My first time modelling for Soho Life Drawing was an unusual début with an unusual group. Each Monday they host not one but three sessions: 5:50pm to 6:45pm, 7pm to 8pm and 8:15pm to 9pm. Artists can choose to attend one, two or all. I’d been booked to pose for the first session of an evening that would be led by Jen – a colleague of the group’s regular organiser, Ann. I arrived at the Westminster Quaker Meeting House venue in plenty of time, Jen had everything well organised… we just needed artists.
One artist was already present with Jen when I entered the Fry Room and introduced myself; chairs for between 20 and 30 more were arranged in a wide horseshoe shape. We passed the time chatting amiably, but as 5:50pm drew nearer I started to wonder whether we might remain a threesome for the whole session. With just a few minutes left, two more artists joined us and spread out about the room. Small but fully formed, we began: three 30-second poses, two of 2-minutes and two of five-minutes.
As ever, it matters not whether there are three artists or three hundred; one must put in a good shift of work. Poses of 15-minutes and a shade over 20-minutes brought us to the finish. The last pose became a bit achy, with one arm raised and legs crossed in a narrow diagonal, but it was fine. At the end I received a noisier round of applause than I’ve sometimes had from a full-house. I hope one day I’ll have a chance to come back and pose for a higher turn-out here, as I imagine it could be buzzing.
Eight artists, one model, six poses: 5-minutes on one knee, 10-minutes standing with arms out, 15-minutes seated on the floor, 30-minutes reclining with legs up on a chair; then a break, followed by 34-minutes seated on a chair, and 19-minutes standing with with hands outstretched upon the tops of broom handles. The last two were supposed to be half-an-hour each but a lapse in timekeeping meant the sitting pose overran and an alternative ending was hastily improvised.
Eight artists, one model, two cats. The Dellow Centre house cats were at large. No sooner had I knelt for the first pose with one hand placed on the back of my head, the other pointing upwards, than I had a cat rubbing against my supporting shin. Later, for the final few minutes of the third pose, a cat wandered onto my white sheet and rolled over to lay motionless, belly-up next to me. In those unlikely moments, I doubted that anyone was still drawing the human figure.
Eight artists, one model, no music, no theme, no gimmick. Sessions here are entirely about the art, and as such are intended for purists wishing to hone their drawing skills, rather those seeking some form of light entertainment. As a model, I feel more acutely the importance of body configurations that are original and sustainable. Many of those drawing here me have a great deal of experience. The simple compliment of “excellent poses” at the end was enough to make this a rewarding afternoon’s work.
I’ve been writing this blog for nigh on five years, during which time I’ve published more than 300 tales of life modelling, performance and other arty activities. It serves mostly as a record for myself but it’s nice to get positive feedback too. Never before, however, had I been aware of it being directly responsible for a booking – until Karen at cave in Pimlico emailed me to say, “I have just read your blog post on modelling for London Drawing Group“… and offered me the chance to pose for cave life drawing.
Pimlico being one of London’s more salubrious areas, I’d set out with a preconceived notion that the venue would be some pristine, minimalist white-space gallery. Instead what I found was an art and retail home for the most wondrous characterful collection of magnificently random objects crammed high and wide, from floor to ceiling. I would be posing in a small clearing by the door for a full-house group of 10 artists, including Karen. We started with five 1-minute poses, two of 5-minutes and two of 10-minutes.
The artists were all local women; charming, encouraging and enthusiastic. Karen was a down-to-earth, warm, engaging host, whose passion for life drawing could barely be contained. After an interval for tea and biscuits, we ended with two 25-minute poses. I think we overran a little, but time matters less when the feeling is good. Our evening’s soundtrack came courtesy of Barry White and Tears for Fears CDs; musical nostalgia was never more fitting than in this environment. A lovely session.
This was my second sitting for the portrait artists of Hesketh Hubbard Art Society at Mall Galleries. In a separate space on the far side of the building, Esther was sitting for a 2-hour long pose whilst, out of sight between us, a male model would be working through his routine of eight 15-minute poses. A female model had been booked for the four 30-minute poses but, a minute or two after the usual start time, it was announced she wouldn’t coming because “she forgot and is in France…”
I imagined that if I had not already begun posing for the portraitists about five minutes earlier, I might have been plucked from that setting and put on 30-minute nude poses instead; it’s a lot harder to find a volunteer to pose naked from among the artists than it would have been to sit clothed for portraits. But I’d been quite looking forward to the session this evening and was very happy to stay where I was. After early reservations I’m learning to appreciate the art of posing for portrait work.
During the break, Tanja – a reliable model who runs The Jolly Sketcher life drawing in Highgate – arrived to stand-in for the final two 30-minute poses. When I returned to my sitting position for the second half, Tanja undressed and stood facing me with her naked midriff directly in line with my gaze point. Never have I felt so self-conscious to be staring at someone continuously for half an hour. Tanja would not have known that without my glasses on, all I see is a featureless hazy pink blur.
Within the gallery space I was seated in between two large artworks, directly beneath a caption declaring: Visceral Manifestation No.6. At the end of session, I was relieved that the many diverse portraits of me could not be given the same label. In particular, I loved that so many artists embraced colour this evening. I asked at the start if it made a difference to them whether I was wearing patterned, colourful, or plain clothes. There was no strong feeling, just that I should remove my glasses. How right they were.
Notwithstanding current trends in London, being a life model is NOT about glamour or physical perfection (whatever that may be). Every unique human body has something special with which to inspire artists so long as the person within can be open, reliable and professional. In my case, I have long been compared with figures in paintings by Egon Schiele, so if an art class is looking for a Schiele-like model, there’s a chance I’ll get a call… which makes me very happy in my imperfection.
Egon Schiele – Nude self-portrait, 1916.
