After the stop start nature of 2021 due to the lockdowns, I expected 2022 to return to the normal pre-pandemic levels of bookings. Bookings have increased but not to the volume they used to be, but I suppose it will take more than a year for this to happen. Here’s a review of the highs and lows of 2022.
The first booking of the year was at the end of January in a place called Bridgnorth in the Midlands. Despite the relatively long journey, it was the perfect first hen party of the year. The group was welcoming and friendly. and included a few ladies with experience in drawing and had a keen interest in chatting to me about art during the break.
One of my next bookings was north of Milton Keynes. I understood that it was a re-booking from an event I had done a few years earlier, but not sure which one. During the session it eventually dawned on me that the original session with a handful of the group was quite a wild session in Stroud. This group wasn’t quite as wild as the previous one, but it was still fun. One of the group (who 
hadn’t been to the previous session) was very focal throughout and asked me a number of questions. It had been a fun session.. until I changed and was ready to go. I went round to say my good byes to what was by then a fragmented group when the aforementioned focal ladies started having a proper rant at me. I was so taken aback that I don’t remember exactly what had offended her – apart from the fact that she didn’t like the fact that one of the group had scrubbed the body paint off my back. I’ve never felt particularly vulnerable being naked with groups of rowdy ladies, so it was odd feeling that vulnerable when fully clothed, as I was about to leave a group.
After the slighty sour finish to that hen party, I quicky experienced the complete antidote, by way of a birthday party in beauiful Devon. It was the organiser’s 70th birthday and wanted to so something different to celebrate with her friends. It was a glorious early summer day, and the location was idyllic in a lovely village hall overlooking one of the estuaries in the south of the county. The organiser and her husband was so happy that I was able to run my life drawing class for them, and I couldn’t have asked for nicer feedback afterwards. It certainly made up for the aftertaste left by the Milton Keynes hen party!
I won’t go through all the numerous parties held since, but the last hen party of the year in Gloucester was also noteworthy. Prior to the party I was told that the mother and mother-in-law would be present – and the mother was quite ‘posh’. I was therefore geared up to setting quite a conventional tone to the event. It was a Saturday night and everyone was quite well oiled and I was told that I didn’t need to be careful with regards to the mother or mother-in-law. The Bride to Be was really chatty and asked me so many questions, which I really enjoyed answering. The group turned out 
really lively and a lot of fun – and the Bride to Be, her mother and mother-in-law were the opposite of shy. I think that they had a goal of obtaining a reaction from me – and put a lot of effort into it! Unfortunately, at the end, the interactive element of the bodypainting and duo poses had created some tension between members of the group. I’ve not been in a situation previously where I’ve thought about whether or not to reign them in. However, as a rule and unless I’m explicitly told otherwise, I go with the flow.
One of the year’s highlights was helping to celebrate a lady’s 80th birthday with some life drawing. I’ve entertained all significant birthdays from 20 to 70 in the past, but this was a first for me. I very funny lady who was incredibly alert and young for her age. It was an honour.
If you are organising a hen party or significant birthday in 2023 and looking for a fun, creative activity involving a naked man, please get in touch.
