The Plough and Harrow, London, 18 April 2023
A short-notice booking brought me back to The Plough and Harrow in Leytonstone for the first time since 2017. Not that Life Drawing in Leytonstone neglected me for more than 5 years; venues change, and now this one had switched back. We started with three 3-minute nude poses, and then 5 minutes with my clothes back on.
Artwork by Olga Szynkarczuk.
“Clothes back on?” You heard correct. This was group organiser Jennifer’s concept: I would first pose for 5 minutes clothed, then strip off and hold the exact same pose for 5 minutes naked. Artists would draw me nude each time – first from imagination, next from observation – and compare. Great fun: the art of mentally undressing strangers!
Artwork by Jennifer Wolf.
Artwork by Mark Doherty.
Energised by the originality of our dressed/undressed poses, I became careless with subsequent selections and adopted a needlessly uncomfortable kneeling position for the next 12 minutes. When set free from tearing tightness in tendons and toes, I was kinder to myself in choosing a side-saddle seated pose for 12 minutes to our break.
Artwork by Olga Szynkarczuk.
Artwork by Mark Doherty.
After the interval we would have two 20-minute poses taking us through to the end of the evening. Yet again I got it wrong, adding an unnecessary extra torso tilt to a pose with one arm over my head and the other stretching across my chest. It meant a little too much muscle effort was required to compensate for a slight overbalance.
Artwork by Mark Doherty.
Even with self-inflicted aches and pains, I do love working for this group. Once again my recovery position was sitting down, this time with one knee crooked upwards and both arms reaching forwards. I was feeling happy… and my smile didn’t go unnoticed by keen-eyed artists. 🙂
Artwork by Mark Doherty.
steve ritter 