Vanessa Bell (1879 – 1961) was one of the foremost painters in the Bloomsbury Group, combining British Impressionism and Modernism. Bell produced a body of diverse work including from the figure, still life and landscape. A master of composition and colour, her paintings offer a quiet meditation that forces the viewer to slow the mind and look. As a means of creating a framework for painting, Bell founded the Friday Club.

In a similar vein, these two-day courses, beginning on a Friday, will take one of Bell’s paintings as a focus, with a mindset that, “the present can only be understood if we continue to keep the past in view” (Graw, 2018).

Working with your preferred drawing and painting materials, this session will begin by drawing from the clothed figure. From these initial drawings, you will develop compositions from which to make either a series of paintings or one focused painting.

This course forms part of a series of ongoing 2-day courses starting on a Friday that can be booked separately. Each course will focus on either the Figure, Landscape or Still Life, subjects close to Vanessa Bell's heart and core to the body of work she produced. As a suggestion, if you attend more than one Friday Club, you will be able to integrate and layer your drawings to form complex compositions for painting.

A clothed model will be provided for the first day.

Please note this is not a beginner’s course, you will need to have some drawing and painting experience.

Included

The College will provide cartridge paper and some charcoal and black drawing ink to share amongst the group. A clothed model will be provided for the first day.

What students need to bring

Suggested materials and equipment:

Surfaces:

• Sketchbook
• Surfaces to draw and paint onto, for example, canvas board, plywood, good quality paper 300gsm

Drawing materials:

• Soft B pencils: 2B 4B 6B 8B
• Graphite stick (water soluble)
• Charcoal pencil
• Willow charcoal (various thickness)
• Putty rubber
• Fixative
• Drawing ink (black)
• Masking Tape

Paints:

• Water based paint including Acrylic, water-soluble oil, gouache *consider your surface and the scale you intend to work
• Paint mediums (retarder/flow etc)
• Paint brushes appropriate for your paint, including large paintbrushes
• Palette knife (for mixing paint)

Apron/Overall

Additional information

Please wear appropriate clothing/aprons for the workshop or studio, this includes stout covered footwear (no sandals or open toes).

Daily Timetable

Course teaching 11am–5.15pm
Students arrive 10.30am-11am (coffee optional)  
Morning teaching 11am-1pm
Lunch break between 1pm-2pm (lunch is not included)
Afternoon teaching 2pm-5.15pm (15 minute break, 3.30pm–3.45pm)
Teaching finishes 5.15pm  
 

Short courses are open to anyone aged 18 and over. The course fee covers tuition and materials where stated. You will need to bring all other items listed under the ‘Materials to bring’ section.

Refreshments

Coffee and tea are included in the course fee, but you will need to bring lunch with you to eat in the refreshments room. There are also plenty of other local venues to purchase food.

Access

If you have any specific access needs, we will need to know about your access requirements in advance. Please tell us about your needs in confidence by emailing: [email protected] This venue has steps to the front reception, with limited access via a side gate to the ground floor. There is a small lift to higher floors or stairs.

Safety

Short course students are required to sign a safety compliance form as part of West Dean Health and Safety regulations.

Refunds and cancellations

Please refer to our terms & conditions below.

Disclaimer

The information given is accurate at the time of publication. However, West Dean College reserves the right to cancel or amend courses if circumstances require.

Terms & Conditions