The Conservatoire, Blackheath, 5 January 2026

11 Jan 2026

It was the first Monday evening life drawing class of the first term of the new calendar year at The Conservatoire in Blackheath, and it was my privilege to be their model. It was also -5°C outside and not exactly hothouse conditions indoors so with privilege came predicament.

In addition to the cold I also had to contend with ongoing pains in the right side of my ribcage following my fall the previous day, but there are ways to adapt. We opened with dynamic quick poses, which were kind-of self-warming and short enough for any discomfort to be tolerable. Then came the long pose of an hour and 40 minutes.

Tutor Victoria Rance provided an armchair for the pose platform, with a blanket over its back and around its sides for an extra warming, cocooning effect. Not much extra, it has to be said, but every little helps. More significantly no fewer than five heaters of various types were organised into an arc at the exposed front of me.

You’d think five heaters would be more than enough, but in a cavernous Victorian hall with a high ceiling, ancient single-glazed windows and draughty doors, each heater is only effective at the point to which it aims directly. A few centimetres either side of this short and narrow cone of warmth gets no benefit. Five proved just about sufficient.

With all these mitigations in place I settled into the armchair. My body was at a gentle tilt and my arms suitably arranged to ease any muscle burdens from my troubled ribs. Thus set, we commenced. Artists toiled at their easels while I sat comfortably enough to need only one stretch-break in the whole 100 minutes. That counts as success.