After a couple of weeks away from London, I resumed modelling exactly how I had left it – at a portrait session for City Academy, on the top floor of Arts Theatre. We were expecting eleven students yet had only two with just a minute to go until our 10:30am start time. A flurry of latecomers brought that total to eight. As per three weeks ago, this was to be a full day session finishing at 4:30pm with an hour for lunch.
Aside from a few minor variations in pose times, the format of this class was identical to the previous one. The only significant difference was climate. Temperatures were in the high 20s; there was very little breeze outside and even less air conditioning inside. Portrait work can be soporific at the best of times, but these circumstances made for an even tougher test. I just about got through it without nodding off… I think!
On Sunday I spent five hours sitting motionless in front of eight artists with easels for a City Academy portrait drawing session at Arts Theatre. Two and half hours in the morning, an hour’s break for lunch, then a further two and half hours for the afternoon. The session opened with four 5-minute warm-ups: first drawing me without looking at the paper, next drawing me but only glancing at the paper to position the pencil, then drawing me upside down, and finally drawing each other.
Drawings were stuck to a wall after each few poses so gradually one end of the room became wallpapered with my face. The first half proceeded with poses of 15-minutes, 20, 30, and 10-minutes. Creative freedom for me was zero – artists swapped position after every pose so it would have been counterproductive if I’d significantly altered the direction of my gaze each time too. My biggest challenge was simply staying awake. More than once I lapsed into a battle of wills with my own heavy eyelids.
Second half pose lengths were 15-minutes that extended to 20, then 20-minutes for a first attempt with charcoals, followed by another 15-minutes that extended to 20, then 30-minutes on ‘charcoal technique’ – erasing areas of light from a fully charcoal-black page – and finally, 20-minutes for artists to draw in any way they pleased. Tuition was provided in a range of techniques, so the session was more about gaining experience than seeing immediate improvements. Me? I just sat and watched it all…
I arrived twenty minutes early at the studio of an architecture practice in south London for my debut as life model with Figuration – creative community makers of art events. As the working day ended, office staff began to set out drawing materials and prepare a mouth-watering buffet of grapes, cheeses, crackers and wine. A little before 6pm we were joined by our tutor Martin, and when the hour came… everyone descended upon the refreshments! It was just too tempting. I even partook of the Rioja myself.
So the life drawing itself started 25 minutes late, but in very fine spirits. It was a warm evening. Martin had brought music and selected a mellow, upbeat bossa nova playlist. We opened with poses of 5-minutes, 10, 12-minutes with me standing or seated on a long boardroom-style table while those drawing me sat either side. Martin allowed me to pick the poses and adapted his tuition accordingly, pointing out angles, alignments, negative space and weight distribution – just a light touch to get people thinking.
Particular consideration was given to the use of colour – those that stand forward, and those that create depth. The second half also contrived practice for weaker hands as I stood for 12-minutes, then back on favoured hands I sat twice for 10-minutes, bringing the session to a close. The atmosphere in the room remained friendly, communicative and relaxed throughout; hopefully that’s how it is during working hours too. Certainly it made for one of the nicest corporate bookings I’ve been given.
Life drawing at cave has moved from Thursday evenings to Tuesdays, and as a result my booking for the end of May became two: first at the beginning of May then another at the beginning of June. I arrived early, rang the outer bell, and peeped Chad-like over the gate. As always, I was greeted warmly by cave supremo, Karen and we bantered whilst waiting for artists to breeze in. When all had settled, I started with short poses.
Five 1-minutes poses, two 5-minute poses and two 10-minute poses occupied the first half. With my back to a wall I went through a semi-spontaneous repertoire of standing, kneeling, squatting and semi-reclining positions. At the interval, we all got mugs of tea and – pure bliss – mini scones with fresh clotted cream and jam. Such an unexpected treat… it’s the simple pleasures. Two 25-minute poses occupied the second half.
