cave, London, 31 August 2017

I’ve been writing this blog for nigh on five years, during which time I’ve published more than 300 tales of life modelling, performance and other arty activities. It serves mostly as a record for myself but it’s nice to get positive feedback too. Never before, however, had I been aware of it being directly responsible for a booking – until Karen at cave in Pimlico emailed me to say, “I have just read your blog post on modelling for London Drawing Group“… and offered me the chance to pose for cave life drawing.

Pimlico being one of London’s more salubrious areas, I’d set out with a preconceived notion that the venue would be some pristine, minimalist white-space gallery. Instead what I found was an art and retail home for the most wondrous characterful collection of magnificently random objects crammed high and wide, from floor to ceiling. I would be posing in a small clearing by the door for a full-house group of 10 artists, including Karen. We started with five 1-minute poses, two of 5-minutes and two of 10-minutes.

The artists were all local women; charming, encouraging and enthusiastic. Karen was a down-to-earth, warm, engaging host, whose passion for life drawing could barely be contained. After an interval for tea and biscuits, we ended with two 25-minute poses. I think we overran a little, but time matters less when the feeling is good. Our evening’s soundtrack came courtesy of Barry White and Tears for Fears CDs; musical nostalgia was never more fitting than in this environment. A lovely session.