Studio Hugo Grenville - Line and design

Course: Line and design
Intensive drawing from life in a variety of media, with an emphasis on strong composition and visual language

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Tutor:		Hugo Grenville
Assistant Tutor:		Lisa Freeman
Dates:		24th - 27th Nov 2008 (4 days) Start Mon 9.45am finish Thurs 3.30pm
Price:		£420
Medium:		Pencil, charcoal, chalk pastel, poster paint, ink
Suitable for:		Everyone, at every level
The Course:		Drawing is the foundation of all visual expression, that vital first response to the subject. Without an ability to draw the artist is severely limited in his/her powers of interpretation and self-expression. Poor drawing stands in the way of fluent painting, and weakens many a brave attempt to paint boldly. But it is also much easier to acquire drawing skills than you might think: drawing is really a way of seeing, and once you can see you can draw (or very nearly!). This course teaches students how to see and how to apply that knowledge, so that drawing becomes instinctive and a natural starting point for exploring ideas about picture-making. Students will respond to the subject in a wide range of ways, using different media and exploring different techniques, from drawing fine lines in pencil to brushing broad strokes of ink. We will approach drawing both as volume (form) and as flat shape, and consider the differences in the light of the the work of the Masters, both old and modern. As the course progesses students will be encouraged to think about the importance of composing the subject,about the division of pictorial space, so that a picture is conceived as a strong and coherent design. This course also works as a way of unblocking the creative process, of seeing things anew, of challenging working methods and building new ideas in order to move our work forward.
		Please see details of Hugo's other courses: Tone & Colour The Eye of the Beholder: Focus on colour The Beginner's Oil Painting Workshop

A few of the comments people have made on their feedback forms...

"What I personally took out of the course was the knowledge that I was not alone in my artistic hopes and ideals. I have studied at some very well respected art colleges, one of which has an international reputation, so I do have something to compare against, and on that basis I am of the opinion that Hugo as a tutor is utterly inspirational, a very considered motivator and critic, just great."

"I loved the overall atmosphere of being in an environment where an artist actually works, being immersed, the beautiful surroundings, being taught by someone who you can admire for his work, who enables you to come away, without perfect paintings, but with a new starting point and way of looking at the whole structure of painting"

"Your courses have helped me as a painter in so many ways: in developing skills- I have never heard of sight size drawing or used oils, but especially in boosting my confidence in existing abilities and personal vision."

“This is obviously not a “painting holiday” type of course of which there are now so many being aimed at aspiring painters. This is something beyond that, striving to set the mind on the more fundamental and creative ways of personal expression. Every aspect of the four days was delightful”

"I said at the beginning of the week I seem to have hit a brick wall which I couldn’t get beyond. I’ve knocked it down”

"I found it all most stimulating and as a painter who has struggled to get away from a precise engineering and design discipline I found the short pose, left hand drawing and large brush painting approach exciting and freeing. The teaching was excellent and imparted with the right balance of stick and carrot."

“I sang most of the way home and when not singing had a huge beam of a smile”

"The teaching and advice is drawn from a body of Art History and then is related to what one was actually struggling with on the easel. I think Hugo’s teaching covers a gap that is missing in arts schools today."