The Old Nun’s Head, London, 13 November 2018

As ever, I was early enough at The Old Nun’s Head to buy a handsome glass of red wine and prepare a leisurely pace. In the upstairs function room I was forewarned that “it’s been a bit quiet” at Nunhead Drawing Group this term and indeed, as our 7pm start time drew closer it seemed this evening would be another quiet one. Cometh the hour, it was just me and two of the group’s organisers.

It’s a shame as this has been a wonderful place for life drawing: lovely people, superb venue, ample drawing materials, plenty of space, good lines of sight to the model and always an excellent playlist (Laura Veirs featuring this evening). I suspect it’s simply a case of losing momentum after a long summer break, and needing to put out a little more on social media to reconnect with the previous regulars.

On the up side for the organisers, it meant they could use me – within reason – in any way they liked for their own drawings. We started with five 1-minute poses, then had a 15-minute standing pose, and 30-minutes seated on the floor. After a break, in which I was very kindly bought another glass of wine, we ended with 40-minutes standing – or rather half-perched on a fireplace. All hugely enjoyable, so come on artists – join in!