Immersive Drawing in Nature
Join us for an immersive drawing experience, led by creative force-of-nature, Louise Rainbow. This course is suitable for experienced students and beginners alike, where you will find confidence in working with new techniques and a wide variety of drawing mediums to create artworks, shifting from minimal to maximal approaches.
Louise will ask you to leave the outside world behind and lose yourself in nature with this in-depth experimental drawing course. It's a chance to block out the stresses of modern life and connect to your true artistic self through guided tasks, prompts, discussion, and shared creativity. There'll be opportunities to utilise the gardens at Halsway (in the height of their summer glory), both as workspace and a supply cupboard - working with elements of the natural world for both their visual and practical properties.
Louise will encourage you to go deeper into your own practice by exploring your energy, showing you alternative approaches, and stretching the parameters of your mark-making, form and composition, using still life and nature as inspiration. You will be encouraged to learn playful drawing techniques alongside more focused observations considering scale and composition. You will be guided to work intensely, rapidly, abstractly and prolifically using a variety of materials.
This is an opportunity to reconnect deeply with creative practice, build confidence and skills whilst encouraging spontaneity, experimentation and learning, often with unexpected and exciting results.
Places are limited so don't hesitate to book if you intend to join us.
Who is it for?
This course is suitable for anyone with an open artistic mind! You will be able to work at your own artistic level, and tasks will be process-driven, rather than in pursuit of perfect, complete works of art.
What you'll need to bring:
A variety of graphite pencils (HB, 2B and 4B)
Pencil sharpeners
Charcoal/Charcoal pencils
All other materials will be supplied.
The Team
Louise Rainbow has been teaching art for 25 years, working in ceramics, drawing, painting and printmaking. She trained in contemporary arts at Bretton Hall, Leeds University and has experience teaching at all levels. She was an Arts Producer and tutor at Dartington for many years, producing and leading short courses and residentials. Louise was selected for the Hunting Prize in 2020 at the Royal College of Art and has been exhibiting and selling her work ever since she had a one-person show at Gallery Dartington in 2022 and Trenemeheere Gallery, St Ives 2023.
More recently, Louise has been teaching for West Dean College, South Devon College, and Esalen California.