The Conservatoire, Blackheath, 13 October 2025

This evening session at The Conservatoire in Blackheath started a week in which I had bookings every day from Monday to Friday – a phenomenon not seen since way back in February 2016. On the one hand, it’s just how they happen to fall, and on the other I usually prefer to space out jobs so my body has more time to recover.

The five bookings this week were highly varied with no repetitive strains on the same areas of the body, which meant spacing wasn’t needed. The Conservatoire has short warm-ups and one long pose; Tuesday would be only short poses, while Wednesday would be portrait, Thursday all-day portrait, and Friday back to shorts and a long.

When I was last here my long pose was an easy recline, so I was expecting to stand or sit this time. In fact, we opted for a bit of both as I perched high upon a tall wooden block for 95 minutes: from 8pm to 8:30pm, ten-minute break, from 8:40pm to 9:15pm, five-minute break, and finally from 9:20pm to 9:50pm.

Aches and pains were no greater than would be inevitable from any prolonged period of motionlessness on a surface not designed for first-class comfort. I departed feeling still in fairly fine fettle for the week ahead. My ageing body had cleared its first hurdle; just four more to go…

Pose minutes, 7:30pm-10pm

Part 1 : 1, 1, 1, 5, 10.
— break —
Part 2 : 95.

Artworks

With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.

Artwork by Victoria Rance.

Artwork by Victoria Rance.