March is a fabulous time for flora – snowdrops, crocus, daffodils and more. Join tutor Sue Vize who will help you explore flowers that are the essence of Spring. With Sue’s guidance you’ll get more out of a coloured pencil than you thought possible. She’ll show you how to achieve depth of tone and colour by building up layers of coloured pencil to illustrate these lovely delicate flowers. Choose from Sue’s selection or feel free to bring your own if you have a favourite.
All levels of ability are welcome, whether you are a beginner or someone with previous experience in botanical illustration just wanting to brush up on existing skills. The only requirements are a desire work in detail and a love of plants.
What to expect
Time at ArtisOn is designed to take you away from it all and provide the environment, the time and the guidance you need to create. You can expect a warm welcome, skilled and friendly tutors plus the chance to meet like-minded people keen to share ideas and experiences. You can even leave us to clear up the mess! There will usually be two workshops going on and we encourage everyone to mingle and be nosey about what the other workshop is up to.
Arrive in time to meet other participants over a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits before beginning your session at the appointed time. There will be a mid-morning break for refreshments and a chance to talk over progress with others. Lunch is usually around 12:45 for about 45 mins – you can expect a homemade 2 course lunch. The main course will be delicious but don’t overdo it as the puds are usually worth waiting for! There will be a further afternoon break with the most wonderful cakes from Roots & Fruits Home Bakery, a North Yorkshire micro-bakery producing handmade bread and cakes. All food and refreshments are included in the price of the workshop.
Finish time is given as a target – there are occasions when the session may overrun so do let us know if you need to be away promptly.
We aim for your day to be a real treat… of course you could always learn a new skill in a shed or a draughty village hall with a curly sandwich, but we want you to have more fun than that! So we make it a day being looked after, with good food, good company and great inspiration!
What you’ll need to bring with you
The tutor will bring a selection of plant material for you to draw but if you have something specific you would like to study then please feel free to bring it with you.
Sue has also requested you bring whatever you normally use for coloured pencil work. It is helpful for this to include the following selection. We have some of these items available to borrow but if you have them, please bring them along to prevent waiting. Sue also has some items for sale on the day.
Graphite pencil – preferably an HB or 2H (available to borrow)
Smooth cartridge paper for practice work
A few sheets of good quality hot-pressed smooth watercolour paper, cartridge paper, or Bristol Board
Putty or kneadable rubber (available to borrow)
Good pencil sharpener (available to borrow)
Good quality non-soluble coloured pencils – watercolour pencils can also be used if you already have these
Cloth or piece of paper to rest your hand on to avoid marking your work
Drawing board or piece of MDF slightly larger than your paper (available to borrow)
Magnifying glass
Ruler or dividers (available to borrow)
Sue will be bringing her own collection of coloured pencils so that you can try different brands on the day. Just bring what you might already have and these will be available if you need to delve in to supplement your own collection.
