy, I only needed a gooseneck phone holder, tripod and spotlight to begin with, but I gradually started becoming creative with props around the house and I really enjoyed feeling more artistic from a modelling point of view and using my imagination to create unique poses.

If one of your friends came to ask you for advice on becoming a life model, what three pieces would you give them? 

If a friend wanted to become a life model, I’d give these three pieces of advice…

1: practice meditation, it really helps when having to stay completely still for extended periods

2: don’t take pictures personally, if someone draws you with a crooked nose or a big tummy, it’s not that they’re being mean, it’s simply their interpretation!

3: on that note, embrace your uniqueness! If you have parts of your body that you feel insecure about,  look at them from an external perspective. There’s no “right” way to look, and at the end of the day, we are all just a collection of shapes, lines and shadows.

You have some great self-portrait photos on your Instagram feed; where do you get your inspiration? What is the hardest part of creating them?

All of the photos on my Instagram were taken by myself. I try my best to think from an artist’s point of view about what would be interesting to draw. As I said above, we are all just lines, shapes and shadows, so people naturally love seeing anything a bit out of the ordinary or that isn’t regularly seen on mainstream media. Curves, stretch marks, scars, tattoos, these are all gorgeous to draw, so I tend to accentuate these parts!

You have mastered in-person and virtual modelling. What are the next steps? Are there still things you want to accomplish? 

Next steps for modelling – I’d like to focus more on body positivity and self-esteem boosting content. At the moment, I’m posting an outfit of the day on Instagram, in the hope of encouraging others to dress joyously and embrace colour!

If an artist is looking to draw you, what is the best way to contact you?

If an artist is looking to draw me, the best place to contact me is on Instagram, I’m @Violet_wilde_lifemodel

Thank you so much Violet for taking the time. If you want to see more of violet or contact her about life modelling please head over to her Instagram

For more interviews with fabulous models check out life models