Portrait of a Lady

by Jennifer White

 

Mel had always been interested in art. He enjoyed looking at paintings, and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art whenever he could. So when he decided that he was bored, and wanted to take up a new hobby, it was natural that he would select painting as something new to try.

He looked online, and found that the community education center offered classes for a very minimal cost. They didn't require any experience, so he was able to sign up. He looked at the various types of painting classes: watercolor, pen and ink, and so on. There were classes for painting still lifes, landscapes, and so on.

But one class stood out beyond the others: "Painting the Female Form". The fine print said that traditional painting techniques would be taught, based around how to create a portrait of woman. The ad didn't explicitly say it, but it implied that nude models would be used. That was enough to sell him on it, so Mel signed up online, and went out to buy the supplies listed for the class.

* * *

 

"I am Dr. Linz" said the bearded man standing in front of the classroom. "I am the instructor for this course. Why don't we go around the room, introduce ourselves, and tell everyone how much experience you have with painting in the past."

Mel was in the front row, so he went first.

"I'm Mel, and the only thing I've painted before is my living room."

Everyone laughed.

"Hey come on, I used two colors!"

More laughter.

"Very good Mel. Next?" said Dr. Linz.

They went around the room introducing themselves. There were eight students, all men. We were all eager to get started. However, Dr. Linz had a disappointing announcement to make.

"As you know, the main goal of this class is to learn how to draw the female form. However, because of budget cuts, we weren't able to hire a professional female model. I am searching for unpaid volunteers, but I have had no luck so far."

"Aw" said several of the men at once, disappointed.

"But never fear, we will find a way to persevere. To begin with, each of you select a partner, and you will paint each other. What I am going to teach you for the first few weeks does not depend on the gender of the model. So you will draw each other."

Mel, like the others, was disappointed, but was eager to learn. He dug in as Dr. Linz taught the basics of how to draw the shape of the face, catch the light, create skin tones, and other basic parts of painting.

"Remember" he emphasized, "even though your model is a man, use a softer pallet, and softer shapes, like you would for a woman. Base your drawing on your partners face, but take artistic license. Picture the face being on a woman, and make the necessary adjustments."

They all worked hard, trying to remember everything they had learned, practice new techniques, and to use the guidance he was giving them.

* * *

  

After three weeks (and many poor attempts at first), the students were getting better at drawing faces. Now the class agenda said it was time to move on to the next subject.

"Women wear different colors than men. They wear outfits with long draping skirts, which catch the light differently than men's clothes do."

He went on to show slides of examples throughout art history, as well as modern paintings. He talked about the techniques used, and how to apply them once they started their exercises.

After a short break, he set up an easel, and showed the students how to apply some of the techniques. However, there was no model, so he could only do so much.

"I have come up empty in my quest to find a volunteer" she said, with the disappointment very evident in his voice. "Therefore, you will have to continue to paint each other. Unfortunately, there is no other way."

The class was very disappointed, and there was much muttering and groaning.

"However, all is not lost" said Dr. Linz. "I have procured for us, from a secondhand store, several fine examples of dresses and skirts. Each of you come and take one."

Mel went to the front, and picked up a green dress.

"Now put on your new garments, so that your partners can paint you. Yes, I know that you'll feel silly, but you're in the same boat as everyone else. Now lets get to work! We only have so much time!"

The men all grumbled, but he was right. There was no other way. So they all put on their dresses, or their skirts and blouses, and they set about painting each other.

"Don't worry if you splash paint on yourself. These are cheap used clothes!" said Dr. Linz. "Have fun! Let yourself go! Concentrate on your art!"

Mel was soon fully concentrating on painting the man next to him, who was wearing a blue skirt and a white blouse. He worked on it over and over again, trying the techniques that Dr. Linz had suggested. The doctor himself would go around, giving out pointers, and helping the students improve their work.

* * *

 

After two weeks, Mel was getting much better at painting skirts. He was adept at catching the way the fabric draped into folds, using just the right amount of white and black to represent the light and shadow, giving a very three dimensional quality to his paintings.

 

"Our next topic" said Dr. Linz, "is one that is very unique to the female form. As you know, one of the defining traits of women are their breasts. The bosom of a woman is critical if your painting is to be realistic. Perhaps even more important than any other aspect, because it will immediately identify the subject of the painting as a woman."

Everyone murmured in agreement.

