Garrett Centre, London, 12 October 2022

Complacency about the need for a plan ahead of my last visit to the Garrett Centre resulted in me having to invent new poses to get through the first half-hour. This time I’d decided to contemplate some options on the journey there… but a failed tube train disrupted my train of thought, so yet again I would begin making them up on the fly.

I arrived on time to find the room crammed with artists, and still more coming through the door. It meant we started late but this was fine as it allowed me to settle mentally. To compensate, the first 15-minute pose seemed to last just 12. Five 1-minute poses followed, then a 5-minute pose, and then a 10-minute pose that overran to 12.

It’s not unknown for there to be fluidity in pose times at Adrian Dutton’s groups. I’ve learned to factor this in when selecting poses at particular moments; especially when Adrian is working alone and cooking a superb dahl for the group to enjoy at half-time. Specifically: nothing too strenuous for the 20-minute pose before the interval!

It had been a pretty comfortable first half. When Adrian brought it to a close and gave the artists a run-down of catering and group admin details, I slipped into my robe and out the door to get a mugful of dahl, some crisps, and a jellybaby for dessert. After an extended break, we resumed with a pose of 10-15 minutes.

By the time this penultimate pose was called to a halt we had 22 minutes left until our scheduled 9pm finish. Thus the final pose lasted 22 minutes. Working in the round all evening, I’d been alternating direction with each change and now did so one last time. Hopefully I managed to provide a pretty fair balance of views from all perspectives.

It had been a very enjoyable session in which I’d felt lots of positivity round the room. At the end, artists set out drawings on the floor for each other to see. Strong works, I thought, reflecting talent, enthusiasm, and the will to constantly explore and improve. This will probably be my last session with Adrian in 2022… so bring on 2023! 🙂