Service Description

‘I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing.’ Vincent van Gogh Time to Draw: One-Day Workshop in Pencil & Charcoal Join us for an intensive and inspiring workshop open to all levels, whether you're just starting or looking to refresh and energise your drawing practice. This workshop is about experimenting, taking risks, and discovering new ways to approach drawing in a supportive, creative environment. By the end of the day, you'll leave with new skills, fresh ideas, and a more confident, expressive approach to your work. Why drawing matters for painters Drawing is where a painting is decided. Composition, proportion, tonal structure, edges, the sense that a form has weight and sits in space: all of it is drawing, whatever the medium. When your drawing and your understanding of what you're looking at get stronger, your paintings improve as a direct result. One focused day of drawing can shift a painting practice further than weeks of painting the same problems again. Throughout the day, we'll focus on mark-making as the foundation of drawing. We'll explore a range of approaches, including continuous line, broken line, and tonal work with light and shadow. You'll take part in a series of quick drawings designed to loosen up your hand, sharpen observation, and build confidence. We'll also cover practical techniques such as: Different ways of measuring proportions How to achieve depth and form Making drawings feel solid and 3D Using charcoal to create mass and volume Ways to imbue your drawing with energy and movement You'll work from both observation and imagination, with guidance throughout. Upon booking, you will choose your subject in consultation with the tutor, including: Portrait Still life Landscape Abstract The workshop will explore a range of approaches, from representation to abstraction, with references to artists such as Piet Mondrian (tree drawings), Egon Schiele (expressive line), Frank Auerbach (intense mark making), Louise Bourgeois, Jenny Saville, Vincent van Gogh, and Rita Ackermann (portrait and abstraction), David Hockney and others. Course materials Please bring your pencils, charcoal, cartridge paper or sketchbook, and an eraser.