Improvers Painting and Drawing

About this course

The course connects drawing with painting, allocating roughly 30% of class time to drawing and 70% to painting. Learners mainly use oils, with acrylics sometimes included, and begin each term with a drawing-based session. Termly themes cover tonal values, colour, or composition and space, with activities ranging from practical colour exercises to longer paintings and drawing on location. Teaching also includes looking at slides of other artists’ work and discussing participants’ own work as a group.

What you'll learn

• Apply drawing approaches that inform painted work
• Use tonal methods to explore light and dark
• Investigate colour through practical painting exercises
• Develop composition and spatial relationships in longer paintings

Is this course right for you?

The course is intended for improvers, including people returning to painting after a long break or building on basic knowledge. No previous experience is required. Participation combines individual drawing and painting with group discussion and reflection on work produced.

• Suitable for learners who have not painted recently
• No previous experience is required

Before you go

• Charcoal, pencils and an A4 sketchbook are required for the first session of each term.
• A full materials list is provided from the first session.