Drawing 2

Amanda Bracken started her teaching career at the Serpentine Gallery, researching, developing and delivering projects to a range of audiences, which illuminated the art work on show in the exhibition programme, including a teachers’ pack for the Bridget Riley exhibition. She also gained substantial experience developing projects and workshops within the education departments of The Drawing Room, the Estorick collection, The National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria Miro Gallery in particular Alice Neel: Portraits. Bracken holds an MA in Fine Art gained at Central Saint Martins. She also holds a BA in joint Art/Dance and a PGCE gained at Goldsmiths College London. Brackens paintings, drawings and installations have been selected for exhibitions in London and nationally including the Drawing Room, ASC Gallery, C and C Gallery and Atkinson Gallery Millfield. ‘I am interested in colour and form in all its permutations and the qualities of the substance of painting and drawing-the figurative, the abstract and the in-between. Citylit has a diverse Art department where I can use my experience to stimulate students to develop their own work'.

Sisetta studied at the Florence Fine Arts Academy, earning a first-class degree as a Master Printmaker. In 2011, she moved to London, developing her printmaking practice while teaching workshops for adults of all abilities in various communities. She teaches Botanical Drawing, Watercolour, Advanced Life Drawing, and Printmaking, inspiring students to expand their skills and explore innovative approaches. She promotes art as a global language, celebrating diverse artistic traditions. Sisetta’s work is exhibited internationally and held in public collections, including Italy and Morocco’s National Collections, the V&A, and the Museum of Graphic Arts in Pisa.

I am an artist living and working in London, trained at Chelsea School of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art (University College London). I have shown in solo and group exhibitions around the UK and in Europe (including the Whitechapel Open and Threadneedle Painting Prize) with work in numerous private collections and featured in Drawing and Painting by Kate Wilson (Thames and Hudson, 2015) For over 30 years I have taught in a wide variety of contexts, lecturing in many British art schools, including Manchester (MA), Cheltenham (BA), Central St Martins, UAL. I have run drawing workshops for Microsoft Seattle, Microsoft Research Asia in Beijing, Electronic Arts UK, Vanguard Animation, Tell Me in Mountain View, CA and Kaos Studios (THQ) in New York amongst others. I have also taught renowned opera, television and film directors how to draw (NDAs duly signed) From 2021-22 I was the recipient of an Arts Council England Project Award to conduct research into drawing and the processing of trauma. I have tenure at City Lit where I deliver drawing and painting courses exploring how these activities alter visual perception, with a strong emphasis on thinking through doing.

Brian has taught painting and drawing for over 30 years in a variety of different places and at different levels. He graduated from the Slade School of Art in 1978 and has continued to practise painting ever since. He has had over 10 one-person shows in the UK and exhibited in Germany and the USA. Although still life has been a principle interest, he has completed a number of portraits and exhibited 3 times in the National Portrait Gallery and is often in the RA Summer Exhibition. Brian particularly likes to include knowledge of art historical contexts with practical work to extend students' methods and approaches. He aims to focus on painting from diverse periods and cultures to develop individual ideas. When teaching he hopes to encourage a liveliness of approach with a solid understanding of technical issues involved. This can, in his opinion, lead on to a more confident, personal approach.

Sam Hanner is a contemporary artist and educator living and working in london. He studied BA Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London and graduated from the MA Painting course at the Royal College of Art in 2021. He has previously worked at the Royal Drawing School and The King's Foundation where he is currently a core tutor on the Foundation Diploma in Fine and Applied Art. He started working at City Lit in September 2024 having studied towards a PGCE in Further Education. He is motivated by faciliitating a process based dialogue with students of Fine Art, Painting and Drawing and enabling their practices to flourish. Their practice revolves around Painting and Drawing and investigates the place of these practices in the world today, and as a discipline within contemporary art. Previous projects and exhibitions have explored the history and future of wetlands in the UK, specifically the Fens, where he completed a three month artist residency. Sam has worked as a scenic artist for theatre, opera and ballet, a studio technician and an art installer and brings this technical knowledge and experience to his work and his workshops.

Ruth has taught drawing, painting and mixed media for more than 30 years, at many levels including Further, Higher and Adult Education, all over the country, including Manchester, Birmingham and London. She studied Fine Art at Liverpool and Birmingham Universities and has exhibited diversely, including the Royal Academy in London. As an artist and educator she has an eclectic mix of skills and interests. Drawing is pivotal. Mixed media has become a central focus over the years and her practice has developed towards the interface between Fine Art and Textiles where elements of painting, relief and experimental textiles meet. Coming from a background of accomplished artists and educators’ she has spent many years developing values in educational practice and enabling students to access their own creative potential.

Andrea studied Drawing at Camberwell College and textiles at Morley College, where she also did her teacher training. She has a passion for the macabre and much of her recent practice has focused on drawing animal skulls and skeletons. She has a particular interest in comparative anatomy which led her to devise the Anatomical Life and Portrait Drawing courses at City Lit. Observational drawing is at the core of her practice and she uses it as a means of recording the world around her, be it the clutter of the studio, a music gig or a specimen in a museum. Andrea has an energetic approach to teaching. She is highly communicative and strives to create a positive group dynamic whilst being sensitive to the needs of individual students. This has been enriched by her extensive experience as a life model which she has used as a unique opportunity to observe first-hand the teaching methods and creative processes of many artists and has applied this knowledge to develop her own distinctive teaching style. Examples of her work can be found at www.instagram.com/voiseydrawing

Eleanor develops precarious and fragile forms through drawing, painting and sculpture. The abstracted forms of the sculptures are heavily influenced by drawings of architecture, organic forms and landscape. The work questions the interconnection between personal identity and place. Eleanor spent her formative years in Japan before moving to London. She completed the Drawing Year at the Royal Drawing School in 2008 and the Turps Art School’s Studio Programme in 2018. She has been teaching since 2008. Website: www.elbedlow.co.uk Instagram: @eleanorbedlow