The only basic positions I hadn’t presented thus far were sitting and laying down. Duly I completed the set with these last two poses. A heater was whirring away next to me but cave is a truly warm-hearted space in its own right. Tonight’s throwback CDs were by Bob Marley and Hue and Cry – that latter had me guessing! Unlikely music is all part of the charm at Pimlico’s ‘artist-led retail space‘. Every visit is a pleasure.
“Are you going to write horrible things about me?” asked tutor Victoria Rance. In jest, I replied, “Of course!” …but of course not really. We were talking during the final break of what had been a rather uncomfortable 2-hour pose. In fairness, I’d been gifted some very simple long poses for my February and March visits to The Conservatoire so I was due a tougher shift, First, however, the short poses: 1, 1, 1, 5 and 10-minutes.
Before we started, while artists were still arriving, Victoria demonstrated the long pose she wanted me to attempt: sitting down, leaning forward, with one forearm across one leg and my forehead resting upon the arm. Appropriately, it was to represent ‘despair‘. Cometh the hour, I sat on wooden steps and fidgeted to find a sustainable attitude yet couldn’t quite make it satisfactory. Time was pressing, however, so I settled in haste.
The mistake – as I discovered during the course of the first twenty minutes – was that either I needed to be sitting farther back on the step or to have my feet planted further away from my body. As it was, with one foot angled back and my head over my shins, it meant my centre of gravity was too far forwards and my legs would have to strain all evening to prevent me from slipping. The second 20-25 minutes was the worst.
It’s funny to look at the photos now as I can’t see anything amiss, but trust me when I say every physicality has limits within which it can be rearranged in complete comfort. Go beyond that threshold by even the tiniest degree, however, and discomfort will take a grip, eventually amplifying to a point where no amount of minor muscle manipulation will bring relief. Never mind, though! Artists appreciated the effort and captured it well.
There are life drawing sessions at The Dellow Centre, Whitechapel on Saturdays from 11:30am to 1:50pm, and Sundays from 2:30pm to 4:50pm. I’ve modelled several times for the Sunday group, but this was my first booking of a Saturday morning. The layout was exactly the same, however; I started by standing for quarter of an hour.
This 15-minute opener was intended to afford more settling-in time for latecomers, yet they were still arriving well into pose three. By then they’d missed me standing with a wooden pole across my shoulders for 10-minutes, and most of the 20-minute pose on a stool that followed. To end the first half, I sat on the floor for 22-minutes.
After tea and biscuits a vote was held on whether the second half would comprise two poses or a single long one. Two 20-minute poses carried the day by three to one, with about seven abstentions. I was minded to stand for the first of these but was asked to lay down instead. Fine by me. I threw in a twist and some angles for good measure.
For the final pose, I was given a wooden chair and a cushion to sit upon. I hooked one arm over its back, set the other across my belly, zigzagged my legs and thus saw out what was left of a pleasant afternoon’s work. In particular, it was good to share with so many familiar faces from other London art groups. Nice times.
Portrait work is the one form of modelling for which I routinely pose in my own clothes. The first time I sat for portrait artists at Hesketh Hubbard Art Society I wore a white shirt with black waistcoat. The second time I chose a loose-fitting, open-necked shirt in deepest turquoise. Third time? Oh, decisions, decisions. I opted for blue again.
It came down to a choice between hippy white, collarless yellow, stripy orange or dark blue smart-casual; a last-minute whim steered me to the latter. I decided it would work best with my newly slicked-back hair and brief flirtation with sideburns. Of course if I’m given enough bookings, I dare say I’ll eventually pose in each. Palettes at the ready…
Insufficient sleep the night before did not bode well for 2-hours of attentive wakefulness with a fixed gaze and unwavering expression. Charcoal scratches, occasional coughs, random phone pings, time calls every quarter of an hour – these alone would not keep my eyelids from flickering, so once again I set myself distracting mental challenges.
Psychologically the task is easier after half-time tea and biscuits; it’s that ‘all downhill from here’ feeling. As I cogitated words for another blog I was writing, the time passed painlessly. Come the end, I recorded them on paper but not before checking out some very impressive works. This was a good evening to be in the chair at Mall Galleries.
steve ritter 