Drawing and mindfulness: beginners guide to approaches and techniques
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What is the course about?
An introduction to and exploration of the practice of drawing and mindfulness. Through a variety of guided exercises, including drawing from observation and the imagination, you will explore how engaging mindfulness with drawing can help you to develop drawing skills, support confidence and stimulate a light/playful, yet wholehearted engagement. This workshop is suitable for beginners to drawing and/or mindfulness.
What will we cover?
During the session you will receive an introduction to mindfulness and identify how it supports the activity drawing. There will be a series of guided playful and exploratory drawing exercises where you will investigate different ways of drawing and new ways of seeing. You will also identify some common obstacles to creativity and ways of working through them.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
• Identify how engaging mindfulness with drawing can help to develop drawing skills and support a light/playful, yet wholehearted approach to both disciplines
• Employ a small toolkit of drawing and mindfulness practices
• Draw with more confidence
• Engage simple mindfulness methods for increasing your creativity and working through common obstacles.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
The workshop is suitable for beginners to mindfulness and/or drawing.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations and hand-outs, and will be invited to take part in group discussion.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
- Through guided mindfulness practices
- Demonstration of drawing methods
- Practical drawing exercises
- Pair and group discussion.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Recommended materials:
Pencil, paper, eraser, pencil sharpener, 8 sheets cartridge paper e.g. A2 or A3,
Additional materials (optional/extra):
Willow charcoal, coloured pastels, coloured pencils, plus any other drawing materials you’d like to use
City Lit students receive 10% discount off everything* from Cass Art, the UK's leading art supplies retailer.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Drawing and Mindfulness
Drawing and Painting from the Imagination
Drawing and mindfulness – figure drawing workshop.
Clare Barton-Harvey is a full time artist and tutor/trainer living in London. In her teaching, she specialises in life drawing, drawing and mindfulness, working with colour, and painting from the imagination. She is an engaging and inspired tutor responsive to individual need and encouraging of individual growth/expression. In 2003, she studied at the Royal Drawing School, where she engaged in life drawing and the study of contemporary and historic artist’s drawings as part of the Drawing Year. In 2017 she engaged in post-graduate study with Bob and Roberta Smith (RA) and has exhibited solo and in a variety of group shows throughout the UK. You can see her work at www.cbarton-harvey.co.uk. Clare has been a practicing artist & mindfulness practitioner for over 25 years, and has taught drawing and painting for over 18 years, in a variety of locations currently including the National Gallery, British Museum, British Library, Pallant House and Hampton Court Palace. She is also co-founder of LIMINA collective (www.liminacollective.com) who specialise in mindful engagement with art in galleries and museums.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
