The Sun, London, 1 February 2016

There can be few sights more welcome to a life model in winter than that of a roaring fire next to their pose space. Upstairs at The Sun in Clapham, the flames were not exactly roaring, but even a gentle flicker in the grate is enough to warm the heart. A bumper turn-out of around 20 artists helped warm the rest of the room.

Julia was the facilitator for this Moon and Nude session. The last time she presided over my poses she’d kindly supplied me with a hot water bottle for extra comfort. Not this time, however, as apparently it had burst beneath some unfortunate model on a subsequent occasion. No scalding; just dampened pride, perhaps.

This evening I began by standing for 5-minutes with both arms bowed over in a lean to my left side. After this came 4-minutes with one arm at full stretch as if pushing away; then 3-minutes as if boxing; 2-minutes as if pulling a rope; and 1-minute down on one knee with both arms raised in a salute to the fresco-painted ceiling.

10-minutes standing, 15-minutes seated on the floor and 20-minutes reclining took us to our break. I ended with 42-minutes sitting with my torso twisted on a high stool. I’d made this last one way too strenuous for its length of time, and thus was numb, taut and trembling when finally a halt was called… but extraordinary art eased my pain.