When I first saw the name Peter Kavanagh, I knew it was familiar but couldn’t pin point why. It wasn’t until I had done a little further research and found his children’s book illustrations portfolio; that I was able to recall seeing his name on many of the books that were in my classroom back in my teaching days. His work includes illustrating children’s books for the likes of Dick King-Smith.

When we contacted Peter to arrange a chat, his response was enthusiastic. He suggested that he draw either Sophie or myself and I replied without even a second thought agreeing wholeheartedly. It wasn’t until I spoke to Sophie about the arrangements that it occurred to me I may have just agreed to drawn…. naked. Yikes.

I was consumed with insurmountable panic. Had I really gladly agreed to getting naked, in front of a man I had never met before – with Sophie AND her camera in the room? Surely not… He was just going to draw my face… Right???

As emails continued to be passed back and forth confirming the date and time for the (now dreaded) sitting, I established that Peter was indeed expecting to be drawing me. Nude. Yikes. Again.

I pushed it to the back of my mind and carried on with my week. As Saturday arrived, Sophie and I jumped in the car to go to Sheringham and discussed how I could arrange my blanket so that nudity was suggested rather than glaringly obvious. Feeling reassured by our agreed plan, we arrived ready to get to know Peter and his work.

Equipped with mugs of tea, we all trooped up to the attic studio on the top floor of Peter’s house by the sea. An inviting tub seat sat in the huge window; and the gigantic bookcases filled with examples of Peter’s work were enticing. We spent a long time soaking up the atmosphere and getting to know Peter better. We spoke a great deal about socially accepted norms and people’s insecurities about their bodies. It was intoxicating listening to his viewpoint as to what makes the human form so attractive. So much so, that when he uttered the words “Let’s get Laura naked!” I almost didn’t think twice.

I undressed in an ‘under a beach towel’ fashion and kept myself securely wrapped up in the blanket I had brought from home. I sat in the chair soaking up the beautiful late

afternoon sunlight and detached myself from my surroundings. I was aware of Peter’s entire concentration being focused on my form and was amazed by the fact that his eyes didn’t once glance back at the page he was working on. I felt myself relax into the chair and at some stage realised the blanket had dropped to my waist without me even becoming aware. I still couldn’t bring myself to take the final step and let the blanket fall to the floor – although I already knew at this point it was only a matter of time before I did so. I was committed and wanted to see how it felt to reach the other side of this enormous wall of fear I was facing.

Once the blanket dropped, I found that the fear evaporated. There was nothing left. Nothing terrible had happened, no one had blushed or looked even phased following my reluctant reveal and I found myself looking forward to seeing the end result.

As he drew, we continued to discuss how people feel about their bodies and what causes us to develop self awareness issues. I felt entirely liberated. At the beginning of the session peter had informed us that models often commented that they had felt it was a life changing experience. At the end of my session, I could see how this could be the case. I was relaxed, comfortable and content during the final pose. If I had been told I would be happy to lay on the couch in such a relaxed manner I would never have believed it. Not only that, but I was thrilled to see the end result of my experience – an exquisite, pastel portrayal that captured the emotion of the moment.

Peter is working with Martin from SinSins to hold life drawing classes. We can’t wait for an opportunity go along and see him at work and are certain that classes will be in great demand. Classes start on Friday 17th February 2012. To find out more you can visit Peter’s website.

If reading this has made you in the least bit curious to find out more about having your own nude drawing; I strongly urge you to contact Peter to discuss it further – you certainly won’t regret it!

An epic thank you to Peter for being so wonderfully patient with us while we (I) asked questions, hesitated and panicked.