Drawing School

Photograph: marioguarino.co.uk

Wednesday Evening classes; now taught by Julie Jackson
In the inspirational surroundings of the Royal Academy Life Room, designed specifically for the practice of life drawing. Julie Jackson NEAC will take the student through a series of exercises and challenges designed to stimulate and develop observational drawing skills  

Please do not contact the RA Schools for information.

Term Dates in 2012
11th Jan to 14th March - BOOK NOW
25th April to 27th June

Time
Wednesdays 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Regular weekly drawing studies with Karn Holly at the V and A
The aim of the term will be steady concentration, in long and regular working sessions, providing a regular weekly workout for Eye and Brain and  to encourage the capacity to debate and construct in one’s work. The idea is to achieve and maintain concentration and "edge".
There will be ongoing discussion, as a group and individually, as part of each day’s study. There will be no interruptions, except for convivial refreshments!

Time and Date
Wednesdays 10:30am – 5.00pm
11th January - 21st March £300 for term or £35 per day

28th Jan  Charles Williams. Heads, Hands And Feet 
Head, hands and feet present particular difficulties in life-drawing. When does a life-drawing become a portrait? Should you draw the fingernails of a model? How do you draw a foot so that it looks like a foot and yet is firmly planted on the floor? These are the sort of questions to be looked at in this session.
Prescriptive, timed exercises and more sustained poses.

4th Feb    Charles Williams. The Gestalt Method
It is commonly thought that an overall ‘feeling’ or ‘direction’ is of paramount importance in drawing from life, and in this session we will examine this idea to see if it holds water. Ruskin, for example, would probably have disagreed.
Prescriptive, timed exercises and more sustained poses.

11th Feb  Paul Newland. Drawing In Watercolour
Paul Newland, former head of Education with the RWS, will be working with watercolour as a sketching medium.

18th Feb  Salliann Putman. Giving Life to Drawing – a Personal Language
Looking at the drawings of Bonnard, Diebenkorn, Giacometti and others.
Students will be encouraged to respond with energy and feeling to the model and to discover a rich vocabulary of marks – a personal language.
Materials
Heavy white cartridge paper, masking tape, charcoal, charcoal pencils, black and white conte or pastels, black and white gouache, small palette, brushes, water jars, putty rubber

25th Feb  Salliann Putman. Towards Simplicity – the Figure in Space
Looking at the work of Bonnard, Diebenkorn, Scott and others.
Whilst using the model and being aware of space students will make a series of small studies. The challenge – to be aware of the power of simplicity and to discover how the placement of the figure can influence the reading of the image.
Materials 
Heavy white cartridge paper, masking tape, charcoal, charcoal pencils, black and white conte or pastels, putty rubber

3rd Mar    Charles Williams. From The General To The Particular
Starting with detail, the eyes for example, is a common mistake with beginners. This session aims to develop an ability to assess, record and compare large areas, providing a framework in which to place details. The essential fact and problem of drawing - transcribing the three dimensional world onto a two dimensional surface - is broken down and made, not easy but perhaps a little more manageable. Prescriptive, timed exercises and more sustained poses.

10th Mar  Karn Holly Masterclass
Taking the well-known 'workout for Eye and Brain' into the life-class, Karn's aim is to encourage the capacity to see and construct. Concentration and "edge" are all-important in this taxing masterclass. Prepare to be challenged.

28th April  Arthur Neal
The Summer Term begins with the return of Arthur Neal, whose integrity and toughness of approach have won him so many admirers, collectors and students alike. 

12th May and 19th May  Peter Clossick Learning from the life model
Peter will be teaching from a humanist position, with subject matter and materials used as ends in themselves, within the understanding of the individual. Starting from the breadth of the sketch, the use of thumbnails for composition, towards a more considered drawing, the enjoyable days will include group crits and one to one tuition.

26th May Charles Williams. Information And Time
What should we include and what should we leave out? It seems a simple question, but it is the key to drawing from life. We will be looking at this crucial question and trying to work out some answers in this session.
Prescriptive, timed exercises and more sustained poses.

9th, 16th and 23rd June Mick Kirkbride.  The Sustained Image
In this class, Mick Kirkbride plans to develop a single image over three sessions. This presents a different set of problems to the customary life drawing class. Those who wish to paint may use a toned ground and a limited tertiary palette, or perhaps explore wet and dry monochromatic media over toned grounds, using pastels, ink, body-colour or conte, or the student may simply want to use the time to  thoroughly explore a single pose through drawing. While the pose remains the same, the student may produce drawings from different angles.

Time
11.00am – 4.00pm

Paul Newland has a long association with the Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields in the City; he has drawn there and lectured there, too, and he suggested this -

'In his house Sir John Soane used glass to augment space, to change your mood, to mystify and to make jokes. (They were ponderous jokes.) There are windows everywhere. We will think about all this, or some of this, through drawing. If we get tired we can look at Hogarth's take on the great British General Election phenomenon.'
 
Bring small sketchbooks and very portable kit, as the Museum does not allow large bags and paraphernalia, and be prepared to be bowled over by 19th century London's greatest architect.

We will tour the museum at one o'clock, and Paul will prepare the group beforehand.

Date
22nd March 2012

Time
11.30am – 4.00pm

Daily painting workshops led by Julie Jackson, Alex Fowler, Mick Kirkbride and Jane Corsellis, by the side of the Thames. Demonstrations and individual tuition, looking at different ways to approach the mighty Thames, subject of so many of the NEAC's greatest artists.

Further details and booking from Piers Grizelle.

Date
25th - 28th April

Time
10.30am – 4.00pm

This Summer School is always popular, so early booking is recommended. There is a wide variety of visual reference, from the ordered architecture of Kenwood House, cafe scenes and passing people, to the wide open landscapes and city skyline of the Heath itself and this four day course allows the student to explore the subject in depth, with the expert guidance of NEAC Drawing School Curator Charles Williams and drawing specialist Julie Jackson. The Kenwood House collection on Hampstead Heath is home to one of the great Rembrandt self-portraits, among other excellent paintings, and time will be spent studying in the collection as well as painting and drawing on the Heath. There is safe storage in Kenwood House, so students may leave their equipment overnight, and we have the use of a studio in case of inclement weather.

Discounts Available

10% off the total booking price for Friends of the NEAC  
10% off the total booking price for full-time students
10% off the total booking price of RA Saturday classes if two days are booked, 30% if more than four.

There may be more Summer Schools, please visit the site for further updates.

Date
2nd to 5th July

Time
10.00am – 4.00pm

Piers Grizzelle
NEAC Drawing School
2 Royal Road,
Teddington
Middx
TW11 0SB
Tel: 020 8287 5208
Email:

Charles Williams RWS NEAC
Tel: 07730 489052

Directions to the Royal Academy Schools Life Room: from outside the gates of the RA, on Piccadilly, look to your left to Burlington Arcade. Go up Burlington Arcade, and, at its other end, turn right. Turn right again, down the first small road that you come to. Follow that down to the back of the RA, and the RA Schools are behind the first door. They are signposted. Ask at the Porter’s Lodge for the Life Room.

Please do not contact the RA Schools for information.