Have you been wanting to give Life Drawing a try? Or is it something you used to do but haven’t done for ages? It can be pretty daunting starting Life Drawing Classes but at Yardley Arts the classes are friendly, open and fun.
The course is suitable for both total beginners and those with some experience (aged 16 years and above).
The 11 sessions which run on Tuesdays from 15 January combine some teaching and exercises with individual feedback and opportunities for discussion. Each session will contain a particular lesson, theme, set of exercises or discussion, with a variety of experienced male and female models. (See full description of each week below.)
It is a friendly group and participants can choose to follow the exercises or draw independently. Materials, paper and drawing materials are provided along with boards, easels (or chairs) and clips. Do bring your favourite drawing materials and a sketch book if you prefer.
The course is led by Sara Myers. For more information, go to: www.saramyers.co.uk.
Dates and times
Spring term. Tuesdays from 7pm to 9pm, starting 15 January and ending on 2 April 2019.
Cost
For this course, we are introducing a new flexible voucher system: £140 for all 11 sessions, £80 for five sessions and £18 for single bookings. You can buy five or ten vouchers or pay a premium to go to single classes. The vouchers can be used at any time during the 11-week period. You must however reserve your dates in advance to guarantee your space - and arrive 15 minutes before class starts. We have up to 12 easels, thereafter chairs are available.
Booking
To book, please contact Sara direct by emailing studio@saramyers.co.uk or calling 07849 333652. You can also contact her via her Facebook page @saramyerssculpture. She will be happy to answer any questions.
11-week plan
week 1 15 January Welcome … fun and freedom in the sketch. SHORT POSE week, max 20 minutes. Learning from the quick life drawings of various artists including Rodin.
week 2 22 January Line. Short exercises focusing on quality of the line with intro to a variety of drawing implements, pencil, pen, dipping pen, and silverpoint. (Charcoal will be introduced in week 3.)
week 3 29 January Introduction to Willow Charcoal. Demonstration of willow charcoal followed by drawing exercises.
week 4 5 February Long Pose - 10-minute warm up then one pose for the entire session. In the break, we’ll look at the life drawings of artists Schiele, Klimt and Kokoshka in an open discussion. Teaching will be feedback based during the long pose.
week 5 12 February Request time or rapid response week. An opportunity to discuss a specific aspect of your drawing and for the tutor to give you direction.
week 6 26 February Portraits – 2-hour portrait session. Looking at the structural planes of the head.
week 7 5 March Freeing up and stretching out. SHORT POSE week. Exercises for spontaneous sketching, exciting line and random elements. Maximum length of pose 20 minutes.
week 8 12 March Structure and form. Short talk on the figure structure and basic forms. Exercises to look at form from the viewpoint of structural anatomy.
week 9 19 March Structure and form. Review figure structure and more practice seeing forms and centre lines.
week 10 26 March LONG POSE - 10-minute warm up and then long pose for the rest of the session. Opportunity to look and discuss the life drawings of another artist during the model break.
week 11 2 April Review. A chance for each student to bring in three pieces of work and an informal group critique in the break – with cake!