Art Classes

I run a lively programme of both in life and virtual art sessions for adults wanting to develop their drawing and painting skills. As a figurative artist I believe that drawing is a teachable skill and, if someone wants to, they can draw.

Currently I have two regular Saturday morning life drawing sessions available in south Manchester. Life drawing is a great way to hone your observational skills and my sessions are suitable for experienced and novice drawers a like as I offer tips and guidance throughout the sessions.

My original ArtSocial is on a Wednesday at the iconic Carlton Club in Whalley Range. This lively session is alway full to the brim with people and creative energy. Exploring picture making using life drawing, still life composition and landscape participants explore their creative self in a lovely social vibe.

In 2020 during the pandemic I started a Zoom art class out of necessity which continues to this day. If you want to be more creative but struggle with knowing where to start this could be the session for you.  Using a source image that includes figure/portrait, still life and landscape compositions each week I take the group through a different exercise using a variety of materials including pencil, paint, pastels and collage. We meet on a Tuesday evenings (7-8.30 GMT) and   the sessions offer a level of convenience and comfort from your own home. If you can’t attend the live session I provide a recording of the demonstration and reference materials so you can return to each exercise and build a library of resources.

 

“Art Social provides a protected time for me to be creative.”

My teaching is greatly influenced by ideas from Betty Edwards’ 1979 classic ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’, which gives practical artistic techniques to access the creative hemisphere of the brain.

“An artist isn’t about being good, it’s about wanting to. So I guess I’m an artist.”

In an art session, I lead people on a journey to rediscover ways of seeing and expressing the world, exploring different materials, ideas and techniques.

“It’s made me more confident in other areas of my life as drawing gives me a way to express myself.”

In this way, I ask my students to rediscover what it is to see the world, and how to express it as they see it anew.