I didn’t think that it would be difficult to recruit a model for a composition I have in mind, but it is turning out to be more problematic than I expected. The need arises from my re-engagement with the poetry of T.S. Eliot. There is a particular passage in The Waste Land that has ignited my imagination, calling to mind a very specific image. The problem is that I need somebody to model the figure in it. I have not often resorted to the use of live models in the past, but I have come to understand that my figure drawing can be rather awkward and wooden if I try to rely on my imagination alone. So, in advance of embarking on this particular project I have decided that I need a female model, young to middle age, who is prepared to sit semi-nude. The catch is that I need somebody with long dark hair.
So far my enquiries have yielded no results. The one route I thought would lie to sure-fire success has drawn a blank. I found myself, on a visit to the Post Office this afternoon, eyeing passers-by and wondering how one particularly suitable woman might have responded had I stopped her in the street and made her an offer. (I didn’t!) My wife has short grey hair, and although I even entertained for a moment the possibility that I might ask her to pose in a wig, I decided that the idea was just plain silly. A former professional model lives in the village, but the same problem arises there. There is always the possibility of a notice in the Post Office window, but that really would be a last resort.
I have not reached the point of desperation yet, as I have other work to keep me occupied for the time being. Meanwhile, any suggestions (or offers) would be welcomed. Come to think of it, this part if the project could turn out to be the easy bit. Eliot’s verse also contains reference to bats, and I really have no idea how I might recruit one of those to model for me.