At the onset of this summer’s first significant heatwave the last thing I thought I would require is a heater. Nevertheless, a heater awaited me at St Pancras Church House when I arrived for this London Drawing session. Organiser Anne explained: it wasn’t intended to heat me up, it was for the fan setting to me cool down.
With nine successive 2-minute poses requested for the initial “warm-up” phase of the evening, anything with a cooling effect was welcome. These were conditions in which sweat would seep in every crooked elbow, flood every belly fold, lubricate every palm placed on a slippery hip or torso.
I wasn’t the only one feeling the heat. Quite early in our work, an artist had to give up standing at an easel and instead be seated to draw. After our warm-ups, Anne asked me to be seated as well. I gladly complied, and was encouraged to remain seated for all the remaining poses. I could have comfortably stood… but why be a martyr? 🙂
Pose minutes, 7pm-9pm
Part 1 : 10, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 10, 10, 10.
— break —
Part 2 : 30.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
West Hampstead Community Centre runs life drawing classes and portrait drawing classes. On this my first visit, I would be sitting (clothed) for portrait artists. As with all debut sessions, I allowed plenty of time to arrive. This is partly in case of unexpected transport delays, partly in case I have trouble finding the place, but mainly to give the tutor – Andrea Morreau – confidence I wouldn’t let her down.
Only a handful of artists joined us, fewer than expected, but then we are entering that time of year when all groups tend to see their numbers dip. The pose plan was a new one for me at a portrait class, but was eminently sensible: three 15-minute warm-ups, seated in a corner of the room, turning 45 degrees after each pose so every artist got a face-on view, a three-quarter view and a profile view; then finally a 1-hour pose.
By the second warm-up, artists were evidently hitting their stride as it was agreed we should lengthen to half an hour. After this isolated aberration, we reverted to our plan for the remainder of what was a serene session. Inexplicably, I managed a mere four hours’ sleep the night before and had been awake since 3:30am so I struggled not to nod off during the last two warm-ups. I stayed alert thereafter. A mug of tea helped!
Pose minutes, 2pm-4:30pm
Part 1 : 15, 30, 15.
— break —
Part 2 : 60.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
Venue: West Hampstead Community Centre, 17 Dornfell Street, London, NW6 1QN.
Artwork by Andrea Morreau.
Remarkably, this, my fifth Sunday life drawing session for Art in the Village, was at a fourth different venue. Having started in a chilly church hall, we first migrated to a pub function room, then found what felt like a natural home at Jacksons Lane arts centre. Whereas initially we occupied the centre’s cavernous Studio 1, however, this time we were temporarily displaced to the smaller yet still charming Studio 2.
As is customary, group organiser Cleo got us underway with warm-up exercises. Our 5-minute ‘blind drawing’ opener was curtailed at 3 minutes as artists agreed they had taken it as far as they could. Our final two challenges both went the distance, though. For the last, artists captured my form using a continually looping line – or ‘Slinky‘, as Cleo called it for those of us old enough to remember.
For the long pose, I was to be seated in such a way as to engage artists’ observation of foreshortening. My instinctive interpretation of the requirement was to slouch down and extend both legs, with an option to cross at the ankle. This was politely declined, however. Instead I was asked to spread more like a king on a throne with knees bent and one hand on each. No problem! Change is natural; we evolve together. 🙂
Pose minutes, 10:30am-12:30pm
Part 1 : 3, 5, 5.
— break —
Part 2 : 70.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
It’s beginning to feel like summer. Certainly the evening temperature was pleasant as we worked through our quick warm-up poses at The Conservatoire. I didn’t shirk my shape-making for these as tutor Victoria Rance had already suggested a most basic reclining pose as our primary focus for the session.
For two hours I was to lay horizontal, symmetrical, with legs together and arms at my side. It was almost identical to the versions I’d presented here at Victoria’s request in 2018 and 2021, except in the interests of originality I flipped my hands over so palms were facing upwards this time.
It’s a pose beset with tricky perspectives and proportions for artists to navigate. Even so, I always imagine it must look like I’m the most unashamedly lazy model; brazenly stealing my wages! True, it’s hardly a strenuous pose, but after two motionless hours with just one brief stretch of the arms, a weird anaesthetised delirium creeps in… 🙃
Pose minutes, 7:30pm-10pm
Part 1 : 1, 1, 1, 5, 10, 65.
