The Bolton, London, 9 September 2019

The past week has seen green leaves show tinges of red, evening temperatures start to dwindle and sunrises welcoming the early bird with ever more magnificent displays. Autumn is upon us, and in London’s life drawing world that means it’s time for heaters to be retrieved from storage. This was the first occasion since last winter that one had been needed at The Bolton; I savoured the aromatic burn-off of dust as I stripped out of my warm clothes for another session with Adrian Dutton’s London Life Drawing.

In warm, comfortable surroundings with a good gathering of artists, I found this to be a very enjoyable evening’s work. After opening with a 10-minute standing pose, I rotated through a sequence of five 1-minute poses before completing the first half standing for 5-minutes, then again for 10-minutes and sitting for 20-minutes. During the break, one artist came over and introduced himself as a fellow model who follows this blog – Hey! We had a long chat, really positive, comparing paths and experiences. A real bonus.

The plan for the second half was to have three poses of 15, 20 and 25-minutes. Time, however, is rarely the straight line we imagine it to be. In this relaxed setting it felt OK to run-on while Adrian offered tuition to newbies. I stood for what became 20-minutes, lay on my back for what became 22-minutes, and kneeled for my truncated final pose of 17-minutes. My body isn’t always my friend, yet somehow I felt serene in myself, in my work and within the ambiance of the room. Inexplicable specialness occurs.