'Inspired by Constable' Painting in the Park with Alex Fowler

Description: Alex Fowler NEAC leads a three-day workshop concentrating on developing drawing and painting skills, working out of doors. We will draw inspiration from studying the sketches of Constable in The Victoria and Albert Prints and Drawings Study Room which we will visit on the Wednesday morning. 

Introduction There will be a short introduction in front of The Lido Cafe at 10am. The Park is open from 5am and The Cafe from 8am, so students are welcome to start work at anytime! 

Materials: Drawing or Painting materials: whatever you'd like to use: Charcoal, Oil Watercolour, Pastel etc. Paper, canvas, boards, easels not supplied. Small portable canvases/boards recommended, up to about 14". Bring a seat if you need one. 

Parking: Limited car parking facilities are available in Hyde Park. Pay and Display parking is available on West Carriage Drive and in Car Parks at either end of Serpentine Bridge.

Underground: South Kensington is the nearest on the South side. 

Lunch: The Lido Cafe is very good.

Enquiries: Alex:  07903 311563
Hyde Park info: www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park

Time and Date
10 - 4pm

Costs
£35 per day or £100 for the all three days

SQUARES, PARKS & GARDENS with Paul Newland RWS NEAC

Draw and paint the special London dynamic of people, nature and architecture in these fascinating places; all so different, one from another. Compare the Embankment Gardens, Hornimans Gardens, Fitzroy Square, the sequestered courtyards and graveyards to be found here and there around the capital; the fountains in Somerset House quadrangle, the goings on in Russell Sq. or Lincoln's Inn Fields or the Embankment Gardens all make extraordinary subjects. A series of workshops led by Paul Newland, exploring and challenging your approach to recording these visually challenging environments. Further details will be supplied on enrollment.

'From The Southern Suburbs' Paul Newland. Watercolour

Time and Date
10:30 - 4pm

Costs
£35 per day or £120 for the all four days

The Spirit In The Mass: Drawing In Borough Market

Mick Kirkbride's work is characterised by an uncompromising and intense approach to detail and authenticity. In this project he aims to get some of that across to students of the Drawing School.

Finding a visual shorthand to express notions of the transient, movement and energy, exploring through sketching on the first day and continuing the next day by revisiting work, overlaying, destroying, reinstating and reworking images. Monochromatic mediums, like compressed and willow charcoal, conte and putty rubbers necessary and a sketching stool and either an A2 drawing pad, and or A2 paper and drawing board is suggested. See below for more materials suggestions. Be prepared for a hard couple of day's work!

Picadilly Circus

Time and Date
11am - 4pm

Costs
£35 per day or £60 for both days

Jane Corsellis RWS NEAC will lead a masterclass, painting the River Thames, at Strand On The Green in West London. Taking the student through the process of painting a single picture, Jane will look at gathering information through drawing on the first morning, editing and selecting in the afternoon, and on the following day painting from observation followed by developmental work in the studio in the afternoon. Apart from providing plenty of subject matter, the area has plenty of parking and good pubs for lunch.

Book early to avoid disappointment; this course has a maximum number of six.

Time and Date
11- 4pm

Costs
£100 for both days

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

Charles Williams RWS NEAC
Tel: 07730 489052

Materials List For Drawing Classes

There are many drawing implements other than pencils – pen and ink, watercolour, pastels, conte crayon, as many different styles and inclinations as there are artists, and they are all useable, but here is a basic list for life drawing classes.

It is best to have some good quality drawing paper, pencils, a craft-knife to sharpen them with, and an eraser. Masking tape is also a good aid.

Paper can be bought in blocks or loose from good art shops. I buy it loose and tear it down to the size I require, but blocks are fine. The best size is the most convenient size for you – if you have long arms and want to make large drawings, buy large sheets of paper, but there is no gain in doing that if you don’t usually make large works. You can always visit the shop again. Buy ‘cartridge’ or ‘drawing’ paper, don’t buy watercolour paper unless you plan to put watercolour washes on the drawing. Keep it in a portfolio, either cardboard or faux leather.

Pencils are graded in hardness, from 7H (very hard) to 6B (very soft). For observational drawing, B to 3B is the most useful range. There are many different manufacturers, and it’s best to try various and develop your own preferences.

Some lecturers prefer the use of charcoal to pencil, as it is more ‘expressive’ and putting down tone is quicker and perhaps less stilted. If you have charcoal, you can use ordinary drawing paper, although you can also use ‘ingres’ paper, which has a slight ‘tooth ‘or texture, but you will also probably need a putty rubber. This is unlike a pencil eraser in that it is malleable and becomes more effective when warm. I usually draw with charcoal in my right hand while keeping the putty rubber warm in my left, and when I want to make a correction, I mould the rubber into the shape I need and, rather than rub at the paper as one does with a pencil eraser, dab at it, lifting off the charcoal. A spray can of fixative is useful, or hairspray will do the same – apply it at the end of the session, out of the room. 

A craft knife is better to sharpen your pencil than a sharpener, mainly because you have to concentrate on making your point when you use a knife. Try to keep your pencils sharp at all times.  Elementary advice, but you’d be surprised how often people ignore it.

Recommended materials: Items in bold type are most necessary!
A variety of smooth and rough papers, different types of weight and colour, cut to same size as sketch book unless bringing a drawing board
Sketchbooks –preferably at least one large one and one small one, 
Black paper cut to same size as sketch book unless bringing a drawing board
Pencils: B – 4B
Graphite sticks
Charcoal
Black ink and drawing pen or gel pen/ sketching pen
White ink and drawing pen or white gel pen/ sketching pen
Watercolour brush
Water pot
Brown ink
Rags or tissues
Craft or Stanley knife
Pencil sharpener
Bag for rubbish
Putty rubber
Hard rubber
Pastels
Some wet colour medium: Watercolours and brushes, watercolour paper or other painting medium- oils or acrylics as desired with board or canvas paper support
Drawing board and larger sheets of paper if desired
Warm clothes and snacks
Packed lunch
Bottles of water for brushes
Something to sit on: stool or gardening kneeling cushion or a cushion in a carrier bag
Camera
Viewfinder – card or otherwise