I’d been itching to come back. After a flurry of bookings in the first half of 2022, I then had to turn down an offer in 2023, and this was my first opportunity since. Something about those 2022 sessions whetted my appetite, however. Time to scratch the itch…
Strange how such a feeling can arise. In a city of umpteen art groups. Walthamstow Lifedrawing isn’t the most renowned, the most glamorous, the most elite, or highest paying, but I liked the purity of its practice, the spirit of community, the easy journey.
I found much was endearingly familiar: the ‘Melody Room’ space, the colourful trestle tables surrounding me, the pose times, the people. And the differences were positive, too: an extra abundance of artists attending; even the heater seemed more effective!
So I did what I do and gave of my best. I sat on the floor for two poses, but otherwise stood throughout. Latecomers to this full-house had to sit at tables behind the central circle and might have struggled to get a clear view of any reclining poses.
Ultimately, everybody seemed pleased with our evening’s efforts. None more so than the group’s organiser, Harriet, who beamed her way around the packed room as she photographed so many great drawings. I look forward to returning on 24 February.
Pose minutes, 7:30pm-9:15pm
Part 1 : 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 15, 20.
— break —
Part 2 : 30.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
Artwork by Harriet Armstrong.
Artwork by Leah.
Never was I more glad about clocks going back an hour at the end of British Summer Time. To arrive in good time for this Art in the Village booking, I had to be out of bed at 7:30am, having only got into bed at 2:30am after my Monsterlune catwalk capers during the night. That extra hour made a big difference. I felt unexpectedly fresh.
And I was happy because I wanted to be on especially good form for this life drawing session. It was my first at Art in the Village’s exceptional new venue, Jacksons Lane arts centre – a splendidly restored and converted former Wesleyan Methodist Church in Highgate. Its Studio 1 roof space is a perfect setting.
As at anywhere new, I made sure I was on the scene early, to both reassure the host and get acquainted with its layout myself. Congruously with my recent fashion model activities, I found Cleo arranging chairs for her artists into parallel rows with a runway space for me in between. A large silver velvet cloak would be only garment this time.
When everything was ready, artists were welcomed in. It seemed we had a full class, which was nice to see – a few newcomers, but most were familiar friendly faces from previous sessions. I got them started with five 1-minute poses, swishing nude up and down the improvised catwalk.
After this warm-up, I accessorised for a series of 10-minute poses. First, showcasing the impressive cloak to incorporate fabric, then leaning on a high table to incorporate straight lines, then seated in a wicker chair with lilies or a cane to incorporate natural materials, comfortably warm with sunshine streaming through the windows.
So: lots of fun, relaxed pace, good energy, and a fine community spirit. Most pleasing was being called ‘Stevon Schiele‘ by one of the artists. Over 12 years as a model, my style and form have regularly been likened to Egon Schiele but never before had our names been conflated so naturally. I guess a church venue inspires rechristening. 🙂
Pose minutes, 10:30am-12:30pm
Part 1 : 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 10, 10, 10.
— break —
Part 2 : 10, 10.
Venue
Jacksons Lane arts centre, Highgate.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
Artwork by Lady Carstairs.
Return of the KitCat Club
Legendary 80s underground nightclub, the KitCat Club, was reactivated for one night only on 26 October 2024, at modern venue Omeara near London Bridge. DJs, bands and assorted Dark Culture glitterati were brought in for the occasion, as was Estelle ‘Monsterlune’ Riviere for a kooky catwalk. Esther and I were among her models.
The original KitCat Club (well, this version) was started by Simon Hobart in 1984. As an ignorant schoolboy at the time, I knew nothing of it and can add nothing to its pool of fond memories now. Rather than risk misrepresenting its place in history, I’ve taken the liberty of copying words below from the 2024 KitCat Halloween Special flyer…
“The KitCat Club was a renowned 80s London club night which gained fame for its unique atmosphere and eclectic mix of music featuring Retro, Alternative, Goth Rock, Punk, New Wave and Electronica. Its creator Simon Hobart named the night after the club in Cabaret.
“Simon Hobart opened the first KitCat club night in February 1984. Opening at Studio One on Oxford Street, it then moved to a converted warehouse known as the Pleasure Dive in Westbourne Grove, where it became London’s premier goth hangout, providing a more glamorous and tongue-in-cheek alternative to its more po-faced rival, the Batcave in Soho.
“The KitCat gave Simon his first taste of notoriety when in January 1985, it landed him on the front page of the Sun. Police had raided the club for drugs and arrested Simon, a photographer snapping “the godfather of goth” as he was led away – he was just 21 at the time.
“The raid had a profound effect on Simon and he decided to move the night to a more central location midweek at the Comedy Store in Leicester Square, then eventually residing at the Soundshaft venue which was part of Heaven nightclub.
“Simon sadly passed away on Oct 23rd 2005 but the KitCat Club remains fondly remembered still by those who experienced its heyday, and it continues to hold a special place in the memories of London nightlife enthusiasts.”
