Basic Inquiry

Ask any accomplished artist and they’ll likely tell you there is no better way to study proportion, perspective and structure than by sketching the human figure. But back in 1983, after the abstract impressionism movement of the 1960s, life-drawing studios were few and far between in North America. That’s when Vancouver artist Gerry Kelly set out to open Basic Inquiry, a life-drawing studio where artists could drop in and sketch live models any day of the week.

Susan, a longtime member and close friend of Gerry’s, recalls the early days at Basic. “There were the models, the artists…Margereta from Eastern Europe, Josie, who was Italian and the voluptuous Catherine.” The idea was for Basic to be a space much like New York City’s Art Student’s League, where like-minded artists could converge over a shared passion. “Gerry liked to build community… When we first opened he would start by introducing everybody to everybody. And then we would draw,” says Susan.