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Our Programmes

Life Drawing

8th February 2025

Facilitator: Emma Leyfield

Life drawing remains the best training an artist can undertake to improve their drawing. This session is perfect for beginners or as a refresher, but is also suitable for advanced students who can set their own goals for the day while enjoying the beauty and hospitality at Hawkwood.

Event time: 8th February 2025 9:30am - 4:30pm

Interested in spreading the cost of this course? Select Clearpay at checkout.

What Is Included

For the majority of our courses, both residential and non-residential rates are available. Residential options are fully inclusive with all meals provided. Non-residential options include suppers, lunches and all refreshments and exclude B&B. Some of our short day courses, events and talks do not include meals and refreshments. For more details about this course, please see the Practical Information section below.

Additional Activities

  • Mindful walking through our woodland trails
  • Meditate in our Woodland Sanctuary
  • Go on a hike and explore the Cotswolds AONB
  • Discover surrounding charming market towns

At a Glance

  • A great refresher or foundation in Life Drawing
  • Deliciously Catered 
  • Location of outstanding natural beauty
  • 1-1 tuition and personalised goals to take away from the class
  • Top tips for using anatomy and portraiture

What You Will Gain

  • Confidence to continue with life drawing
  • Where to begin on the page 
  • Techniques for measuring proportions 
  • Tips for capturing character in portraits through posture and posing
  • Understand the importance of traditional Life Drawing

Booking Options

DayDay delegate rate
£130.00

Interested in spreading the cost of this course? Select Clearpay at checkout.

Life Drawing Tutors

Emma Leyfield

Emma Leyfield

More about Life Drawing

Life drawing remains the best training an artist can undertake to improve their drawing. Whether you’re a landscape painter, textile artist, or ceramicist, it will lift the way you see and think creatively. Aside from this though, it is a quiet, meditative task. Set at Hawkwood, surrounded by woodland in the Slad and Painswick valleys, this element is important to the class.

The day will start with introductions and some warmup sketches before an 11am coffee break, complete with homemade cakes. Then a single long pose for the rest of the morning, along with advice for getting started on the page, and building up proportions using anatomy. During this time Emma will go around the room giving 1-1 feedback so that you can get the most out of the session.

A two-course lunch will be served at 1pm, using ingredients from the onsite kitchen gardens. You’re encouraged to go outside to explore and take in the grounds during the lunch break, so may like to bring suitable shoes/jackets.

After lunch we’ll focus on portraiture, and capturing the sense of a person in stillness and movement. You’re welcome to bring your favourite art materials for this part of the session, but pencils and charcoal will be provided. Finally, we’ll finish the day with a coffee and an opportunity to look at the work around the room.

Practical Information

The course starts at 9:30am, you're welcome to arrive from 9:15am. The course will finish with tea and cake at 4pm.

Bring your favourite art supplies (no turps please), outdoor clothing, and perhaps examples of your work or past life drawings if you have any.

“Emma is a gifted teacher - as well as being a very pleasant person who made the sessions so enjoyable as well as productive.”
Carol, past participant

About Hawkwood

Hawkwood is a stunning Grade Il listed 19th Century country house, surrounded by 42 acres of sustainably managed woodland, farmland, and gardens. Set in the heart of the Cotswolds - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - it is a sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. With a diverse selection of nearly 150 courses, there's plenty to choose from, including courses in transformative leadership, future thinking, inner life, music and the arts.

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Hawkwood is an arts and educational charity providing courses, facilitating training and offering venue hire, set in a stunning location in the Cotswolds.

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