Life Drawing Classes in Tottenham

Today I spent all day in Tottenham at the Beehive Pub - where there was a life drawing class for complete beginners run by the Tottenham Art Group. It was very good, excellent tutor who gave us all one-to-one tuition as well as plenty of group tuition where he instructed us by drawing and showing us work he had done himself. The model was really professional and worked very hard.

They are going to have more of these particular all-day classes as they had to turn people away it was so popular. And they are thinking of doing a painting from life model day too - although this will be a bit more expensive due to the cost of the paints, etc.

It was £26 for the whole day which I think is excellent value for money as it included materials (paper and pencil) too, a life model and tuition. The class ran from 10.30 to 3:00 with half an hour for lunch.

We went into the main bar for lunch (although of course there's plenty of alternative food outlets in Tottenham) and we were all impressed with the pub and especially the garden. Here's the website for The Beehive Pub which is under new management.

There are also life drawing drop-in sessions run by Tottenham Art Group which are held:

1) the first Tuesday in the Month at The Beehive Pub from 7-9pm and

2) every Thursday from 7-9pm at Tottenham Chances Club, 399 High Road, N17 6PQ.

These drop-in classes are for all levels. No need to book, just drop in. You can buy materials there or bring your own. These classes cost £5.

Here's the website for Tottenham Art Group with all the details.

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Comment by Dave Corcoran on May 18, 2014 at 9:41: Good to see the enthusiasm for a local life-drawing class. Can I offer one reading suggestion? This is the best single book I know on figure drawing. It shows a very clear approach to achieving accurate proportions Its also very inexpensive (£14.39 new from amazon, even less from some of the 3rd party sellers there):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Artists-Complete-Guide-Figure-Drawing/dp/08...

Comment by Kathleen Duffy on May 18, 2014 at 9:51: Hello Dave, thank you for that book link. Last night I was looking through Amazon for a book on life drawing and that book stood out. It's in my Wish List and I am going to buy it next month. Glad to have it confirmed as being a good buy.

Comment by Dave Corcoran on May 18, 2014 at 10:41: One of the things I see in many life-drawing classes is an emphasis on fast short-pose drawings. People try to get down a very fast pose, before it changes in a few minutes, without ever having learned a structured technique to getting proportions and placements. The result is usually an extensive collection of somewhat wonky drawings.

This book offers a very solidly-founded alternative to that. Once the lessons it teaches are learned, they can be applied to fast-pose drawings too (and will make a HUGE difference to the quality of drawings),

In the first instance it is best tried with longer poses, though, and in fact one good way of learning it initially is to do a session or two of drawing from sculptures down at the V&A, since it means you can take your time as the model doesn't move at all. Once you've done spent a couple of afternoons doing a drawing or two there using the approach, you'll see how it can be applied to life-drawing, even to the fast poses, and your drawings will really stand out from the crowd, who don't know about this method! I promise, try it, and you'll become an evangelist for it!

Comment by Kathleen Duffy on May 18, 2014 at 14:55: I will definitely have a go! However, I wouldn't have the confidence to draw in public...yet! But I think that's a brilliant idea. Thanks for such interesting comments Dave, appreciate it.

Comment by Dave Corcoran on May 18, 2014 at 16:08: There are lots of people who draw at the V&A, they even have lots of stools freely available for them to sit on. Nobody pays you any attention beyond a cursory glance, generally. You just need a drawing pad and pencils (they don't allow anything wet or messy).

If you'd like to meet up at some point for a couple of hours in a weekday afternoon there, I'd be happy to do so, show you the technique (though I can't do this coming week). Here's an example of the sort of thing, a hand study I did from one of the sculptures, and a block-in demo of for someone I was with.

Comment by Kathleen Duffy on May 19, 2014 at 14:13: Hello Dave - that's so generous of you to offer your time and considerable talent! However, for the time being, I will see how I go with the Tottenham classes as to whether I feel confident enough to take it further. Thanks ever so!

Comment by Dave Corcoran on February 10, 2015 at 17:37: Hoping you are well, Kathleen - was wondering how you are getting on with the life-drawing class?

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