Arts Theatre, London, 14 April 2023

Four sessions in 2023 for City Academy at Arts Theatre, with no two alike. This one was rather spartan – a ‘Painting the figure‘ class led by one stand-in tutor (José), with one model (me) for one student. Without a plethora of people and paints, studios can be cold, cold places; and with just a pair of diminutive floor heaters toiling against the odds, this one certainly was. After ‘warming up’ with poses of 5, 7, and 7 minutes, we set-up the long pose that would occupy most of the evening’s two and a half hours.

My angular short poses had been well received, so I was asked to provide something similar for the long pose. A pose that can be held for 5 minutes cannot necessarily be held for 95, but with a couch and careful consideration we concocted a compromise. I endured a chilly first 40 minutes up to our break, then repositioned the heaters so our next 50 minutes were tolerable enough for me to agree extending by 5 minutes more. It had been a tough, peculiar gig, but a nice painting justified it… just. 🙂