Fitting
Estelle had drafted an unprecedented 22 models for this catwalk, making it by far the largest of her Monsterlune shows in which I’d participated. Broadly the first half was to be goth and the second half punk but we could all have been characterised simply as freaks. Think David Cronenberg spliced with Leigh Bowery.
I was to be among the goth contingent, and indeed third upon the catwalk. All models were invited to a costume fitting two weeks before the event – my first encounter with the extraordinary creation I would be inhabiting. The mask alone increased my height from six foot four to nearer eight foot. This was going to be exceptional.
Preparation
Come the day, Esther and I arrived at Omeara bang on the mustering time of 9:30pm. This was well ahead of our catwalk (11:45pm), and an hour before the club’s opening time. It meant we got to see this magnificent space properly whilst the lights were still on, as we were led through and upstairs to the backstage dressing rooms for models.
There were two main dressing rooms, one already pretty full and the other empty. So we occupied a sofa in the latter. Soon we were sharing it with Katherine Blake in the company of Catherine Gerbrands and Takatsuna Mukai – all magical human souls. This was our time to relax before we transformed into Estelle’s staggering visions.
Monsterlune Catwalk
I left it late before putting on my costume as being 8-foot tall in a small shared space can cause trickiness. Soon enough, time was upon us. Estelle led us back down and got us in line to enter the stage. Skintight SJ introduced us to hundreds of flawlessly groomed dark clubbers, and on we went: weirdly, wonderfully, wild…
Skintight SJ – photo © Richard Williams.
Katherine – photo © Richard Kaby.
Michael and Katherine – photo © Richard Kaby.
Michael – photo © Richard Williams.
Me – photo © Richard Williams.
Me – photo © Richard Kaby.
Franco – photo © Richard Williams.
Andrew – photo © Richard Kaby.
JessicAlmande – photo © Richard Kaby.
Anna – photo © Richard Williams.
Takatsuna – photo © Richard Kaby.
James – photo © Richard Kaby.
Pauline – photo © Richard Williams.
Jeremy – photo © Richard Williams.
Esther – photo © Richard Kaby.
Alice and Esther – photo © Richard Kaby.
Alice – photo © Richard Kaby.
Jonney – photo © Richard Williams.
Sallyanne – photo © Richard Kaby.
Aizen – photo © Richard Williams.
Pepita and Aizen – photo © Richard Kaby.
Pepita – photo © Richard Kaby.
Amelia – photo © Richard Kaby.
Noé and Cazimi – photo © Richard Williams.
Noé, Catherine and Cazimi – photo © Richard Kaby.
Catherine – photo © Richard Kaby.
Estelle – photo © Richard Williams.
Party time! – photo © Richard Kaby.
Party time! – photo © Richard Kaby.
So much preparation for 40 seconds of solo stage time! But the individual time wasn’t the point; this was about being part of something. I made slow movements to sombre music, others moved madly or slinked sexily, but we all got our freak on. We made an outlandish spectacle for a fantastic audience. Dark, colourful, beautiful. Brilliant.
Full show
You can check out the full catwalk in the video below. It can’t compare to being there, but it gives a flavour. After the show, we stayed in character to mingle in the club and dance to the live bands. Esther was in her element. We both had work next morning, however, so couldn’t last till 5am. It never really ends, though. Energy is forever. ❤
Estelle – photo © Richard Kaby.
A busy week of life modelling (by my recent standards) ended with Sunday afternoon poses at home. Lucy McGeown of London Drawing Group contacted me two days earlier asking whether I would be free for a 1.5hr Zoom life drawing class. Plans for a weekend countryside walk were duly put back a couple of hours, and I accepted.
In my home studio room I fixed my phone camera to a large tripod and set my laptop on a small table adjacent. I would stand on a yoga mat, and kept a comfortable chair nearby for when seated poses were required. During the pre-session set-up meeting we selected my darkest backdrop for best contrast.
The theme was ‘cropping’, which meant that after five 2-minute warm-up poses, each subsequent 15-minute pose would be scrutinised by online artists with an intention of finding an area of the overall composition to ‘crop’ and draw. Lucy demonstrated how this could be facilitated using two L-shaped strips of paper.
Despite having become well practised and experienced at online life modelling, there will always be a detached peculiarity about posing naked and alone with no idea how many people are watching me, or who they are. The webinar format meant our video feed was one-way only, so I didn’t see any artworks. But I’m out there somewhere!
Pose minutes, 2pm-3:30pm
Part 1 : 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 15, 15, 15, 15, 12.
Six months on from my last time life modelling at The Art of Isolation, the long-pose slot has evolved. Whereas in April the session was comprised mostly of short poses with a 35-minute pose at the end, now ‘Long Pose Saturday’ starts with two 5-minute warm-ups before focusing entirely on a single 90-minute pose.
As the model, my main shift in preparation is from semi-spontaneously manifesting a diverse selection of interesting and sustainable poses appropriate for short durations of between 1 and 15 minutes, to instead imagining just one pose that has within it an equivalent store of latent energy and challenging perspectives for an hour and a half.
