Category: Teaching

Drawing kit for a day in the woods

  • Post date November 22, 2021

student drawings of treesIn preparation for my drawing workshops I spend some time thinking carefully about which materials to introduce my students to, which will work best for their level of learning, which will be exciting and fun to use, which will suit the location and tone of the day. I also like to make people feel like they have their own individual materials for the duration of the workshop, so I use small metal tins for the fragile stuff and bag it all up so everyone has the same selection.

Students also love to know what all the materials are, especially if there’s something they’re really taken by and want to buy for themselves afterwards.

So, here’s a list of what I offer on my Woodland Drawing workshops…

Read more » “Drawing kit for a day in the woods”
Categories Blog, Materials, Teaching, Workshops

share:

Woodland Drawing Workshops

  • Post date October 29, 2021

Drawing directly from life is a core element of my practice and spending time amongst the trees is essential in feeding my creative practice. Of course being in the woods is also a very grounding and restorative thing to do, with or without a sketchbook.

Tansy with a beech tree

For me drawing is a way of really connecting with the trees, a process of intense looking and considered dialogue with a living thing. I’m always trying to capture the aliveness of the tree I’m drawing, getting a sense of its movement and flow, its character. I approach it like I’m having a conversation, asking questions about its form, why it grew that way, what has influenced it. The finished drawings become a record of that conversation.

sketch of a tree

Given how much enjoyment and challenge I get from this process, it seemed only natural to start sharing the experience with other tree lovers this autumn through my Woodland Drawing workshops.

Read more » “Woodland Drawing Workshops”
Categories Blog, Teaching, Workshops

share: