Ms W the life model tells me about her recent work posing for the artists of London. Some are famous: she’s been to Bridget Riley’s house to sit for her. Synonymous with those much-reproduced mathematical abstract works in her name, it transpires Ms Riley is keen to rediscover the more old-fashioned art of drawing or painting nudes. While Ms W was there, a package arrived for the great artist: an original Renoir, newly purchased for her own private collection.
Ms Riley preferred silence or conversation for the sessions, but some artists like to have music on in the background while they daub at the canvas. According to Ms W, art teachers in schools and colleges often go for albums by wispy girl singer-songwriters such as Dido or Norah Jones. “Girl singers who look like art teachers’ girlfriends,” she muses. While, indeed, she muses.
She says that sculptors, on the other hand, prefer Led Zeppelin or ranting on about conspiracy theories. Or both.
