A new exhibition at Rural Arts aims to show the importance of life drawing to the practice of art, displaying recent work by Thirsk based WEA students.
“Life drawing underpins all art,” says Rosie Skaife d’Ingerthorpe, WEA art tutor at the Old Courthouse, “Working with a life model, you can capture the gravity and life force that is absent when working from photographs. This is not just important for portraiture, but all art. In London, architects used to be sent for life drawing classes as part of their training.”
The students exhibiting come from all walks of life, including retired surgeons, writers and college students. The course gave them a chance to work with professional life drawing models, gaining skills they can take in many different artistic directions.
Ken Blakeson, one of the WEA students, says, “I came to this life class because I have always drawn, and I wanted to learn to do it properly. Yes, I have learned technique, but also I have managed to cast off a few preconceptions about what art is. The class has given me new friends, some expertise, the chance to draw a live model, and a lot of laughs.”
The exhibition is on at Rural Arts, The Old Courthouse, Thrisk, from 1st October to 7th November.
Life drawing and painting classes begin again on 1st October, with four one day sessions. Drawing and painting classes start on October 3rd, running over eight morning sessions. Both courses are open to anyone over 18.
To book, or for more information, please call WEA on 0113 245 3304
