Drawing for beginners

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.

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

Steve is a London-based painter and art tutor. He has worked in adult education since 2012, developing a wide range of courses in drawing and painting that balance technical skills with an openness to individual ways of working. He is skilled at finding both strengths and areas to improve in a student’s work and in communicating this in a supportive way to individual learners. Steve studied Painting at Wimbledon School of Art and Newcastle University, completing his MA in 2001. His own painting practice informs his teaching and he likes to share some of his drawings, paintings and working methods with students. Steve’s work is included in several public and private collections and has featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions. www.stevewqrightart.com

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