Drawing from Paintings in Museums

Course Programme

This online course allows you to explore major global collections from home. Each week, we draw from paintings from different galleries and museums. Examples include: Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, MoMA, New York and NGA, Canberra. Beginning with an introduction to the artists and group discussion, you will draw from chosen paintings with guidance from your tutor. This course is open to all levels.

Each twelve week block is structured chronologically but the time span will vary from course to course. We look at a single artist each week, focusing on one or two of their paintings.

Class structure

The class has evolved organically into one where we have a great deal of group discussion while we draw. I begin by introducing the artist of the week and giving you some background and context. I will always show you an example of a drawing I have made and give you suggestions for how to approach your drawing. We then spend the best part of an hour drawing while I ask you one at a time for your thoughts.

You don’t need any prior knowledge of history of art. I myself am not an art historian but an artist. Everyone’s points of view are equally valuable and it is true delight how much we all learn each week from one another’s contributions.

We often draw from a second painting, finishing with a look at all our different interpretations of the paintings.