"But alas, we do not have a real woman to paint. So I have returned to the resale shop, where I procured for you each a certain female undergarment. I also shaped for each of you a set of foam rubber padding to fill out the cups of your bras. Put them on under your dresses, and we can get to work."

Without having another choice, Mel was forced to put on his bra, and insert the large foam rubber padding, which was shaped like a female breast. It completely filled the cups of his bra.

Once his dark green dress was on again, it looked completely different. Whereas before it laid flat on his chest, now it puffed out in the front. This also shifted slightly the lines of the dress, pulling it up slightly due to how much it pulled out in front.

Mel's painting partner had a similar look. There was a trace of the white outline of his bra visible under his blouse. Mel wanted to get to drawing right away, to capture this detail he noticed.

Dr. Linz taught them how to use shading to add depth to the breasts, and how they could be used to start drawing a woman's curves. It all flowed very easily for Mel, who was soon drawing his partner in a more and more feminine manner.

* * *

 

The next section in the class was to focus on a woman's hair. The men all had short hair, which Dr. Linz explained was not appropriate for drawing in this class.

"Never fear. I went to the drama department, where I was able to obtain a set of wigs from the collection of stage props. Please take care of them, since I need to return them when the class is over. Now lets get started. Who wants to be a blond?"

Mel ended up with a wig of shoulder length auburn hair. Dr. Linz showed the students how to capture the play of light in the hair, the long wavy brush strokes needed to capture the long tresses of the wigs, and other important techniques.

It was a little hard at first for Mel to adjust to having the long strands of hair in front of his eyes. But soon, he adjusted, and got on with the painting.

* * *

 

Once the class was able to capture the look of a woman's hair, Dr. Linz explained that they would now return to the face.

"Surrounded by long hair, you will find that the face takes on a different perspective. But also, women use cosmetics to alter their appearance, making them look lovelier. You cannot accurately paint a woman's face, if you do not understand the different shades of cosmetics, their uses and applications. What does cobalt blue do around the eyes for example? Anyone? So you see, a certain knowledge of cosmetics is necessary before we can continue."

The doctor brought out a large array of cosmetics, and explained to the class what each one was. Eye liner, mascara, blush, lipstick, foundation, powders...the list went on and one.

"So you can understand the dramatic effect that cosmetics can have on the face, I am going to demonstrate. Mel, would you come sit here please?"

Mel went to the front, and sat down. Dr. Linz expertly applied one thing after the next, as the class took notes. When he was done, Mel looked in the mirror, and was shocked at what properly applied cosmetics could do to his face. It almost looked pretty!

"You will all practice on each other now, making each other up. By next week, I expect you to be able to apply your own makeup before class, so we can get on with learning again."

 

And so it was that Mel learned how to put on makeup, and arrived the next week, his face completely done. He put on his bra with the padding, his dress, and his wig.

Today, they were to also work on drawing the hands. This meant that they needed to put on nail polish as well. Mel was learning a lot, and doing very well with his drawings. However, Dr. Linz was not completely pleased with everyone.

"Your skin tones are too harsh! The hands look too rough!" he admonished the class. "But never fear, I will help you. I am handing out jars of a skin cream after class, which you all should start putting on your face and hands nightly. Also, I've had two complaints about irritation on your chests from the bras or the padding. So I am also giving each of you a tube of something called 'breast cream', which women use to prevent such irritation. I expect each of you to put it on, every night as well."

Mel accepted the doctor's orders without question. If that was what women did to avoid the itching he was feeling, then he would start applying the breast cream.

* * *

 

As the weeks went on, Mel and the other students were getting much better at making themselves look like women. This also meant that they were getting better and better at painting women, since they had better and better models.

Dr. Linz had them wearing jewelry now, since capturing the glint of light off of gold, silver and pearls really made a painting stand out. Mel wore several rings, a pearl necklace, and large loop earrings.

The doctor also said how much more difficult it was to paint women's shoes then men's, so they all started wearing pumps, which he had found at a bulk sale at a store going out of business. These were added to their wardrobes.

The next part of the class was the all important aspect of capturing the alluring legs of a woman. For this, he bought each student a short skirt, and told them each to go out and find a set of pantyhose.

"Control tops are best" he said, "but remember, they don't go over boxers very well, so you would be best off to also get yourselves a pair of panties. And *please*, shave your legs. I don't think anyone here is very interested in learning the subtleties of how to capture hair on a woman's legs!"

They all erupted in laughter. Hairy legs on their paintings? Never! So the next week, they all showed up wearing their panties and their nylons over their smooth legs.

