Mall Galleries, London, 6 October 2017

Last time I sat for a long pose at Mall Galleries it was pretty basic. Artists from the Hesketh Hubbard Art Society portrait group had joined us and kindly requested that my body be upright, with face clearly visible. This time I started in a more challenging arrangement and asked if it looked OK. “Could you lower your leg so we can see your body rather than a tangle of limbs?” suggested one. “Ah,” I replied, “but some people like a tangle of limbs.” The mild consensus, however, seemed to favour simplicity, so duly I complied – leg lowered, arms down, body straight.

The 2-hour pose would be divided into two halves of one-hour each without breaks for stretching. Once settled in position I would stay motionless for an hour at a time; not too harsh in itself, yet just because a pose is simple doesn’t necessarily mean there will be no discomfort. In this instance, upon reorganising my limbs I’d allowed my left hand to reach slightly behind and rest on the bench that supported me. The arm was not bearing any weight but the wrist was bent backwards and increasingly became a nagging ache.

During the tea break I shook out my pains. The first hour had actually over-run a little. None of the long pose artists had been keeping watch on the time, so I was indulged to return correspondingly late for the second half. More of the same followed, but my satisfaction is derived from seeing resultant artworks at the end. Even after five years of working as a life model, I still take pleasure from knowing I’ve inspired – or at least contributed to the creation of – good art. My next booking here is for a pre-Christmas brace of 30-minute duo poses with Esther, on 8 December. Should be festive!