The Birds, Leytonstone, 8 November 2023
Ten weeks after my last visit to The Birds, I was back for part 2 of a double booking with Leytonstone Life Drawing. I love this group and felt blessed to return. As usual we began with quick poses: three of 1 minute, three of 3 minutes, three of 5 minutes.
Artwork by Phyllis.
Artwork by Jennifer Wolf.
Artwork by Olga Szynkarczuk.
For the last 5-minute pose, I manoeuvred my rear to the edge of a small square table and reclined down to the floor; not quite so easy as I’d imagined. It was a bit too high, even for me, so I balanced by draping my legs over the top and down the other side.
Artwork by Phyllis.
Artwork by Paul Green.
Artwork by Jennifer Wolf.
After an inverted pose that proved rather a challenge for everyone, not least myself, I went orthodox for the next 12 minutes: standing with my right leg a pace forward and fingers interlinked behind my backside.
There was time for one more pose of 8 minutes before our half-time break. For this, I sat upon the floor, right leg crooked and horizontal, left knee raised to support my left elbow with left forearm vertical, pointing to heaven. Or the pub ceiling, if you prefer.
Artwork by Phyllis.
Artwork by Paul Green.
Artwork by Jennifer Wolf.
I felt the first half had been positively received, but organiser Jenny was preoccupied with thoughts of some people who’d arrived, sat down, then immediately got up again and departed just before the start. My guess was they hadn’t expected a male model.
Artwork by Phyllis.
Artwork by Jennifer Wolf.
Artwork by Phyllis.
Artwork by Jennifer Wolf.
We resumed with poses of 20 minutes and 15 minutes, taking us to a finish. For both of these I sat on the small table, arranging my limbs within its confines. A male model maybe isn’t for everybody but it was nice to see artists looking happy at the end. 🙂
steve ritter 