Drawing for Beginners

Perfect for absolute beginners or those reconnecting with art, this eight-week course with Rose Montgomery-Whicher builds your skills and confidence step-by-step in a supportive environment. You’ll learn to see the world with an “artist’s eye,” understanding subjects in terms of line, shape, proportions, light, and shadow.

Through engaging exercises, you’ll explore a variety of drawing techniques and materials, developing the skills to draw everything from still life to landscapes. This term, one class will be held outdoors in the grounds of Wychwood Barns, giving you the opportunity to practice plein-air sketching. By working from observation, memory, and artists’ drawings, you will discover the joy of drawing and the renewed sense of wonder that this foundational art form can bring.

Pad of drawing paper or wire bound sketchbook (at least 9×12” with minimum of 40 sheets of paper). Look for white paper with a slightly rough texture or ’tooth’ that is not too thin – at least 60lbs, such as Canson Universal Sketch, Strathmore 300 series, Strathmore recycled sketch or Above Ground Field Sketchbook.
2B pencil (Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils are especially nice; or Faber-Castell 9000)
Pencil sharpener and something to catch the sharpenings
White eraser
Kneaded eraser
One flat rectangular stick of graphite, 2B. Look for General’s brand.
Willow charcoal-round sticks, about 4 inches long
Very fine pen with permanent black ink, such as Sakura Pigma Micron or Staedtler Pigment Liner 03 or 05 or an Extra Fine Sharpie