Back at The Star by Hackney Downs, it was good to see the upstairs room used by Drawing the Star had been redecorated. Less good: that it happened in June on the date of my original booking, without notice. Organiser Catherine Hall found it thus…
So, we rearranged the booking for August and all was well. We even got more artists than had turned up in recent weeks. The decor had altered but pose times in the first half were old favourites: 5 minutes, 4, 3, 2, three of 1 minute, three of 30 seconds.
After the quick poses we slowed down, still staying with tried and tested timings up to the interval. For 10 minutes I sat to recharge from my preceding work-out, then stood for 10 minutes more as we brought part one to a close.
Part two began with pose-time preferences being put to a popular vote. Artists raised their hands in greatest numbers for two poses of 15 minutes. I made the first of these one of my stock stances: standing, right arm over my head, left arm behind my back.
I ended the session sitting on a low stool, left knee crooked so my left foot was under my right thigh, whilst my right leg was out straight; right hand on right hip, left forearm resting across left thigh. Not the most comfortable, but I fancied it was nicely angular.
All done, works were placed around the floor for all to admire – and indeed there was much to admire. After tidying up, we descended to the bar for extracurricular drinks. It had been a nice evening; great to see Catherine again, great to be back.
After almost a dozen life model bookings spread over nearly 9 years for Taz and Tom of Tottenham Art Classes, would this one at The Beehive be my last? The pub isn’t going anywhere, and perhaps neither is the group, but its originators, facilitators, and all-round stars of N17 figurative art may soon be moving away from town…
Initially it seemed not only would this be my last session with Taz and Tom, but that it would be their final time here too. Securing a new home is rarely simple, however, so the good people of Tottenham get to enjoy wonderful life drawing evenings with them for a while longer. I secured myself a glass of red wine and prepared my space.
With Tom at the helm I began with two poses of 2 minutes, three of 3 minutes, one of 5-minutes, one of 10 minutes and two of 15 minutes, taking us to the half-time break. With a good-sized crowd of artists present – at least 20 encircling me – the energy in the room was positive, and the atmosphere positively humid.
After the interval we warmed-up again with a 4-minute pose then concluded our work with two poses of 20-minutes each. I reclined with my right arm and right knee raised for the first of these, then perched upon tall and short bar stools to offer a challenging mélange of angles and negatives spaces for the finale.
After stupendous artworks had been admired and their creators drifted home, I shook hands with Tom as my thank-you for the good times and to wish him and Taz the very best. Happily, their legacy is assured as regular attendees intend to take-up the reins. It’s a tough act to follow, but I sincerely wish the whole group every success.
So thanks, Taz and Tom, for building this very special community and inviting me in.
Not that one needs an excuse be naked. It can happen any time in private, isn’t even illegal in public, frequently occurs in the name of ‘art‘, and is increasingly fashionable for ‘causes‘. World Naked Bike Rides protest against car culture, skinny dips have been fund-raisers for Marie Curie Cancer Care and more recently the British Heart Foundation (BHF)… and now the latter is also supported by Naked Heart Walks.
British Naturism co-hosts sponsored Naked Heart Walks with the BHF, to achieve a “mutual goal of keeping people healthy and fit“. They add that walking “is a great way to get some exercise, and it’s even more fun in the nude!” No doubt! I took part in my first Naked Heart Walk at RSPB Rainham Marshes on Sunday 23 July 2023. All fifty places had sold out. I joined my fellow walkers in the venue’s cafe at 5:15pm.
I don’t consider myself naturist in any formal or ideological sense – no ideology has a monopoly on nakedness. I simply do what speaks to my own heart, which sometimes crosses over with British Naturism’s structured activities. Officials explained the rules, top of which was “no photographing anyone else“, before we all ventured outdoors in the low summer sunlight to explore bramble-hemmed trails and birdwatchers’ cabins.
