Life drawing last night, in the creaky old attic room of the ramshackle cottage down a narrow passageway in Brighton’s North Laine area.
I headed into town deliberately early, so that I could grab some dinner.
I walked past chip shops, deep-fried food shops, the veggieburger shop, and didn’t fancy any of it. I ended up getting a bowl of Korean bibimbap from a newish place with a cute cartoon bunny on its front.
My first. I was glad I did.
The model was sitting, fully clothed, with a woolly hat and a cheeky grin when I arrived.
She was apologising for just having come back from holiday in Morocco: she’d be different shades of brown in different patches, she said.
A couple of minutes into one pose, she looked pensive for a while, then shook her head, to convey ‘I’ve tried to stop myself, but I just can’t any longer’. “Sorry”, she said, “I just HAVE to have this playlist”.
The facilitator of the evenings always has an exotic mix of world music playing in the background, so we all understood. When drawing, I prefer my subjects to stay still, but this was forgivable.
I found her a really brilliant subject. I always enjoy life drawing, but I felt that could have drawn these shapes, and this face, for hours more.
…and I wish I’d been able to, because I don’t feel like I did full justice to her.
Like the Korean food, I really hope we get her again soon.
Myfanwy Tristram 