Yesterday’s event was an ‘Egon Schiele Special: drink and draw at Buster Mantis‘ with London Drawing Group. It was my third time working for this trio: the first was a session led by Lucy in April; then came a duo session led by Luisa in July; now this session led by Frances. To start, she warmed-up the sell-out full house of artists by getting them to try about eight 1-minute and 2-minute continuous line sketches of my full body or just my hands – looking only at me, not the page.
Some of the short poses were in the style of paintings by Schiele that were projected onto a screen behind me, whilst others were improvised from my memory of his work. Hand poses are a particular challenge when posing in the round; trying to make sure everyone has sufficient view of at least one gesture. Next came three 5-minute poses that directly mimicked projected paintings – even making use of orange material as a kind of sarong. The first half ended with a 10-minute portrait piece.
After our break, we completed the session with a single 45-minute pose in the style of the Schiele self-portrait at the start of this blog post. Very knotty and tangled, all sorts of pressures and stress points, yet I knew I could hold it. My own limbs are somewhat longer than Schiele’s so the pose became stretched out, but exaggeration was meant to be a feature of the study anyway. What I only noticed shortly after starting was that I’d actually created a mirror of the original work…
Inevitably this one became uncomfortable quite quickly. No single part of me was ever in pain, but my body needed constant micro-management to get me through. I had no idea of how time was passing, just an awareness of Frances moving around the clock dial of artists, offering hints and tips. As she neared the end of her circle she declared that just two minutes remained. What a relief! And what pleasure to see the wonderful artworks that resulted from this afternoon’s exertions. Schiele remains an inspiration.
Democracy reigns after the break at Drawing the Star. Its organiser, Catherine Hall offers her artists a vote on whether to go for one 30-minute pose, two of 15-minutes, a 10 and 20, or three 10-minute poses. The first to speak preferred a full half-hour, whilst others had no strong opinion, so a long pose it would be. I eyed the pile of pillows and sheets on the floor… “Don’t lay down completely,” grinned Catherine, so I settled down into an angular yet comfortable seated posture.
I noticed I was smiling almost throughout. Perfect temperature, cosy soft furnishing, a gorgeous playlist, pleasant thoughts and a challenging yet sustainable pose; I do love working at The Star by Hackney Downs. As usual, the first half had been a lot more dynamic – poses of 5-minutes, 4, 3, 2, three of 1-minute, three of 30-seconds and two of 10-minutes. Also as usual, for the minute and half-minute stuff I didn’t know exactly what shape my body would make till it rapidly rewired itself into each tense attitude.
It’s been busy here in recent weeks, but this evening was a little quieter. Nonetheless, there were some very enthusiastic newcomers plus the return of artists that Catherine had known from way back. In a moment of nostalgia, we tried to recall when we’d first worked together as tutor and model. A search of my blog revealed our collaboration in arts had begun on 3 March 2014; it still feels as fresh and enjoyable more than three years later. I’m now looking forward to drawing Esther here on Tuesday next week.
London Colour Walk is an informal gathering of creative people who get dressed or dress-up to inspire and be inspired. They have no rules – just one simple core belief: “the more colours the better”. When they do colour, they do it with lavish celebratory joy and vivacious hearts, their wild styles making wide smiles. On Sunday 9 July, in Haggerston, north London, it manifested as a dazzling Food, Fashion and Colour Extravaganza at Dumpling Heart.
© ‘Colour Walk, Shoreditch, March 2016’ by Ella Guru
Food would be courtesy of Melhui Liu’s Dumpling Heart – a selection of 2-course or 3-course meals, with complimentary drinks – down in the lower level of SHEDlondon. Afterwards, this same space would be transformed into the venue for an extraordinary fashion show presenting the creations of Anne-Sophie Cochevelou, Carey Marvin, Florent Bidois and Estelle Riviere Monsterlune. Esther and I would be two of nine catwalk models for Estelle.
Esther © Richard Kaby
Me © Richard Kaby
After sharing a 2-course meal – Esther had spicy vegetarian noodles, whilst I took the strawberry cheesecake – we went backstage to try on our assigned garments. Esther would be modelling Estelle’s monstershroom outfit, but with a kind of fez instead of its giant mushroom cap, whereas I was back in the sexy flower costume that I’d cavorted around in with Monstershroom and the Bugs back in June. Four sets of models and designers, facilitators, photographers and friends all crammed in a chaotic corridor.
© Richard Kaby – centre to right: Carey Marvin, Estelle Riviere, Florent Bidois.
As ever, there was much waiting around for those precious few seconds of excitement when we could strut the catwalk. Estelle’s creations were to be the last presented; we could hear much appreciation beyond the stage door for those who preceded us. Duly, our host for the event – Empress of Colour, Sue Kreitzman – introduced Monsterlune magnificence, and we entered, one at a time: first Pauline, then Kat, Jessica, Ricardo, Esther, Adina, Aizen, Takatsuna… and last of all, myself.
After our individual moments, we returned en masse together with Estelle to bathe in collective applause. This audience needed no prior persuading of Estelle’s genius for design, but it was nice to share in their warmth and love. Afterwards everyone spilled outside for what was originally meant to be a colour walk around nearby Stonebridge Gardens, but which somehow progressed no further than lots of mingling and posing on pavements. Fun was had nonetheless, in fantastic company and glorious hues.
Downstairs at SHEDlondon, we’d been surrounded by good friends and familiar faces; now even more gathered outside. Many would be heading west across London to the King and Queen pub in Fitzrovia for another Monstershroom performance, this time for a Vanilla launch party. Esther and I had been invited too, but our paths lay to the south and east – it’s heart-warming to know, however, that wherever we may travel as individuals, somewhere in London there is unbridled colour and joy.
© Alys Alice
steve ritter 