The Great North Wood, London, 21 November 2017

One can be fairly certain one has found the life drawing room at a new venue if there’s paper taped over glass panels in the door. I entered the upstairs function room at The Great North Wood in West Norwood and was greeted by Richard – organiser of the new life drawing group there. I’d known Richard as a frequent artist at Mall Galleries, and only last week he’d drawn me with the Tanner Street group. Now it would be my sincere pleasure to pose for one of own sessions.

The place was clean, bright and spacious. Lighting had been specially rigged over the space where I was to work, easels stood in an arc and a table by one side was laden with complimentary materials. I began with four 2-minute warm-up poses, followed by 5-minutes inverted with my feet upon the back of a chair. After 15-minutes sitting with a twist, I was asked for 15-minutes squatting in a semi-balance on my toes. This was a real strain on the tendons, and required a break halfway – rare for a short pose.

Following an interval, we finished the evening with a single long pose that lasted about 50-minutes, with a stretch break halfway through. At Richard’s behest, I recreated the same seated pose with which I concluded last Wednesday’s session in Tanner Street. As the time passed, he alternated between working on his own drawing and offering a few useful tips to other artists. These are early days for the group so numbers are still low, but it’s an ideal venue with an encouraging atmosphere. Let’s hope it grows.