After 30 bookings in 7 years, life modelling for classes at The Conservatoire has the comfortable feel of slipping into – or indeed, out of – a much loved garment. Naturally poses vary on each occasion but the grand old art room, with its facilities, furnishings and fittings is a reassuring constant. But what’s this..? New furniture? For the model? Incredible but, yes, The Conservatoire’s art room now has… a chaise longue!
The trouble, as tutor Victoria Rance observed, is that I am a ‘model longue‘. Being a six-foot-four model longue, I’m not optimised for a dainty lopsided sofa. One seeks to make a virtue of one’s predicament, however, in this case contriving most novel uses of the new prop as seemed reasonable for three poses of 1 minute, one of 5 minutes and one of 10 minutes – the latter with legs on the side arm and head lolling.
For our long pose of 2 hours I’d said standing would be fine. Not quite sure why I say rash things like that, but there it is. Even so, Victoria realised that martyrdom was not essential to achieving the desired outcome, and instead turned the chaise longue 90º and bade me perch upon its high side. This I gladly did and, after what must have felt to the artists like an eternity of bum-shuffling for maximum sustainability, we began.
The sustainability manoeuvres worked as I remained motionless on the edge for fully 45 minutes before taking a first stretch break. This lasted about quarter of an hour, in which time a selection of cakes and pastries from The Conservatoire’s cafe magically materialised. Perk! Slightly fatter, I resumed for 35 minutes, then took a much shorter stretch before finishing in good condition at 10pm. All hail the chaise longue!
Having modelled at The Birds for Leytonstone Life Drawing in late June this year, I hadn’t imagined another booking would be forthcoming this side of 2024. Sometimes, however, whims and wheels work in weird ways. I was blessed both with this session and another in November this year. Oh, I do love this group!
Artwork by Paul Green.
Group organiser, Jennifer had been away taking a well-deserved holiday in June, but was back at the helm for this session with her special lighting and life-size skeleton. I sense she sees similarities between me and the skeleton, so uses me for anatomical comparison when offering guidance to her artists.
Artwork by Paul Green.
We’d begun with warm-up work: three poses of 1 minute each, then four of 3 minutes each. Next I went face-down on the floor for 5 minutes in a kind of push-up style, with one knee forward. I stood for 5 minutes in a wide stride with right arm up and left arm out. And I sat side-saddle on the floor with twisted torso and both hands grounded.
Artwork by Paul Green.
Two poses of 25 minutes each would complete our session after the midway interval. For the first I stood with my right hand on the back of my neck and my left forearm on the arch of my back. Finally I sat atop two long benches in an old favourite pose, with one arm supported by a raised knee while the other hand rested behind me.
Artwork by Paul Green.
Another very satisfying session at The Birds. Nice people all around the room. Whilst they were drawing, Jenny circulated and advised and occasionally pointed her phone in my direction. She knows I’m comfortable with photos, but I hadn’t expected a great montage reel to appear on Instagram (below) that very same evening. Bonus!
A slight shift in venue from The Art of Isolation for this afternoon session; still on the upper floor of Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, but three doors to the right of its usual gallery unit while the latter hosted an exhibition by group organiser Rod Kitson.
The floor size of the new temporary space seemed about the same as the usual one, and could still accommodate a double arc of chairs and easels for artists. We opened with a 10-minute pose then quickened with three of 1-minute and four of 2-minutes
Artwork by Elin
Artwork by Zoe
Subtle differences in the layout of this stand-in venue made new poses possible. The pose space being closer to one corner of the room had some bearing on this too. For the following pose of 5 minutes I inverted and lay with my legs up the wall.
Artwork by Elin
Artwork by Zoe
Next I stood for 10 minutes in a variation of my often used arm-over-the-head stance, reaching out at waist level with the other hand, its palm open. It was becoming one of those rare sessions where every pose was a new manifestation.
Artwork by Zoe
I ended the first half in an open seated pose with arms out wide, one knee raised and legs crossed at the ankles. There was a lot here for fans of angles, foreshortening, or negative space. Happily that includes many Art of Isolation regulars.
Artwork by Zoe
After our teabreak we concluded with one long pose of 40 minutes, during which Rod gave a demonstration and tutorial on the art of portrait drawing. Of course, those who favoured capturing the whole figure were at liberty to do so. Once more I sat.
Artwork by Zoe
Artwork by Elin
In such circumstances one can’t help wondering whether the effort of sustaining a full body pose is wasted if everyone is drawing a portrait. At the end, however, I was glad to see I’d catered for all tastes. The figure-to-portrait ratio was pretty much 50:50.
Artwork by Zoe C
Artwork by Helen
Artwork by Rod Kitson
Artwork by Cliff Barden
As always when I model here, the session had been fun, friendly and full of warmth. I wish more shopping centres would make space for drop-in life drawing. It works! And whether in the main space or a few doors down, it works superbly in Surrey Quays.
Artwork by Raphael Elizabeth
Returning as model for a City Academy portrait drawing class at Arts Theatre in the West End of London, my opening ‘warm-up’ pose was to last 20 minutes. Not really a warm-up for me but for the half-a-dozen artists who were asked to capture me in four rapid sketches. Either inadvertently or tactically, however, the whole lot of them failed to grasp the requirement; with the tutor absorbed in conversation, they undertook just one leisurely rendering each.
So we moved on to a long pose that would occupy the remainder of this session. You might think that pose variations are limited for a portrait model, and indeed you would be correct – it’s hard to maintain a gurning, grinning or grotesque expression if it’s not one’s natural countenance – but if a prop or another body part is permitted to intrude, the possibilities multiply. In this instance I was asked to pose with my head resting on my right hand. No problem.
The first and only challenge was to build a platform at a suitable height for supporting my right elbow. A swift improvisation with stacked stools solved that conundrum, after which it was art all the way. I reckon I sat in pose for about 1 hour 20 minutes in total, with a solitary stretch around two-thirds of the way through. Nothing uncomfortable in this posture beyond the gentle gradual seizing-up that afflicts any prolonged stillness. Meanwhile, the artists did some great work. I hope they were suitably happy with it.
Croydon Life Drawing Group has been one of two groups this year that repeatedly, very generously, offered me life model bookings but always for dates when I wouldn’t be free. After months of on-off persistence we finally found this midsummer Saturday. Upon arrival at East Croydon United Reform Church, further persistence was needed simply to get through the church hall security doors. An artist eventually retrieved the security PIN and we started at 9:30am with poses of 5, 5, 10, 10, 15 and 15 minutes.
My last booking here – early January 2022 – was midway through the second winter of COVID-19. Back then I was naked before an arc of artists, most of whom chose to wear a face mask throughout. This time we had just one mask-wearer, while all other protective coverings were of the kind taped over windows for modesty. Several of the windows were ajar for ventilation so at leisurely intervals their coverings took turns to flap down and hypothetically expose me further… in a corner without onlookers.
After a break for beverages and biscuits, we concluded with a single pose lasting one hour and 30 minutes. I sat myself comfortably, contriving angles and negative spaces with my limbs, and there remained motionless for the opening 50 minutes. I then took a few moments to stretch anything aching or numb before settling back down to finish the task. At the end, some artists here always let it be known they find my physique a challenge – I like to think this explains the organiser’s determination to book me!
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.
steve ritter 