Quick poses to begin: three of 1-minute, which I timed for the class by counting in my head “30, 30, 29, 29, 28, 28…“, then 5 and 10 minutes timed by tutor Victoria Rance shrewdly using a clock. One long pose would follow. Arriving at The Conservatoire, I had agreed to stand for the long pose so I sat for the 5 and 10 minutes. I think I must have sat well, however, as the plan was changed and I sat for the long pose too.
We started the long pose a few minutes before 8pm and would be staying with it until 10pm. I’d been offered stretch breaks every 20 minutes but declined the first two and instead went through till close to 9pm before taking time-out. I’d taken care with each angled limb, twisted muscle and supporting pressure point, to ensure the pose would be as ache-free and sustainable for as long as possible.
I’ve probably said before but it’s worth saying again: on a long pose, make the period before the first break last as long as possible. The reason? We relax when creating a new pose, but we must tense our muscles to recreate it – it’s not possible to relax the same way twice. I had one more arm-stretch before the session reached its end. And then: the artworks… such wonderful drawings! A particularly rewarding session.
February ended with me back in the hot seat at Arts Theatre for the third of my three bookings with City Academy. After ‘Painting the Figure‘ six days before, and ‘Portrait Drawing‘ four days ago, I was now to be the subject for ‘Portrait Painting‘. First, some quick warm-up sketches: blind contour, harsh shadows, soft light.
Thereafter the session would be devoted to a single study. I raided the arts cupboard for cushions and a velvet sheet to my transform my hard plastic chair into a throne of utmost comfort. Tutor Jenny Boat put on a playlist of ’80s Classics’ – the very notion of which made me feel every decade of my age – and thus we proceeded.
Despite being offered regular opportunities to stretch, I felt settled and comfortable in my space so I remained in situ for the full 90 minutes of this pose. Occasional private musings helped pass the time but mostly I enjoyed listening to Jenny’s guidance and the music of my teenage years. Little did I know back then what I’d be doing now…
It’s a sign of the times: for life models these days it’s not sufficient to spend two hours naked sustaining strenuous physical contortions under the scrutiny of strangers. Now we must also star in promotional videos for social media. Bruce Thomas creates the reels for Adrian Dutton’s groups. When I arrived at St Peter de Beauvoir Town he asked me to think of a song for use as my video soundtrack and tell him at the end. A song? First I had to think of a 5-minute pose followed by fifteen 1-minute poses…
A classic ska track had been looping in my head as I travelled to the venue. It carried on looping throughout the multi-pose start, but not for the life of me could I remember its title. Frustrating! I cleared my mind, reset my body, coiled into a 10-minute stance, then sat on the floor for 20 minutes till the break. A new sound rose within me: ‘Spies in the Wires‘ by Cabaret Voltaire, probably inspired by last week’s documentary on the sinister Pegasus spyware. But this still wasn’t my song.
Freed by the interval, I mellowed with a mug of tea, a modicum of crisps, and a mere twain of custard creams. I meandered round the room admiring so many magnificent works already made. Much socialising, more crisps, then once more to the middle of my space. Two poses would take us to the end: 15 minutes and 20 minutes. I took to my feet for both. And as I did, as I stood there, the music found me… “a sympathetic touch from a voyager soul…”
Innovations precipitated by social media can never change the fundamental basics of life modelling. When you are naked and alone at the centre of a room, surrounded by scores of expectant artists, in that pure moment the work is as it’s been for centuries. That those same artists can now leave tips by card or cash is a nice innovation. I can roll with the rest. I still adore the art, the process, the feeling. I offered Bruce my song: ‘Glitterships‘ by Momus from the album ‘Sunbutler’. Check out the Instagram reel.
And as I walked home I finally got that ska track: Liquidator: The Harry J All Stars.
This evening’s ‘Portrait Drawing’ class was the second of my three bookings in seven days for City Academy at Arts Theatre. It was the first class of a three-week course, so I took a back seat while tutor Stephen Nicholas amiably went through formalities, background, group introductions and a bit of theory. We then jumped straight into the long pose that would occupy most of the students’ time at their easels.
Almost all the artists declared they had little or no previous experience – certainly not portrait experience – yet the standard was extraordinarily high around the studio. As I sat at the centre of scrutiny however, it was amusing to hear Stephen tell each one in turn that they’d made my nose too big. As if it needs any extra enlargement! This isn’t suitable employment for those of a sensitive self-conscious disposition…
It’s not unusual for classes to start with warm-up exercises, but this one ended with a few warm-downs: quirky quick work, drawing in pairs, drawing each other. They were still drawing each other when I left! I was sorry to go as it had been a real pleasure to pose for the group. This had much to do with the light disarming tone set by Stephen, but also the artists being open and actively engaged throughout. An ideal session.
After taking a six-week break from life modelling – much of it six thousand miles from home, opting to use my hard-earned income for a holiday rather than sky-high winter fuel bills – I resumed with the first of three bookings in seven days for City Academy at Arts Theatre.