 

The painting was going wonderfully for Mel, and he was quite pleased at his progress. But one day, Dr. Linz had a great surprise for them.

"Class, I have some wonderful news! Next week, we are going to have a real woman, who will model nude for the class."

They all cheered, loudly.

"However, there is a catch" he added.

They all looked at him, holding their breaths.

"She is very shy about being nude in front of men. She agreed to pose for a class if all the students were *women*."

"Aw..." said several students, with a collective sigh.

"But all is not lost!" said the doctor, hopefully. "Look around you. Each of you has spent the past months perfecting not only your painting, but also the ways of making yourselves look like women. If each of you were to go out and buy a nice outfit, rather than your old second hand clothes, and if you were to all arrive in full dress, the girl will never know they difference. She will think she's posing for a class full of women, but it will be you. What do you say?"

"I'll do it!" said John.

"I'm in!" said Mack.

"A nude woman model? I'm in!" said Mel.

"Then I suggest that you each go out tomorrow, and find a good looking outfit. Tonight we will study from a mail order catalog I received just today, so I can teach you about what you should look for. I also suggest that you get yourselves girdles, so your body shapes are a little more rounded. You might even think of getting some press on nails."

They studied the women in the catalog, and Mel took notes as to what kind of outfit he wanted.

"Also, you need to pick out a female name for yourself. I can't call you by your male names in front of her can I? No. So you each need to select a woman's name right now. I will write them down, so I can use it to address you in front of the female model."

Mel selected the name Megan for himself.

"You are now Megan" said Dr. Linz, who wrote it down in his book, and then moved on to the next student.

 

The next day, Mel went shopping at the mall. He found a really nice black skirt, and a matching tank top that had wide straps. Of course, with a black top like that, he needed a black bra. So he got a good one, with lots of extra padding. He also bought a purse, since Dr. Linz suggested that if the model saw women without purses, she'd be suspicious. They didn't want to give her any hints, so they all vowed to get the cutest handbags they could find.

* * *

 

The day of the next class, instead of changing at the school room as usual, Mel followed Dr. Linz's suggestion, and changed at home, so he could arrive in full attire. He did his makeup, his wig, his nails, and everything. He used all of the things he had learned to make himself look as much like a woman as possible.

He arrived early, as did the other students. They all sat around talking to one another, when Dr. Linz walked in the model. She wore a white robe, and they all yearned to see her without it.

"Class, this is Diana. Won't you introduce yourselves to her?"

"Hello Diana. I'm Megan" said Mel.

"Hi, I'm Suzie" said the next man.

"I'm Veronica."

And so on. They all introduced themselves by their female names. Diana didn't seem to pick up on the fact that they were all really men. They were very proud of themselves, for being able to pull off this deception.

Dr. Linz got right down to business, posing Diana so that the paintings would not be considered 'lewd', then instructing the class on what they needed to do in their drawings.

Mel (or Megan!) got right to work, and was soon bringing the canvas to life with his rendering of the Diana's perfect body. He applied all the techniques he had learned over the past few months.

After an hour, Diana excused herself, and left the room.

"See?" said Dr. Linz, "if you can make a man look pretty in a drawing, how easy it is to make a woman look pretty?"

They all agreed.

Diana returned from her break, and they continued their work. In fact, she would return for three additional class sessions, posing for the students in the nude. Mel was very pleased at how his paintings turned out. And Dr. Linz praised him lavishly too. Of course, in front of Diana, he had to address Mel as a woman.

"Megan! What wonderful use of contrast. Your skin tones are radiant. Yes my dear, you are a rare woman to possess such an eye for color."

"Thank you Dr. Linz" said 'Megan'.

 

After Diana left the class for the final time, Dr. Linz made an announcement.

"One of the greatest challenges of an artist, is that of the self-portrait. Great artists like Van Gogh have used themselves as models. Your challenge for the next three weeks is to draw *yourselves*. The first weeks, you will wear your full attire, as you are today. The last week, we will have a special challenge. See you next time!"

* * *

 

Mel bought a nice new outfit for his self portrait, as did most of the other students. He also bought a nicer wig, in his favorite shade of blond. He wanted this picture to be the best work of his career. And indeed, it was.

He wondered through, what the special challenge would be. He couldn't wait until the next class.

 

When the day finally came, the student's arrived to find that Dr. Linz had a large cardboard box on his table in the front. He reached in, and pulled something out.

