[title]
Welcome to our new series, One Good Thing to Do Today. It’s a guide to little things you can actually do in lockdown London that will provide bits of light in these dark times. Today, Kate Lloyd is reaching for her pencil case.
If you’re already starting to feel like the only things you do all day are work, eat, watch Netflix and go for walks, you’re not alone. Lockdown does lend itself pretty well to the Worker Droid lifestyle. But here’s the thing: starting a new hobby can take away the looming sense that you’re staring into the meaningless void. Especially if you pick a soothing pastime like life drawing.
The practice – which involves drawing a nude model as they run through a series of poses – is a pretty incredible way to shift your focus away from work/life/pandemic stresses and on to something creative and trivial like, er, making sure you draw a guy’s dick accurately. And, while IRL classes can be quite intimidating thanks to everyone being able to glance at each other’s work, virtual classes are a super easy way in. You can draw just for the sake of your own mindfulness and never have to show anyone your shoddy work ever.
If that sounds like the kind of vibe you’re looking for, you’re in luck. Loads of groups are now offering online drop-in sessions for all levels. Our favourite for newbies? Dulwich Art Group, which is starting a new ten-week beginners course tonight (Monday January 11). It costs £95 to sign up for the series – an absolute bargain compared to similar IRL courses. Held over Zoom for two hours every Monday, artists will slowly build up the skills of attendees week-by-week until they’ve mastered the perfect bod sketch (or at least a semi-decent one).
Read more from our One Good Thing to Do Today series.