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11 hours ago
3
It was my first year of university in Liverpool and it was a typical broke student situation. I saw a poster saying £20 for life modelling and when you’re living on beans on toast you think: ‘Well, I can do that.’ So I gave it a go.
It’s the strangest thing in the world when you do it for the first time. I remember my heart was pounding and the adrenaline was rushing and the back of my head was prickly because I was thinking: ‘What on earth am I doing? This is crazy!’
You don’t know what to do with your limbs, you have no idea how to place yourself and it all feels so strange. But I did it a few times and I got into it and I just found I absolutely loved it.
That was 13 years ago and I’m really good, I would say, because I’ve got a few years under my belt. I have a repertoire of poses. I can see myself doing it for the rest of my life.
There’s a thousand reasons why I enjoy it and why I love it. In terms of the artistry it is absolutely gorgeous seeing what people come up with. There’s such a variation of talent and such a variation of ideas in the room given everyone is presented with the same thing to draw.
It’s wonderful going around and seeing all of the different things that people come up with. One person will see something completely different to the next.
There’s nothing like finishing a class and going around the room and just looking at all of these beautiful pieces of art. People are bursting with pride and can’t wait to show you what they’ve done and what they’ve tried this week.
Sometimes you’ve got to take it on the chin when maybe somebody isn’t very good and they come up with a picture that’s not the most complimentary. You’ve got to remember it’s not about you.
I never find it strange seeing myself. People often say: ‘Oh, would you like this?’ So I’ve got a huge roll of pictures upstairs, which I think is such a gift to myself as an old woman because when I’m 80 and wrinkly I can look back at all this art and think what a lovely experience it was.
My partner thinks it’s great, but he has vetoed any more pictures on the walls. There’s definitely an upper limit of how many naked pictures of yourself you can have on your own walls.
There’s no denying that for me it’s a huge esteem boost as well – I don’t think it’s bad to admit that. It is nice being looked at. It is nice being seen. It’s nice to be admired. After you’ve finished a class you’re on a bit of a high and people are so complimentary.
I don’t feel I’m being brave … I’m a real exhibitionist. I love getting my kit off. It is such a brilliant way to feel a rush and to feel confidence. I feel so confident.
I have a full-time job [working for the Stroke Association] so the life drawing is a side gig. I might do six or seven classes a month across the north-west.
The people who organise the classes will always bend over backwards to make you feel comfortable, to make sure you’ve got everything you need, to make sure you’re warm enough. I have never felt uncomfortable. I have never felt unsafe. I have never thought anyone is being voyeuristic. You can tell that they are there to be artists and they’re there to perfect their craft and to train.
I feel very, very passionately that the naked human body is not fundamentally and automatically a sexual thing. I think that there’s a world of difference between a life picture and pornography. It’s not the same thing at all.
I am surprised by the fuss over life classes in Hampstead [in London, where models have been told to cover up]. I do feel we can be too prudish about things. I feel like there are so many dangerous things in this world that we need to protect children from and I just don’t think that drawings of tits is one of them.
