Drawing: Observation & Imagination

Book now

‘To draw you must close your eyes and sing.’ Pablo Picasso

This intensively structured course will open students to the possibilities of drawing from observation and imagination, true to each individual’s own experience of being in the world. Students will draw from a number of observational sources in their homes, alongside learning how to source imagery ‘without looking’, but from their interior selves, building a solid group of drawings to provide a personal image bank. This image bank will form the foundation of idea generation, into which students will be guided through playful exercises. They will learn how to access that key moment of transformation, where the reliance on the primary source to make a drawing is superseded by an ability to take inspiration from it. Each week will focus on aspects of composition, narrative, colour, emotion, editing and mark-making, always investigating how these more formal concerns contribute to the imaginative strength of an image. The final achievement of the course will be a complete work, or number of works, drawn from the realm of the imagination. The tutors are both artists for whom drawing forms a key point of departure in the development of their imaginative work. All levels welcome, including beginners.

Please note this course has an emphasis on the use of imagination and memory which can at times elicit difficult feelings for some.

Featured image by Tezz Kamoen