The question I usually ask myself is: do I take the easy option of settling down on the comfy armchair or do I treat the artists to what will probably be a rare standing pose? Happily on this occasion a compromise was available. By reversing the chair, I could perch upon its back and thus be almost upright whilst comfortably seated.
Every session at The Art of Isolation is enjoyable, and this one was no exception, but it was extra special for me as Esther was able to come and draw. It seems like years since either of us drew the other, and more than eight months since we last modelled together – though happily we now have two more duo bookings before 2024 ends. ❤
So it’s time I got active with art materials again and found somewhere to draw Esther. One of my retirement hopes is to discover whatever artist lies within me. It won’t be a great artist but I’m more interested in finding what feels like my own personal, natural style, free from external influences (insofar as that’s even possible).
Watch this space… but don’t hold your breath. 🙂
My next work with Esther will be video and sound-desk duties for her performance of ‘From the 7th Layer – a theatrical life drawing odyssey’ at Candid Arts on Saturday 16 November 2024. The show premiered in Berlin earlier this month so this is its first time in London. Join us to draw, or simply absorb the journey. See you there?
Pose minutes, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Part 1 : 5, 5, 45.
— break —
Part 2 : 40 continuation.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
Artwork by Rod Kitson.
Artwork by Pamela Frost.
Artwork by Daniele Uranio.
Artwork by Marios Rotsa.
Photo by Rod Kitson.
This booking for Tanner Street life drawing was my third in three successive days. The last time I’d modelled for three successive days was way back on 23, 24, and 25 February 2020. Within a month, we had the first UK COVID-19 Lockdown. It’s taken almost two and half years since the final lockdown for me to get back to this level.
Back when I had a full-time day-job I tried not to accept too many life model bookings on successive evenings as the resulting work/life balance simply wasn’t healthy. Now I’m liberated from those shackles, however, I can be more relaxed about having a full diary. In theory, that is. It still depends on me getting any offers. 🙂
In addition to work/life balance, I must also be mindful of the physical impact. Mine is the sort of body that lends itself aesthetically to stretching, twisting, angular postures. Whilst it might be lovely to get bookings that require only for me to sprawl across soft pillows and look ravishing, that’s not what – or who – I am. My poses tend to hurt!
So, although I hope to increase my life modelling activities over the coming months, I also intend to keep building-in recovery breaks. Tanner Street life drawing was a nice way to finish my back-to-back evenings; great people, great space, dynamic poses in the first half, tea and biscuits, then a relatively recuperative long-pose to finish.
There is a bonus for anyone who attends this group’s sessions up to the first week of December. You can immerse in soundscapes emanating from the Ugly Duck building next door, where ‘Eclipse’ by Nonotak is exploring “the power and impact of light on visual perception when combined with space and sound“. Intensely atmospheric.
Pose minutes, 7pm-9pm
Part 1 : 2, 2, 5, 5, 10, 10, 15.
— break —
Part 2 : 54
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
Artwork by Jacqui Hamer.
Artwork by Alice Fordyce.
Artwork by William Fricker.
Artwork by Rod Kitson.
Artwork by Rod Kitson.
Artwork by William Fricker.
Artwork by Jacqui Hamer.
On Tuesday, The Bath House in Hackney Wick became the twelfth venue at which I have modelled for Adrian Dutton’s groups. And what a truly brilliant venue! Possibly my favourite since his glory days at Eastbourne House in Bethnal Green (2013-17).
The building still houses a working community sauna, but is so much more besides. Life drawing takes place in the main hall, which is huge and thus a challenge to keep heated, but one can overlook a few chills in exchange for the advantages.
Many positives are common to all Adrian’s groups by virtue of his gentle, unflustered warm-spirited manner of engaging with everyone present. Here, however, I was also feeling lots of warmth from the artists, both individually and as a community.
There was good number of people drawing; perhaps 28, give or take. I always say it doesn’t matter to me whether 1 or 100 artists are present as I’ll always give as much as I can. Nonetheless, after a run of posing for small gatherings I really needed this.
It’s a strange how much of a difference being in a positive environment can make. I’d arrived feeling physically out of sorts after the previous evening’s long pose, but right from the outset a subtle energy lifted me here. I was almost gliding into poses.
Another bonus was recognising friendly faces from other London groups. Many were artists who I know understand my style and respond superbly to the inspiration. They elevate me simply by being themselves and through their love of creativity.
Clearly I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed this evening. I was left flabbergasted when Adrian told me how much had been given in tips – a big thank-you for such kindness! Great session, great people, great artworks. It was a pleasure to participate.
Pose minutes, 7pm-9pm
Part 1 : 5, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 5, 10, 15, 15.
— break —
Part 2 : 5, 15, 20
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
Artwork by Gail Reid.
Artwork by Gail Reid.
Artwork by Mark Doherty.
Artwork by Mark Doherty.
Artwork by Alex Potts.
Artwork by Mark Doherty.
Artwork by Rufus Gerrard-Wright.
Artwork by Alex Potts.
steve ritter 