The standard is amazingly high - the possibilities of the lead pencil

The standard is amazingly high - the possibilities of the lead pencil are, it seems, endless. Some of these sketches would not look out of place alongside Sickert's Woman In Front of a Mirror or even Matisse's Woman in an Armchair.I sit down next to Sue, a model of 15 years standing, who tells me it's a one-hour pose. "Don't worry," she says when I gasp, "just let your muscles relax."Easier said than done. How to avoid another bout of cramp? "Sometimes your arm goes to sleep in an awkward position. So don't lean on it for very long, otherwise it will go dead."Will this not incur the wrath of the artists? I presumed Thou Shalt Not Move was one of the Ten Commandments.

"Occupational hazard," chips in Elaine, who is busy sculpting my artistic anatomy; a tilt of the pelvis here, a twist of the elbow there.The trick, says Sue, is to look as if you are relaxed "After a while you get to know how to sit comfortably. It's a lot to do with balance - a bit like yoga, balancing body and mind. It's all about stilling the mind."For the first 15 minutes, however, meditation proves impossible as my mind grasshops from football trivia to great advertising slogans of our time: "Go to Work on an Egg", "Beanz Meanz Heinz", "Refreshes the Parts other Beers cannot Reach".Eventually my gaze fixes on the bird on the washing-line. I contemplate the void, blot out the ego and enter the internal world of consciousness Instant karma.A loud sigh breaks the spell.

Although my mind is stilled, my knee is shaking uncontrollably."Please try not to move," pleads a shrill, familiar voice.ANTHONY CLAVANEFor more information about nude modelling contact: Cuckoo Farm Studios, Boxted Road, Colchester (01206 843530). Aspen has an aura about it. Even as you turn out of Denver's new international airport and down Interstate 70, at the wheel of the Jeep you need to hire to negotiate the icy roads, you feel you are heading for a different, more exclusive world. As others turn off the highway towards, say, Crested Butte or Copper Mountain, you feel a warm glow of superiority as you go on to what must surely be a better place. This feeling of affluence is replaced by one of total inadequacy as you pass Aspen's airport There are very few vehicles in the car-park. The runway, on the other hand, is cluttered with tiny planes. If you really want to cut a dash, forget about the four-wheel drive; you need your own wings The slopes at Aspen are littered with celebrities.

Not that you can possibly tell who's who under all the hats and goggles. But you know they are there because every morning the Aspen Times tells you they are Many of them apparently have no idea how to ski. Last month, the country singer Lyle Lovett joined in a race, at the end of which he admitted he'd never been on skis before but had found it pretty similar to motocross. So if you want to blend in, don't worry that your inability to do a perfect parallel turn will let you down. There is only one thing to remember: the dress code is fur - round your head, round your neck, or trimming your ski jacket.