artists - studios - events - the steeple arts

Drawing

So, you think you can’t draw!

John Strachan

This is a drawing and painting course for people who believe they have no talent, who were told at school they were no good and so have never tried.

As you can see from the examples of work by students on this course, they tried, and the results are impressive.

The course runs over ten-week blocks and I take students through various techniques, from pencil and charcoal to pastels, pen and wash, watercolour and finally acrylics.

Besides drawing and painting, there will be demonstrations, slides and discussion, mounting and framing, some still life work and life drawing. (see separate details) The class will also study other fundamentals like perspective, composition and proportion.

I have been running the course through St. Andrews University (open association) and Madras College in St. Andrews for the past 10 years, and more recently in Newburgh.

Course fee for Newburgh classes: £60 for ten two hour sessions.

Classes are on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings in the large project space within The Steeple.

Please ring John Strachan on 01337 842703 or e-mail strachan.artdesign@virgin.net to book a space or for further information.

The artworks on show here are all by students on this course.  Some have been on the course over four years, others for less than eighteen months.

Life Drawing

John Strachan

All of us are continuously and intimately involved with other people. We are all very sensitive to the human face and figure, with its subtleties, nuances, and constant changes of expression and mood. We can instantly recognise others - even from the back - by their shape, their stance, their walk, their size and so on. How are we going to articulate this sensitivity? Perhaps we are able to register beauty or character, intensity or anguish, with our eyes and mind, but what if we were able to create a record of these things by learning the skills of drawing or painting? If we can become adept at portraying the human face and figure - which is difficult - then we can also be visually sensitive to a tree, a flower, an animal or a landscape. I believe that life drawing is an invaluable way of increasing one’s sensitivity, sense of proportion and drawing ability.

I will be running life drawing classes in The Steeple now that the new project space is available. Please ring me on 01337 842703 or e-mail strachan.artdesign@virgin.net to book a place or for further information.

 

Life Drawing

Alison Mountain

Alison Mountain is a painter and printmaker living and working in Newburgh. She trained in Fine Art at Leeds University in the late 1970s, and then took a Higher Diploma in Painting at the Slade School of Art in London, working alongside figurative artists such as William Coldstream, Euan Uglow and Lucien Freud. In the 1990s she completed a BDes and MDes in Illustration and Printmaking at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, and has since taught at a number of Scottish Further and Higher Education Colleges as well as the Edinburgh Rudolf Steiner School.

Alison has extensive teaching experience across a wide range of social backgrounds, from children on the autism/Asperger spectrum to adult beginners and Fine Art Honours students. She passionately believes that the gentle process of exploring the place each of us inhabits in the world can unlock the creative spark in even the most stubborn cases, and this belief informs her approach to the teaching of life drawing:

"We will start by looking at examples of a range of approaches to drawing the figure. We will discuss why some artists favoured certain techniques, how their drawings vary, and what we ourselves wish to achieve when we start to draw. You don't need experience to join this class, just a willingness to look and reflect on what you're doing, and to try out new approaches to the subject as and when you feel comfortable."

Due to other commitments Alison is not offering any classes at present, but anyone interested in attending future classes can register an interest by phoning 07703 023917 or by emailing alison.mountain@googlemail.com.

Drawings by tutor John Strachan