Five women stand facing their easels, putting the final touches on the paintings of themselves they’ve created over the past two days.

Some of the women have been painters for many years. For others, this weekend workshop is their first brush with art in any form.

Their experience level really doesn’t matter, though. What’s more important is what they discovered about themselves over the weekend – and how they learn to see their bodies not as flawed, but as beautiful works of art.

This is “Through Artists’ Eyes,” a course I’ve developed over the past couple of years with the help of a workshop designer – and the women who’ve taken part in the first few programs. But the beginnings go even farther back – to when I began to paint women in the nude more than 20 years ago.

What happened in some of the modelling sessions initially came as a surprise to me. These women were not professional models; rather, they were women who saw personal value in the experience. More often than not, they shared stories relating to their bodies – in some cases, I was the first person they’d told. They released pent-up pain, sadness and anger, usually through tears. Afterwards, they told me how important the modelling experience had been to them to help them move on.

The idea for “Through Artists’ Eyes” gelled during a conversation I had with a career consultant, with whom I was exploring new directions for my painting and teaching. “You could teach painting to women to help them heal their body image,” she said.

I was already teaching painting courses in Victoria and up and down the Island – but the focus of this was entirely different. So I went looking for a professional who had the skills to help me develop the program. Through a Google search, I found Oriane Lee Johnston, who had been program director for Hollyhock Centre – one of Canada’s top educational retreat centres, on Cortes Island. In one of those “it was meant to be” moments, it turned out she lived just three blocks away from me.

So we worked together to conceptualize and fine-tune the program – and to put on the initial offering.

So how does it work?

The course is limited to five women. On the first evening, a group meeting creates a support network for the journey, as the women are introduced to me, to one another, to the process, and to the confidential nature of our time together. 

Over the next two days, I have an individual, quiet, nude modelling session with each woman, as she explores being with her body in a relaxed, safe, personal studio atmosphere. I capture images with a still camera for her to use as reference for her own painting, and place them on a personal CD for her to take home.

After the modelling sessions, the group comes together for two days of guided painting, each woman painting herself from a chosen image. The group dynamic supports everyone through the exhilarating and focused process of painting the beauty of her own body.

When I tell women about this course, I know to expect one of two reactions.

The majority say, “Oh, I could NEVER do that!”

And the rest say, “Wow, what a great idea!”

And what do they say after they’ve taken “Through Artists’ Eyes”? Here are a few of their written comments:

1. •“How do you describe a single moment in your life that has been better, sharper, more meaningful than so many others put together?  I have struggled with a way to explain how Nick Pearce’s “Through Artist’s Eyes” goes beyond a simple weekend painting course and becomes a soul-searching, life-altering experience frozen in time. 
   

I can say: I was ready.  I wanted to accept myself, my body, my all.

What Nick does, through his ever-patient photographic and painting skills, is facilitate this self exploration and acceptance, until it is no longer a struggle but a freedom.

He gets it. He gives space when needed, direction when lost, support when crumbling – and proud, quiet smiles when, surprised, you stand back and realize the enormity of what you’ve accomplished.”

1. •“It transferred my perspective of my body as flawed and unacceptable, to a view where the parts of my body make an exquisite composition.”
   

1. •“I’ve come away with a stronger sense of self and a renewed respect for my body.”
   

1. •“It’s a healing gift and very meaningful offering.”
   

1. •“I would recommend it to any woman or artist wanting to explore a sense of intimacy and discovery about herself.”
   

Every time I teach one of these courses, I want to tell Thomas Overbury he was wrong.

Overbury is the English essayist who, back in the early 17th century, wrote, “Beauty is only skin deep.”

Beauty is actually more than that – it’s mind deep. And I’ve watched women change their minds about their bodies when they learn to see them as beautiful, through artists’ eyes.