"This is a body suit" he said. "You are all to strip down naked, and put one of these on. As you can see, it is skin toned. It has built in pockets for your breast pads here. It also includes padding in the seat and in the hips. You are to put these on, then paint yourselves as 'nude' women."

Now that would be a challenge! Mel went up and got his suit. He went into the small changing booth in the back that the doctor had set up, and got out of his skirt and blouse. He put on the body suit, and looked down at himself. With just a little imagination, he'd be able to do it.

He returned to his station, and looked in the mirror.

"If you are to succeed at this endeavor, you must really view yourselves as nude women. Think to yourself: I am a woman! See yourself in the mirror, and *believe* that you are female. Say it out loud: I am a woman!"

"I am a woman" echoed the class.

"Again! With feeling!"
"I am a woman."

"Megan, I don't believe you when you say it. Convince me!"

"Dr. Linz, I *am* a woman!" said Mel.

"That's better! Now everyone, again!"

 

For half an hour, the worked on trying to get into the role, and believe that they were women. The doctor went around to each of them, and talked in private. Mel couldn't really remember what they had talked about, but when they were through, it was much easier to took in the mirror and *believe* that it was a woman staring back at him.

No. At *her*. He needed to think of himself as *her* if he was going to succeed.

"I am Megan" he said. "I am a woman!"

*She* looked at *herself* in the mirror.

"That's better" *she* said. Yes, it was much butter to look at oneself as a woman. She was immediately able to get to work, and start drawing herself.

Megan worked hard, wiping the sweat from her brow. She loved how the painting looked. She embellished the areas where she felt inadequate, like her smallish bust line. She made her embarrassingly wide shoulders smaller, her curves nicer, and all the little things she didn't like about her appearance. She improved her face, her noes, her eyes.

When she was done, the image on the canvas was *so* good. It was her ideal self, without all of the flaws.

"I wish I looked like that" she sighed.

"Me too. I wish I was like myself in the painting" said Jackie, who had the station next to her.

"Ladies" said Dr. Linz, "it is time to get dressed again, so we can look at the results of each other's work."

Megan went and put her clothes back on, forgetting about taking off her body suit. So did all of the other students. They fixed their makeup, and assembled at the front, on the chairs that Dr. Linz had set up for them.

One by one, the paintings were displayed. They each clapped their hands, and went over to kiss the woman who painted it on the cheek, and congratulate her.

"You are all marvelous students" said the doctor. "You are the finest women I have ever taught. Each of you has learned so much this semester! I am honored to be called a teacher to you."

Megan had to wipe a tear from her eye. The speech was so stirring! She felt that she was a lucky woman to be in a class like this.

Dr. Linz stood up now, as all eyes were on him.

"You are all my women now" he said. "You will find that you have become very obedient to me. You cannot disobey me in any way. You are mine, in body and in soul. And you are all *women*."

He walked over to Megan, and pointed at her.

"*You* are a woman. You will always be a woman, for the rest of your life. You belong to me, my dear, and always will. You *want* to serve me, doing anything I desire. Is that not so?"

"I am yours" said Megan, much to her surprise. Why did she feel such an overwhelming need to obey him? What had he done to her?

"You understand now, don't you? You've looked in your pretty darling female soul, and discovered that you are mine."

"I am yours" said Megan. "I am your woman."

"Yes, you are my woman Megan." He turned back to the group. "All of you: grab your purses and get on the bus. We are going for a trip."

Megan grabbed her purse obediently, and followed the doctor.

"We are going to my estate up north" he said. "There you will serve me and my wife Diana, doing our bidding at all times. You already know her, since she modeled for the class. You will obey her as you obey me. Is that understood?"

"Yes Dr. Linz" they said.

"Good. But don't worry girls, it will be fun! You will have pretty uniforms to wear, frilly underthings, and everything a girl could desire. You don't realize it yet, but your breasts are growing in response to all the female hormones flowing in your system. You will all become pretty little girls."

That sounded exciting to Megan! She could hardly wait! She wanted to wear frilly clothes and to have nice breasts.

"Now I will teach you a song that little girls sing when they are going to girl scout camp. You will all sing along with me, since you are my girls now."

 

As the bus rolled north, the 'girls' sang their songs and prepared for their new exciting lives serving the doctor. Megan vowed to herself to be the most obedient girl of them all. If she was, then maybe he'd like her the best, and she could be his special girl. She could hardly wait to get started....

  

  

  

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