47/49 Tanner Street, London, 11 October 2023

At long last, a date lined up for 2023. I’d already had to decline bookings with Tanner Street life drawing for February as I was in South Africa, and for July as I was going to be in North Macedonia (excuses, excuses). Third time proved to be lucky. I had no travel plans or other bookings for 11 October so I would only have to miss my regular Wednesday evening yoga group – not an infrequent sacrifice for art’s sake, sadly.

Artwork by Clive.

Artwork by Kate.

Artwork by Daniela.

Artwork by Clive.

After a delightfully warm sunny autumnal weekend, the temperature dropped and sky darkened ahead of this midweek evening. Maybe the forecast for drizzle discouraged artists from attending in droves, but a minor influx as we got underway ensured seats were taken on all sides of the square space. We started with two poses of 2 minutes, two of 5 minutes, two of 10 minutes, and then 15 minutes to the half-time interval.

Artwork by Daniela.

Artwork by Clive.

Artwork by Daniela.

Artwork by Clive.

Artwork by James.

Artwork by Clive.

Artwork by Kate.

While artists were invited to pay their admission fees, I was first in the kitchen area to pour tea and partake of the white chocolate biscuits. After our break, a single pose of 55 minutes would see the session to its end; feeling magnanimous, I offered to stand. This evidently not being a common offer, it was accepted without dissent. I folded my arms behind my arched back and settled into a balanced stance. We began.

Artwork by Clive.

Artwork by James.

Artwork by Cliff Barden.

Artwork by Daniela.

Artwork by Clive.

Artwork by Clive.

Artwork by Kate.

Artwork by Raphael Elizabeth.

I was offered a stretch-break after 20 minutes but felt fine, so declined and carried on for another quarter of an hour. When I did stretch, I kept both feet rooted to avoid any need for marking positions. Come 9pm, my work was done… and a nice evening was about to get even better. Super-talented artist Clive invited me choose any one of his works as a gift. Extraordinary generosity – thank you, Clive! It will be framed. 🙂

Photo by Tanner Street Life Drawing.