I would be posing for three different courses – ‘Painting the Figure’, ‘Portrait Drawing’ and ‘Portrait Painting’ – led by three different tutors, all of whom I’d worked with in the past. This evening’s ‘Painting the Figure’ session was led by Lawrence F Crane. We started with warm-up drawings: six poses of 2 minutes each.
For the remainder of our two-and-a-half hours I sat in a single pose based loosely on the 1923 painting ‘Portrait of Olga Picasso‘ by Pablo Picasso. My white sheet was beneath me, blue fabric round my neck, black velvet across the adjacent table, and a red vase beside me. Six artists at easels. We began.
Nobody painted the red vase. I guess they had their work cut out sufficiently with me. My own effort wasn’t too strenuous. Only the final half-hour got a little achy. I allowed myself a one-and-only stretch before these closing moments, albeit without standing, and that was enough. I was back as a model. Bring on the next challenge!
In the hour before I was due to leave home for this job, my local rail company saw fit to flash “delayed” across every live journey update on its website. A quarter of an hour later, everything jumped back to normal without any explanation. Nonetheless, I was sufficiently unnerved to leave earlier than planned. After two trains and a brisk walk up from Crouch Hill, I reached The Victoria Stakes a full half-hour before our 7pm start.
Artwork by Rosalind Freeborn.
Julia of The Moon and Nude was already upstairs in the function room preparing for what would be her first session of 2023. It was nice to have time for a natter. Even so, with no event marketing since before the festive season we waited more in hope than expectation for artists to arrive. Happily, cometh the hour we had a comfortable group. We began with poses of 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes and 5 minutes.
Artwork by Jeremy Robinson.
Artwork by Rosalind Freeborn.
Artwork by Jeremy Robinson.
Artwork by Rosalind Freeborn.
With three more poses until our break, I decide to recline, sit and stand in that order. First I lay down for 10 minutes in a signature pose with left knee angled on the floor, right knee raised, left hand arched on my chest and right arm pointing up. Next I sat for 15 minutes resting back on my hands with both knees angled flat on the floor. To our interval, I stood with my left leg a pace forward and both arms extended low.
Artwork by David Fathers.
Artwork by Rosalind Freeborn.
Artwork by Jeremy Robinson.
The plan was to finish with one 45-minute pose. This left artists with just 8 minutes to fetch drinks from the bar, pop to the loo and prepare for the second half. Meanwhile, I took a leisurely stroll around the art space to appreciate artworks already made. With our restart imminent I moved a high stool to the centre of the room and perched upon it in as angular a fashion as seemed sustainable for the time remaining.
Artwork by louis000ag.
Artwork by Jeremy Robinson.
Artwork by David Fathers.
Artwork by Rosalind Freeborn.
During the opening seconds it was necessary to make a few hopefully imperceptible muscle adjustments to mitigate against any possibility of my left foot sliding from the seat. Once done, it was fairly plain sailing. Julia gave a time check every 15 minutes and between times I estimated progress by counting tracks on her enjoyable playlist. Nine o’clock arrived gently, mellow, concluding a very pleasant evening.
This was my first life model booking of 2023 – indeed my first in over 6 weeks – and I confess I misjudged. Inspired by a fleeting stance I’d observed during a performance of ‘One Man Poe‘ by Stephen Smith at King’s Head Theatre the night before, I set my opening 10-minute pose: upright, leaning back upon a wall with my right forearm whilst twisting left and reaching out to point with my left hand…
Artwork by Cliff Barden.
Only 10 minutes. Rock solid for the first three or four at least. After that, I don’t recall whether mental doubts or physical tremors made the first insidious intervention. Soft, soft, soft, the tremors came; my right arm yearning to slip along the wall, my left arm willing to dip, my torso taxed of resolve. Only 10 minutes. Then the artists graciously acknowledged my struggle… and we moved on to the next 10 poses.
Artwork by Frank Gambino.
Shorter poses followed: three of 1 minute, three of 2 minutes, one each of 3 minutes, 5 minutes and 8 minutes. I set about these with vigour, variety and a great deal more self-awareness and common sense. Poses can venture to a threshold of pain but are not obliged to cross it. We concluded the session with a 1-hour pose; 15 minutes to a tea break, and a further 45 minutes to the end.
Artwork by Jacqui Hamer.
Artwork by Valeria Pilloni.
Artwork by Elin.
Artwork by Helen.
Artwork by Cliff Barden.
Artwork by Frank Gambino.
Notwithstanding my early discomfort, I thoroughly enjoyed this return to modelling. It had been a pleasant surprise to be booked for South East London Life Drawing at The Art of Isolation so soon after my last visit in November 2022. There’s a lovely feeling of easy-going appreciation and enthusiasm from the artists that can’t help but encourage a model to give their best. Quite a few familiar friendly faces here too.
Once we had finished, artworks were shared around the floor of the venue and later around social media. It’s a gift that keeps giving, to see inspired drawings of oneself as they emerge online over subsequent days. Most are enthusiastically reshared on the @isolationartlondon Instagram account. Many thanks to everyone who tagged me directly, @steveritterlife – I hope I’ll see you again in person soon!
steve ritter 