— break —
Part 2 : 45 continuation.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
Artworks by Victoria Rance.
Artwork by Victoria Rance.
A booking with Cosy Life Drawing at Framestore – “Academy Award winning visual effects house that combines talent and technology” – means lots of quick poses, with the novelty of a pre-programmed computer timing each pose and playing music…
… except this evening the person who usually operates the computer wasn’t present. After a few unsuccessful attempts to figure it out, we went through the whole first half relying on streaming music and the timer of an artist’s phone. It’s the new old-school.
The irony is that we were in a visual effects room with the most extraordinary array of high tech equipment installed around every wall, the floor and ceiling. As I quipped at the time: computerless here was like being adrift in a lifeboat with nothing to drink.
Of course none of this mattered once we were underway. Artists had their materials, I had my floor, and that’s all we ever truly need. A speaker for our music (muzak?) was improvised by propping the phone in a glass – neat hack!
Wine and crisps were generously shared at half-time. For the second half, somebody managed to get our computer overlord back running the show. However, our first half experience was a lovely reminder there’s still an essential simplicity to our practice.
Pose minutes, 7pm-9:30pm
Part 1 : 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 5, 5, 5, 10, 10, 2.
— break —
Part 2 : 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 15, 15, 15.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
For this evening with LeNu Life Drawing, I was providing poses that ranged between 4 minutes and 20 minutes. In a separate room of Fairkytes Arts Centre a model was sitting for a single long pose as Sherlock Holmes. I’d posed as Sherlock Holmes once before with much-missed Art Macabre (‘Sherlock Bones‘); once was enough for me.
As I’ve said previously, poses with costume and props can be fun but the purist in me still favours working in an uncluttered open space as an unadorned nude figure using only body and inspiration to form creative challenges. It’s what I was able to do in this session, working in the round, mostly standing, or sometimes seated on the floor.
Within my personal style of posing I feel my arm positions are of greatest importance in framing or describing each gesture. Having had two vaccination shots in my upper left arm earlier this afternoon, I had the typical aftermath ache before I even began to make shapes. Fortunately it wasn’t too much of a nuisance. Shapes were unfettered.
Pose minutes, 7:30pm-9:30pm
Part 1 : 5, 4, 8, 10, 15.
— break —
Part 2 : 20, 20.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
Artwork by Helen Joyce.
Artwork by Helen Joyce.
Artwork by Adrian Henderson.
Artwork by Helen Joyce.
Artwork by Adrian Henderson.
Almost a year to the day from my last visit, I returned to The Prince Regent in Herne Hill as life model for SketchPad Drawing. Pleasingly, I found business was booming to the extent that artists had to be split between two rooms whilst I made poses in the double-size doorway connecting them.
The majority of artists worked at easels. These had been arranged in semi-circles on both sides of the doorway, so in essence it was similar to posing in the round, except the thickness of the dividing wall meant those closest to it would experience a slightly restricted view if I wasn’t careful.
As this was most likely to occur if I was either sitting or reclining, I remained standing throughout the first half of the session. After an extended interval for socialising there was time a single pose of 20 minutes, which I felt might work with me laying down if I sprawled upon a table in the doorway and raised my feet up high on the door frame.
And indeed it did work… aside from the ache of having insufficient padding to support the bony points of my pelvis (all my own negligence), and my elevated right leg going completely numb. It was the only pose I miscalculated, however. Generally, I enjoyed the unique challenges of working as one model for two rooms simultaneously.
Pose minutes, 7pm-9pm
Part 1 : 10, 10, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 5, 10.
— break —
Part 2 : 5, 15, 20.
Artworks
With apologies to artists I’m unable to credit.
Artwork by Joris van Hulzen.
Artwork by Daisy Armstrong Brown.
Artwork by Joris van Hulzen.
Artwork by Maria Beddoes.
Artwork by Lisa Brown.
Artwork by Lisa Brown.
Artwork by Lisa Brown.
Artwork by Jake Attwell.
Artwork by Daisy Armstrong Brown.
Artwork by Jake Attwell.
Artwork by Lisa Brown.
Artwork by Lisa Brown.
Artwork by Daisy Armstrong Brown.
Artwork by Keith Whitworth.
Artwork by Maria Beddoes.
steve ritter 