Drawing Painting - Beginners or Intermediate

Beginners:

The course is for beginners and for those students who want to brush up on their drawing and painting skills. The course aims to give the student confidence in drawing, design skills, paint and textural mediums, including the ability to explore technical processes and ideas. The course will enable you to develop observational skills, concentration levels and an awareness of the environment. Artists will be looked at to support the learning of technical processes, mediums and ideas. The course will also cover handling of a range of materials/equipment, drawing skills, mark-making, texture, basic perspective (linear and colour), composition/design, tone, colour mixing, wash applications, including how to develop and produce final pieces of art work from tests and sample work. Mediums covered are: Pencil, graphite sticks, pastels (oil and chalky), watercolour pencils, pen and ink, watercolours and acrylics.

Course structure:

The course is made up of three terms and the students will be introduced to different themes and mediums to build up knowledge and confidence of the various mediums.

Themes covered are:

Introduction to Still Life (natural forms and manmade objects). Introduction to Landscape/Seascape and introduction to Portariture/Figure composition. All technical skills will be demonstrated and students will be given one-to-one feedback on their progress. The Drawing and Painting course can also support students who want to start developing and building up a portfolio towards course or Gallery work.

Please Note: There will be an extra fee on the Portarit/Figure composition section of the course for the portrait model.

Intermediate:

The course is for students who have completed a Beginners Course in drawing and painting. It will give you the confidence to creatively explore a variety of mediums and techniques. You will be encouraged to develop ideas through project themes/work set or negotiated with the Tutor. This will enable you to build upon technical skills and processes learnt at introductory level. You will learn further skills in drawing, proportion, perspective and design to plan compositions, including mark-making, texture, tone, wash applications and colour mixing.

This course can be tailored to suit the individual needs of the student. Therefore making it an enjoyable and relaxing activity. It will give you a good grounding of all technical skills in drawing, combined with water based and textural materials. Final drawings and paintings produced on the course can be realistic, semi-abstract or abstract in design.

How long does the course last?

Both Beginners and Intermediate courses are 2 hours per week

What could I do after completing the course?

This course leads on to the Drawing and Painting Intermediate course (Thursday 7.00 - 9.00pm) at Lichfield Campus, where further mediums, technical skills and processes will be learnt such as oil painting etc.

What equipment will I need?

Beginners:

Please note that not all of the equipment listed below will be needed at the beginning of the course, materials can added gradually.

Drawing Materials:

A3 Cartridge Pad (160/220gms), a range of pencils (2B - 9B), Graphite Stick 2B (pencil with no wooden casing), Non-Permanent Berol Fine Liners, Paper Torchons/Blending Sticks, Plastic Eraser, Putty Rubber, Pencil Sharpener, Knife with a retractable blade, Drafting or Low Tack Masking Tape, Drawing board preferably a bit larger than A3 size to support paper (mount board or thin hardboard will do).

Water-based Materials:

Watercolour paper 140lb/300grms, Brushes: (good quality brushes: Aqua Fine Range, Daler Rowney, Sceptre Gold, Pro-Art Series): Round Brushes – Size: 12, 6, 2, Flat Brush: 1/2 inch or size 20, Watercolour Paints: (student quality: Aqua Fine/Cotman range) Tube Paints: Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine. Other Materials Required: Sponge, Pipette, Knife with a retractable blade, Drafting or Low Tack Masking Tape, Men's Tissues, Large Daisy plastic Palette (with large wells to hold paint) & Drawing board preferably a bit larger than A3 size.

Further materials & Visual Source Material:

Students will need to bring visual reference material to the lesson to draw from (still life objects or landscape etc). This will be discussed in the induction/first lesson on the course.

Intermediate:

Water-based and drawing materials built up from the Beginners course. Please bring materials and equipment that you have to the first lesson and this will be discussed further.

Visual Resource Material:

Once project work/themes have been discussed you will be required to bring selected visual reference to the lesson to support the project/paintings that you wish to produce. This will consist of your own photographs, Internet photographs, magazines, information from books or Still life objects (manmade or natural forms).

Local Art Materials Suppliers

Tales Press, Dam street, Lichfield, Hobby Craft, Ventura Retail Park, Tamworth and The Paper House, 19A Green Gate Street, ST16 2HS, Stafford. Tel No: 01785 212953

Art Suppliers Websites:

www.greatart.co.uk

www.jacksonart.co.uk

www.seawhite.co.uk