Sketching and Watercolour (Stage 1)

This course offers a hands-on approach to the world of sketching or ‘art on the go’. Ideal for all levels and abilities, it provides a relaxed way to build upon your drawing skills whilst enjoying the surrounding environment.

Sketching and drawing is fundamental to everything we do and throughout history every great artist and designer has kept a sketch book. A personal visual ‘journal’, it offers a place to experiment, record special moments or work through your ideas for a more advanced project.

During the course you'll explore the fundamentals of drawing and observation, including how to capture spontaneous and honest moments. You'll use a variety of materials and techniques including pencils, pens, charcoal watercolour, looking at genres such as landscape, botanical and the human form. The course includes 2 evenings where you have the opportunity to develop your drawing and sketching skills of the human form, including a portrait focused class, both using a dressed model.

Colour and design knowledge will be explored further through AUB's on-campus nationally recognised museum, MODIP, (Museum of Design in Plastic), The Gallery and Library.

• Experienced guidance from an artist specialising in sketching and water-colour
• Learning to see and sketch the world around you
• Developing skills with pencil, pens, water-colour and charcoal creating lively drawing through expressive use of line and mark making
• Tone, contrast, textures, colour and form
• Capturing movement and basic perspective
• Basic techniques to approach landscape, botanical, animals, objects and people
• Being inspired by techniques used by famous artists and movements

The course aims to:

• Enable you to gain confidence in your drawing and observational skills
• Experiment and develop ideas discovering new approaches to creating
• Learn some basic watercolour techniques and apply to sketching
• Learn to use the sketchbook as a visual journal or as research for an art project
• A means to relax through art in any location

• You'll feel confident approaching observation drawing, in a range of medium and techniques
• Group share of sketches done at the end of each session with the intention to support, inspire and encourage each other’s learning
• You'll develop a sketchbook of experimental and finished works in a variety of mediums
• All students with 100% course attendance will be issued with an official AUB Short Course certificate of attendance. To request your certificate email the team at shortcourses@aub.ac.uk

Suitable for creatives aged 18+. This includes most levels, from beginners, to students exploring ideas for exhibitions or HE applications and wanting a bridge to further courses, or those who want to step away from the digital world and build on their skills to create lively sketches and paintings.

• Good quality hard back A4 sketchbook (Pink Pig, Sea Whites or similar)
• Pencils 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B
• Charcoal
• Set of black fine line drawing pens (permanent ink)
• Putty, plastic eraser, pencil sharpener
• Water colour paints – Pans (Winsor and Newton Cotman sketching range – set of 12)
• Pro-arte Water colour paint brushes set of 5
• A roll of cheap lining paper

All additional course materials are included in the course fee.