Course Description: This course will give students an introduction to the fundamental skills and knowledge of life drawing. Students will learn techniques for drawing and seeing which form the foundation of all great works of art and will allow them to view their world both abstractly and objectively. This course will examine great artists of the enlightenment and beyond into the 21st century including: Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, David Hockney and more.
Students will learn the techniques of these artists used to create their works of art and get a brief understanding of how the history of art evolved into present day contemporary art. They will learn how life drawing is an integral piece of that history and how contemporary art continues to contend with the tradition of life drawing and its relationship to conceptual freedom in art.
About the Instructor: Graham is a fine artist based in Montreal, QC who specializes in life drawing with the main genre of focus being still-life. He graduated from the Studio Arts program from the University of Guelph in 2013 and since then has continued to pursue his artistic practice creating paintings and drawings from life.
The focus of his art practice is the relentless pursuit of discovering how he perceives the world around him. Each picture he creates is a snapshot of a moment during his practice which will one day create a body of work that summarizes his artistic studies. Graham wishes to share with his students everything he has learned so far about the endeavour to draw what he sees.
His hope is that after these 8 weeks, students will draw and perceive the world through a fresh lens. You will remove some of the fog that may have been obstructing your view of light, shape and shadow and perhaps see new connections in your world which you may have missed because you were never truly looking or observing.
Location: University Centre (in-person), Club Lounge Room 401
Required Materials:
- 11 x 17 pad of mixed media paper or larger, (the bigger the better)
- A ballpoint pen, pencil, charcoal sticks (The instructor is able to provide some as well), white eraser, watercolour paint, watercolour brush, ruler,
- Items to use as still life models
Required Knowledge: None!