Wanstead House, London, 9 December 2015

The opening 10-minute pose caused me most discomfort on my November visit to Wanstead House. In December it was the last half-hour that hurt, seated on the floor with muscles stretched for slight backwards twist across a bench. I knew it would be tough as the same pose had caused me difficulty at The Finborough Arms recently, yet it was a direct request so I gave it another go.

Prior poses had been straightforward: 10-minutes standing contrapposto with one arm on a ceiling beam and the other extended sideways; 10-minutes standing with one leg a pace forwards, one hand on my neck, the other hand on my hip; 20-minutes seated side-saddle on the bench, my upper bodyweight supported by my left arm; 20-minutes seated cross-legged, chin on one hand, the other arm across my lap.

Overall I was satisfied with the evening’s work. It was the last Wednesday life drawing session of 2015 at Wanstead House. Groups across London were all starting to wind down for Christmas, but I found myself still surprisingly busy – this was to be the first of six bookings in the space of eight days. I couldn’t help but wonder what challenging poses might lay before me…