Spring Programme 2020 Collect a printed version in class.

At Buchan Street since 1994

Mondays 9.30am – 12.15pm

Tuesdays 1.00 – 3.30pm

Fridays 7.00 – 9.30pm

Buchan Street Neighbourhood Centre, 6 Buchan Street, Cambridge CB4 2XF

Life Drawing
with Derek Batty

Spring 2020

Pastels give immediate colour which make them ideal in a life class - no fuss squeezing out paint and mixing colours. But you still have to get the drawing right and this is what I focus on in the first few classes of term. Begin with a reddish brown, not pencil, not black, and not white paper, then later you can build up the colours.

It is always possible to rescue a drawing with a strong outline. Just do not be in a hurry to outline and do not use black. Keep that in reserve and try out a bright red or a blue first.

How to make progress with your art beyond the first term of life drawing? It is vital to have an idea of the kind of work you want to achieve. This is why it is important to look at artist examples. This term I will be referring to Delacroix who was one of the first to use pastel. Notice how he makes the most of limited time: coloured paper, intense working of important areas and an outline sketch for the remainder.

The topics are always seen as extra to the core activity of drawing our models. You are welcome to use any material or style.

I recommend that you bring along a few previous drawings and a sketchbook to each class so that you have connection and continuity from week to week.

Looking forward to drawing again with you!

Derek

30th December 2019

			Mon 9.30 am Tues 1.00 pm Fri 7.00 pm		Topic
	1		06-Jan-20 07-Jan-20 10-Jan-20		Quick Sketch Cheats There is a huge debate among artists about the relevance of quick sketches. I will show you how to use these short poses to help your longer drawing while also producing something worthwhile. Demonstration
	2		13-Jan-20 14-Jan-20 17-Jan-20		The Back: Plane Breaks and Interior Lines Study how your eye travels across a form, especially the vast Sahara of the back. Map the interior of the apparently featureless landscape so that you can be certain that the coastlines are accurately connected with roads and railways. Demonstration.
	3		20-Jan-20 21-Jan-20 24-Jan-20		The Colour of Lines Spend most of the time gradually getting the drawing right, and then finish with a sharp outline. Experiment with a coloured line, and even make several attempts at the outline with different colours.
	4		27-Jan-20 28-Jan-20 31-Jan-20		Easy Pastels Develop the red chalk quick sketch with additional colours. Ensure that the tone is right by half closing your eyes. Although you can plan for the whole page restrict your work to a smaller area so you can build up layers of colour. Demonstration
	5		03-Feb-20 04-Feb-20 07-Feb-20		Drawing with Delacroix Study how the first pastel artists used colour. Choose mid-toned paper such as blue or brown so that both dark and light pastels have value. Apply hatchings of colour to create colour mixtures. Blue or purple in the shadows makes the colour particularly vibrant.
	6		10-Feb-20 11-Feb-20 14-Feb-20		Standing Up or Lying Down - Longer pose Spend most of the time on one drawing, making corrections rather than starting again. With these types of poses you must give extra time to assessing proportion and correcting any problems of foreshortening.
7		17-Feb-20 18-Feb-20 21-Feb-20		Portrait Construct the face beginning with the eyes and carefully use this as a reference point for all the other features. When drawing a profile hold up a long pencil in front of one eye to observe a vertical cutting through the bridge of the nose. Demonstration
8		24-Feb-20 25-Feb-20 28-Feb-20		Themed Pages Not another body on a page but a series of sketches linked by a single theme: caryatids, dancers, heads, hands and arms, feet and legs. Be ready to suggest a theme.
9		02-Mar-20 03-Mar-20 06-Mar-20		White on Black Or grey on black, or even white on blue. But the main idea is that you are drawing the light, in contrast the usual of drawing the darks. Demonstration.
10		09-Mar-20 10-Mar-20 13-Mar-20		Transparent Clothing At the end of each pose our models put on one or two items of clothing. By drawing the seams and folds you can quickly clothe a figure, and also discover how to enliven your sketch with expressive swirls and movement lines.
11		16-Mar-20 17-Mar-20 20-Mar-20		Sketchbook Ideas and Experiments How to make your sketchbook into an exciting visual resource? We study the use of materials especially suited to small scale: black ink, graphite and colour pencils, and more. Crowd your drawings together and work across pages. Add words for analysis and poetry. Demonstration.
12		23-Mar-20 24-Mar-20 27-Mar-20		Longer Pose and Quick Copy Develop a drawing over a longer time with reference to what has worked well over recent weeks. Towards the end you might be able to make a quick fresh copy using the ‘light box’.
		30-Mar-20 31-Mar-20 03-Apr-20		Easter Break 30 March—17 April no classes
		20-Apr-20		First class of Summer Term

Spring Term Payment

Choose a method to suit your circumstances:

· On the day for maximum flexibility: £18.00 per class.

· Book of Five Vouchers: £78 No need to worry about when you can attend. Each voucher is good for one class. Valid over twelve class weeks. A popular choice, interchangeable across all my Buchan Street classes.

· In Advance Spring Term 2020 (12 weeks) £148 Cheques should be made payable to Derek Batty. Make up missed classes at other times in the week.

Special offer: attend twice in one week and get the second class at half-price, eg half a voucher, or the full term £222 (148 + 74).

Internet Banking: You can make a payment over the internet using the following account details:
Account name: Derek Batty. Sort code 089043. Account number 02076692

Materials List for Spring Term classes
Set of pastel pencils, or pastel set. Pen, ink. Lidded jar filled with water or Pentel Aqua Brush. Sketchbook (A4 or A5), pencils, clear 30cm ruler, bag for everything. No fixative please. Some basic materials are available for you to buy in the class including those specified in the programme. Other materials are provided for you to try out. So no need to worry about bringing in the right things!

Models tip: voluntary donation at the end of the class - suggested amount 80p.

Facebook Group Link up with others connected with the classes. Search for the Facebook group Cambridge Life Drawing and send a request to join.