The ideal email to receive when one has nothing planned for the next day: “Last min request but I don’t suppose you are free tomorrow Sunday 12th May to model for an online session 2-3.30pm…”. Within ten minutes I’d posted an affirmative response. It would be my second time on Zoom for London Drawing Group this year.
Artwork by Cynthia Barmish.
Artwork by Brittany Gutheim.
As with my last London Drawing Group booking in January, this session was led by Lucy McGeown. Our area of focus was “how parts of the body meet each other in a pose“, their “points of contact” and “shapes they make of the body“. I would manifest 90 minutes of appendage-on-torso / appendage-on-appendage action.
Artwork by Elin.
Artwork by Brittany Gutheim.
I also manifested the new Zoom backdrop in my studio – a multi-coloured, patterned hippy sheet hanging behind me, in front of which I could pull plain dark curtains from the left or plain light curtains from the right as required. I’d used my previous London Drawing Group wages to buy these, so it seemed fitting to flaunt them now.
Artwork by Cynthia Barmish.
Artwork by Elin.
After five warm-up poses of 2 minutes each, we progressed to a couple of 15-minute standing poses: one facing forward with hands on chest and hip, the other with arms as a chalice in sideways stance. For the final two poses I sat on a chair: first with left leg across right thigh for 15 minutes, second with both knees raised for 20 minutes.
Artwork by Sabine Wuttke.
It was a lovely session for a warm spring afternoon. As often when modelling online, I was alone in my own home but there may have been hundreds observing me around the world. Probably It was nearer forty, but nice to find out later that regular in-person artist Elin Wyn had been among them. Thanks, Lucy, for inviting me again. 🙂
Part 2 of 2 at Waterloo Action Centre began just 30 minutes after the end of part 1. When the previous quick-pose session finished and almost all of our artists departed, I’d wondered whether we were destined for low numbers at this long-pose sequel.
Indeed as the 4pm start time approached it seemed we might have fewer than a third of the earlier number in attendance. With a modest flurry of late arrivers, however, we managed to peak at 17 artists in total. The more the merrier, but this felt comfortable.
Although the focus was longer poses we still did our warm-ups. Tutor Andrea Voisey got us underway with poses of 10, 4, 4, 4, 4 and 2 minutes. A 25-minute pose took us into half-time, after which a single 40-minute pose carried us through to the close.
For a while, the cumulative effect of my full-time weekday job, back-to-back Saturday sessions, overexertion in poses and generally challenging times caught up with me; I nearly nodded off! But all was well. Another happy London Drawing event. 🙂
Early each Saturday afternoon an advertising board for life drawing is placed outside
Waterloo Action Centre close to London’s sprawling station of the same name. This ensures that, as well as regular attendees, its hosted London Drawing sessions are often likely to get a few curious first-time drop-ins.
There are two Saturday sessions: quick poses and long poses. The same model and tutor are present for both. This time it was me and tutor Andrea Voisey. People were still arriving at 1:30pm when I opened with a 10-minute pose. Andrea rounded-up the first-timers and gave them a demo of drawing techniques using various materials.
Demo sketches by Andrea Voisey.
This 10-minute warm-up turned out to be the longest pose of our first half. Those that followed were 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 5, 5 and 8 minutes, taking us to 2:30pm. As I write this blog more than a fortnight later I can’t begin to recall the diverse range of shapes into which I contorted my body, yet it flowed at the time. Somehow it always does.
After a healthy break in which many artists popped outside for a coffee, maybe a bite to eat, or simply to enjoy the sunshine, we returned for our final three poses. The first was a 12-minute pose taking us to 3pm. Two 15-minute poses completed part one of our afternoon’s work. Part two would begin just half an hour later, at 4pm.
The mixture of regular attendees, first-time bookings and spontaneous drop-ins gave us a total of 31 artists. At the end, almost all seemed to pack up their belongings and leave. It’s quite usual for quick poses to be more popular than long but… surely there would be more than a handful of people at our next session, wouldn’t there?
Upon returning to a life drawing group for the first time in over two years, one doesn’t wish to be late. But trains let me down. Cut to the chase: I had to walk from Denmark Hill to The Prince Regent in 23 minutes. Google says it takes 34. I did it in 18.
Artwork by Jake Attwell.
Artwork by Jake Attwell.
Artwork by Jake Attwell.
Artwork by Gabrielle Bradshaw.
Hot and breathless but trying to look composed, I staggered up to the pub’s first floor where I found SketchPad Drawing and organiser Lisa exactly as remembered them: from both my last visit in February 2022… and my first visit in Janaury 2015. 🙂
Artwork by Jake Attwell.
Artwork by Joris.
Artwork by Jake Attwell.
