The Messing Group shows life drawings and paintings at Minories Central, Culver Street West, from 10am to 4pm on 21 and 22 November. Entry is free.

The Messing Group, a Colchester life drawing group that has met every week for more than 20 years, is putting its work on public show for one weekend only: Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November at Minories Central on Culver Street West, from 10am to 4pm each day. Entry is free and everyone is welcome.

The exhibition is called Bodies of Work. It is a small, temporary show of a selection of drawings and paintings chosen by the group, with the artists’ own thoughts on why they keep coming back to drawing from a live model.

A member of the Messing Group sketching the model at the group's session on 9 November. Video: Katie Seaman, supplied by the Messing Group

Who the artists are

The group has about 20 members, a mix of professional and amateur artists, who meet weekly to draw and paint from a live model. This weekend is the first chance most people outside the room will get to see what they make there.

Four members sent work ahead of the show: an intaglio print by Al Brown, a sketch of the model Marilyn by Wendy Bryant, and sketches by Steve Sharpe and Katie Seaman.

Black and white intaglio print of a nude figure seen from behind, kneeling with one leg stretched outPastel and charcoal sketch of a seated nude figure resting her head on her knee, on grey paperRed chalk sketch of a kneeling nude figure seen from behind, on pale grey paperCharcoal and white chalk sketch of a reclining nude figure with knees raised, on brown paper

4 photos, swipe or scroll.

The group says the show is “an opportunity for the artists to reflect on their own body of work and celebrate the emerging skills, styles and techniques across the group.”

It is also meant for visitors who have never sat in on a session. The group says it is “an opportunity for the public to gain an insight, through the lens of both artist and model, into the intentions, rationale and rewards for committing to the practice.”

Why they draw from life

The group opens its announcement with a line from the painter and sculptor Frederick Franck: “I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen.” Small wonder, it adds, that so many artists find life drawing so compelling, “for as many different reasons as there are artists.”

Its case for the old discipline is a case against the phone screen:

“In a visual culture of endlessly scrolling images, life drawing asks us to slow down and truly see. By returning to this foundational tradition, The Messing Group reframes the human body not as an object of consumption but as a timeless study of light, shadow and geometry: an invitation to rediscover the quiet discipline and profound respect at the heart of drawing from life.”

Where it is

Minories Central is at 23 Culver Street West, Colchester CO1 1JG. It is the Culver Street space The Minories opened this autumn while its Banksy exhibition takes over the main building, with a shop, a workshop space and a small gallery that local artists can hire for short shows (our report on the move).

Exhibition poster reading Exhibition of Life Drawing by the Messing Group, Sat 21 and Sun 22 Nov 2026, 10 till 4pm, Minories Central, 23 Culver Street West, Colchester CO1 1JG, with five life drawings
The poster for the Messing Group's exhibition at Minories Central. Photo: supplied by the Messing Group

What it means for you

  • When: Saturday 21 November and Sunday 22 November, 10am to 4pm both days, as the group’s poster confirms.
  • Where: Minories Central, 23 Culver Street West, Colchester CO1 1JG.
  • Cost: free. No booking is mentioned.
  • Who for: anyone curious about drawing or painting the figure, including people thinking of trying a life class. The work shown is drawn from the live model.

For more going on in town this month, see what’s on in Colchester.

Source: press release from The Messing Group, 6 November 2026; photographs, video, poster and artwork supplied by the group, 9 November 2026.