Wanstead House, London, 18 March 2018

The so-called ‘Beast from the East‘ – a weather system bringing heavy snowfall and sub-zero temperatures from Siberia – had blown in a fortnight ago, disrupting national infrastructure and life drawing groups alike. I had a booking cancelled back then, and the same seemed feasible this weekend as a ‘Mini Beast’ was forecast. It duly came with flurries of settling snow, but not enough to deter the artists of Wanstead House.

I’m not one to refuse the offer of an extra heater. With a wall to my back, eight artists in a semi-circle before me and hot air blowing from the left and right, I started my first 10-minutes standing. This was followed by a visually pleasing yet physically troubling 10-minute crouching pose. I was then able to recompose for 40-minutes, seated on a sheet-draped chair with my chin resting on one hand.

After an interval for tea, digestives, and grumbles about the Gas Board (is there still a “Gas Board”?), we returned to our places for a final pose of 35-minutes; seated again, albeit this time on the floor with a varied arrangement of limbs. At least one artist was happy not to have me standing again as they’d had a struggle to fit me on the page! I sat in my bubble of warmth and was simply happy that we’d defied the elements.