Artwork by kris_kringlev2.
Artwork by Maria Beddoes.
The group now occupies only one function room instead of two, but that’s fine by me. It’s less limiting than posing in a doorway. We were a little late starting so I recovered enough to stand for a 10-minute pose, then four of 2 minutes, before sitting for 10s.
Artwork by Gabrielle Bradshaw.
Artwork by Joris.
Artwork by Jake Attwell.
Artwork by Ian Thomas.
In the last 15 minutes before our break, I perched on a table’s edge with hands round my head in a favoured Egon Schiele-style. The extended joys of a pub-based interval meant we could squeeze just two poses of 10-15 minutes into the second half.
Artwork by Maria Beddoes.
Artwork by Keith Whitworth.
For the closing poses I got a slightly-less-than-subtle hint to turn my face toward Lisa so she could sketch a portrait. Any time she wants to see more of me I’ll be delighted to return! Two years had been way too long… but it felt like only yesterday.
Online life drawing with London Drawing: part 2 of 2. This was my Tuesday evening follow-up to last Saturday daytime modelling on Zoom. Once again the session was led by insightful artist and art teacher, Susannah Pal – Macclesfield Art Tutor.
The key consideration for this session was sustaining adequate lighting. On Saturday from 11am to 1pm we needed only sunshine through the window, but this evening we would need to make adjustments with the onset of twilight between 7pm to 9pm.
We started in daylight but I took the precaution of switching on my soft ceiling light so there would be some compensatory illumination when the sun began to set. First half pose times were 10, 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 5, 10 and 18 minutes. Lots of dynamism.
At the break, I switched on a low voltage table lamp to my left, and a dazzlingly bright Magneto Lantern to my right. The intention was to ensure all-round radiance, but with an extra strong source on one side that would create shadows and add depth.
We ended the session with two seated poses on a chair; 20 minutes and 18 minutes. For the second we moved the camera closer for a cropping effect with more detail. In all, it was another highly enjoyable and instructive experience. I’m liking Zoom work!
Having posed for London Drawing at three different venues in the past month it was now my turn to supply the setting. Modelling for their online life drawing this Saturday morning and the following Tuesday evening, I would be welcoming virtual visitors into the dedicated studio space of my own home.
Artwork by Carol Smith.
Artwork by Carol Smith.
I’d recently revamped one end of the room especially for my online work. On the wall facing its large window I’d fitted a curtain pole high above the radiator then hung light (cream) and dark (aubergine) curtains at either end as alternative backdrops. Behind these I fitted another pole for hanging a colourful hippy sheet as an exotic option.
Artwork by Jean.
Artwork by Jean.
Artwork by Mary F.
Artwork by Shaun.
Artwork by Shaun.
Artwork by Shaun.
This session would be my first working with Macclesfield Art Tutor, artist Susannah Pal. Before starting we shared ideas and tested options. Susannah favoured the light backdrop, so we stuck with that. When our artists joined us, we treated them to quick poses: 10 minutes, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 5, 5, 15 and 5 minutes up to a short break.
Artwork by Peter.
20-minute, 20-minute, and 5-minute poses brought the session to a close. There was time left to admire the artworks of anyone willing to hold them in front of their camera, after which we all quit Zoom and I was once more alone… as I had been all along. It’s still a curious practice for me, but I’m increasingly loving it and hope to do more.
This session for one of Adrian Dutton’s groups at the Garrett Centre was without a key ingredient: Adrian himself. Sad circumstances called for him to be elsewhere, but this afforded the rare delight of an evening hosted by Adrian’s wife, Anya. It had been several years since the last occasion, but Anya is always and utterly reliable.
Artwork by Agustin Coll.
Artwork by andrewzxlim.
Anya stuck to a winning formula: artists on seats and at easels arranged in a square, model on gym mats at the centre, spotlight overhead, webcams for attendees online. We started with one 10-minute pose followed by five 1-minute poses, then continued with poses of 5, 10 and 20 minutes up to our break. Everything like clockwork.
Artwork by Tamar Ben Joya.
Artwork by andrewzxlim.
This remains the only group I know that offers free, freshly cooked hot food for model and artists alike at the interval. After a delicious bowl of dhal we resumed our art with five more 1-minute poses – to get everybody re-energised – before finishing with one pose of 15 minutes and one of 20 minutes.
Artwork by Tamar Ben Joya.
Artwork by Agustin Coll.
And as ever artists are invited to share their work at the end by placing it on the floor, to inspire or simply be admired by others. Certainly they had my admiration; so much precisely observed, boldly interpreted, beautifully created art. Lovely people too. I left Bethnal Green in high spirits. This was a particularly good one.
steve ritter 