The trail around RSPB Rainham Marshes is roughly circular but its far end was out of bounds, meaning we had to go almost halfway anti-clockwise then double-back to do the other almost-half clockwise before doubling-back again. We began as a group, in which I had a few breezy conversations, but eventually we thinned out and I went my own way in easy quietness. With nobody in the background, I sneaked selfies.
Our walk took place after the site had been closed to the general public, but we were told that closest to the River Thames we might be visible to passers-by on a footpath along adjacent flood defences. Indeed we were. And you know what? Nobody cared, clothed or naked. Live and let live. If we didn’t have a deadline of 8pm for returning to the cafe, I could have happily stayed a long time. Alas, shadows were lengthening.
Thus I returned to the cafe with just under 10 minutes to spare, a smile upon my face and foraged blackberries in my belly. It had been a nice, gentle, peaceful evening. I’d been meaning to visit this place for years but never thought it might be like this. I was contented, and content to seek nothing more. Inside the cafe, without further ado, my nakedness ceased and I departed. It had been a good walk.
Two days after returning from a fortnight on the sunny shores of Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia, I felt relieved my first post-vacation modelling job was a portrait booking. Aside my body having a less-than-ideal T-shirt tan, I’d also not been sleeping too well over the previous couple of nights. Though, of course, sleep deprivation has its perils for portrait sitters too.
I was back at the Pigeon Loft Studio above Arts Theatre, in London’s West End for a City Academy class. It was the first of three scheduled classes for a portrait drawing course, with a different model at each. Different tutors too perhaps, as a stand-in was needed this evening due to sickness. Easels were positioned horseshoe-style across the width of the studio, with me sitting about a third of the way into the open end.
There were to be five poses, none of which were timed. The first was a warm-up, the next three were practice exercises taking us halfway through the session, and after a break we finished with one long pose. Inevitably the sleep deprivation caught up with me, to the extent that by the fourth pose my eyelids must surely have been flickering. If so, I was forgiven. Fine drawings suggested quality hadn’t been compromised.
Far more rare than drowsiness at a portrait session, but every bit as understandable, was a request that I wear my hair in a ponytail. Not for the benefit of those who enjoy drawing ponytails but for greater visibility of my whole head and the proportions of its skull. For such purposes a ponytail is preferable to scalping, though normally I would shy away from both. Tonight I was happy to oblige… with a borrowed hair tie.
The last time I modelled at The Birds for Leytonstone Life Drawing it was meant to be day one of a two-day booking over consecutive days, but that night the group was told it couldn’t have the venue for day two. Shortly after, all sessions ceased. Imagine my surprise then – and joy – to find Leytonstone Life Drawing’s bird was a phoenix!
Artwork by Olga Szynkarczuk.
Having risen from ashes to welcome artists back under its wings, the circumstance of this group inviting my own return was what I now call my ‘responsible adult‘ bookings. Post-COVID London is awash with sexy youthful models and groups embracing their mainstream or alt-marketability; but sometimes the imperative is a responsible adult.
Artwork by Olga Szynkarczuk.
On this occasion, group organiser Jenny was away on holiday and had left two of her reliable, regular artists in charge. I think she wanted to make sure they had a reliable, regular model, so I got the call. It’s a compliment, and as I’ve never been mainstream sexy, nor alt-sexy, nor even youthful in many living memories, I’m very grateful for it!
Artwork by Olga Szynkarczuk.
We opened with three 1-minute poses, followed by three of 3 minutes each, then two poses of 5 minutes, one of 15 minutes and a 10-minute pose taking us to an interval. After our break we concluded the session with a single pose of 40 minutes. It was so nice to be back. Everything went superbly well… the only spark missing was Jenny.
In fairness to Jenny she doesn’t only book me as a responsible adult. I have a couple more bookings here later in the year just for the sheer diversity of me. But I reckon at least half a dozen groups now have booked me when stand-ins were due to run their sessions and they wanted a responsible adult to model. I never foresaw that niche!
Artwork by Olga Szynkarczuk.
p.s. Olga’s astounding drawing above is a composite of my 15-minute and 40-minute poses. Check out what she did with it next on her Instagram reel.
