The Plough and Harrow, London, 17 July 2017

Ten minutes into the final 55-minute pose, I’d already started to draft a gushing blog in my mind. I would say that Life Drawing in Leytonstone seemed to attract ever more artists; that the new ceiling lights in The Plough and Harrow were perfect for a pose space; that organiser Jennifer was in great spirits, post-LARPing; and how I’d enjoyed creating poses that projected tension, but avoided discomfort. Then, five minutes later, the first bout of cramp bit into my left calf muscle…

I tried to ride it out for a while, just lifting my toes to ease the pain, but it was a bit too much. I asked for permission to move the misbehaving limb while maintaining the rest of the pose. After about a minute of recovery time I resumed, but five minutes later the cramp was back. This time toe-lifting and grim concentration got me through – such a shame though, as apart from these two moments I thoroughly enjoyed this session. It was a bonus too, having only been offered the booking at half-three that afternoon.

I’d started with 5-minutes in my current favourite pose, placing one arm across the top of my head and the other across my belly. I then shifted stance and stood for a further 10-minutes with my left hand held up to my forehead. For 25-minutes I sat on the floor with my right arm resting on my raised right knee – all artists coped marvellously with the foreshortening – and finally I leaned back onto a sofa for 55-minutes with my arms outstretched upon its cushions. It was a perfect summer evening of art. Almost.