Keen to get some drawing direction I’ve been hunting down drawing classes in London to share with you. Throughout school I was good at art and I even won awards but I was never great at drawing. I can make pottery, abstract wooden sculptures and knit a blanket but I struggle to command pencils or paint in that way. As I’ve gotten older I’ve envied those that can paint beautiful landscapes and capture someone’s emotion on the page. Recently I’ve realised that everything takes practice and my lack of abilities are just lack of practice.
Wildlife Drawing is incredibly fun and I attended a workshop with 10 week old piglets! Bred to be pets within homes outside of London, Petpiggies brought these skittish creatures to us for some drawing. There are lots of different classes on offer including owls, jellyfish and guinea pigs! Jennie started the classes after wanting to introduce more animals into her fellow city dwellers lives. Throughout the class she will provide guidance and you will also learn about the animals, how they behave and their unique abilities. All your drawing implements are provided and once everyone is settled and drawing you will get to be up close with the animals. I’ve never patted a piglet and it was so cute to play with them and feed them some apple! Take your camera or make sure your phone is charged up. Some of the animals are a little shy, especially piglets, who move quickly and a photo was sometimes easier to work from.
Life in London can be quite pricey and when I heard that The National Portrait Gallery has Drop In Drawing every Friday for free I was there! They provide all the materials and start the session with some inspiration within one of their galleries. Changing up each week with different themes there is plenty to draw and I tried my hand at replicating one of the many portraits on display in the style of Michael Jackson! Everything you need is provided from stools, to paper and drawing implements. There are quite a few people who are keen to do this so arrive a good 15minutes early to make sure you get a chair. If you turn up late don’t worry, there is likely a few spots on a leather bench or try drawing standing up.
For my third drawing class I went a few Saturdays ago to meet on a rooftop in Shoreditch with Phil and his sausage dog George. Phil’s work centers around the buildings of London and he specialises in line drawings. We started on the roof of his design firm where we could replicate the lines of the modern and traditional buildings of the area. Phil wanders around giving everyone tips and his way of starting a drawing changed my thinking and abilities. Afterwards we had a great lunch and everyone shared their tips for drawing. We even got to try all of Phil’s different pens and made plans for another drawing catch up in the North!
I’ve loved trying to draw different things from animals, people and buildings. For me the most pleasure came from drawing the buildings. I fell in love with replicating brick patterns and now I have my own sketch book with pens you will be seeing more drawing in my instagram stories!
Do you know of any other drawing classes in London or the UK? I’d love to hear about them. PF xo