At The Conservatoire with tutor Victoria Rance, easels had been set out in a circle for an anticipated full class. Come 7:30pm, most had an artist standing behind them. The left-overs were claimed during my warm-up poses: 1, 1, 1, 5 and 10 minutes.
I felt fresh and was open to any (reasonable) suggestion for the single long pose that would occupy the rest of the evening. Victoria suggested a seated pose, symmetrical and straight-legged. With compromises on symmetry and straightness, I got close.
My back was cushioned, my knees were slightly bent to keep the pose stable and my arms were asymmetrical for the sake of my shoulders. The one area I overlooked: I’d neglected the backwards tilt of my head and consequently had 2 hours of neck ache.
Notwithstanding a pain in the neck, I was fine with just a couple of breaks. Only upon seeing the excellent final works did I realise what I’d unwittingly inspired: 14 drawings of me giving a blood sample at hospital, just as I’d done a few days before. How odd!
To St Pancras Hospital Conference Centre Gallery for the opening of Emerald 20, an exhibition and performance night celebrating 20 years of The Arts Project. I was last here 7 of those years ago, for Loudest Whispers 2016. Then as now, I was a part of an extraordinary ensemble catwalking the colours of Estelle Monsterlune Riviere.
Unlike 7 years ago there was to be no gathering beforehand for fittings. This evening we would simply try and fly. Esther and I would be two of seven Monsterlune models, sharing our catwalk with anyone from the audience who also fancied a strut. First we joined in the party, then we retreated to a tiny basement and got into character.
My outfit comprised a heavily-sloganed long-sleeve white top, bright yellow stockings and black gloves. I wore my own black shoes and a white whole-head mask adorned with soft silver spikes, silver lips, orange eye shadow, a pink mohawk and an array of quills in two lines. Real quills. Points down. On my scalp…
Quill head © Richard Kaby.
So much fun! Before our catwalk we sashayed out into the grounds for some random posing with party-goers. Then we returned to the building and – BAM!! – I banged my quills on a ceiling beam, knocking one literally into my head. Dazed, I dabbed fingers to my forehead, feeling a penny-sized seeping of blood. Still, the show must go on…
Catwalk
It’s weird. I really was quite dazed, as if someone had put a blunt pencil to the front of my hairline and struck it medium-force with a hammer. But the mask stayed on. I was doing this, come what may. Behind catwalk screens I was fifth in line to go on. Esther was fourth, Estelle seventh and last, with the audience interweaving. On we go!
Monsterlune: Delphine Oger © Richard Kaby.
Monsterlune: Frank Cutter © Richard Kaby.
Monsterlune: Cecile Dubuis © Richard Kaby.
Monsterlune: Esther Bunting © Richard Kaby.
Monsterlune: Steve Ritter © Richard Kaby.
Jeremy Lawrence © Richard Kaby.
Monsterlune: Sallyanne Wood © Richard Kaby.
Monsterlune: Estelle Riviere © Richard Kaby.
© Richard Kaby.
At large
Of course, any sub-optimal feelings disappeared the second I stepped out to perform for a whooping cheering crowd. Happiness is a splendid tonic, however fleeting. After the anarchic formalities, we became entropy in earnest. Esther and I stole a hug then gravitated to the gallery garden for freestyle fabulousness.
Outside there was no line-up, no orchestration, no choreography, no format, not even any purpose… we just went mad, individually or collectively, making most magnificent manifestations for anyone gracious enough to point a camera our way. This was truly leashless licence to ‘lune.
Happy 20th anniversary to The Arts Project! Congratulations to artists and organisers on this joyful occasion. Especially thank you to the omni-talented Estelle Riviere both for sharing your creative genius and inviting us to be a part of it. And thank you too to Richard Kaby – artist, creator, colourmeister and kind spirit – for the great photos.
Estelle Riviere © Estelle Riviere.
Richard Kaby © Richard Kaby.
steve ritter 