The Language of Drawing - Foundations I

Service Description

Tuesday evenings 6pm - 8pm Part one of a 12 week course offering a journey into the foundations of drawing. Designed for beginners, the first six weeks of this course will explore the expressive nature of graphite and paper. Gain confidence through an introduction to the language of pencils, understanding grading systems and experimenting with sharpening techniques that shape line and texture. Through guided still life exercises, the course covers key principles such as shading, light, value, contrast, gradients, and hatching, building both technical skill and visual sensitivity. As the course progresses into the second section, students are introduced to the logic of space through one and two points perspective, developing an understanding of horizon lines and vanishing points. Through the exploration and understanding of geometric forms in perspective (cubes, ellipses, and arches) participants will begin to translate foundational skills into more complex compositions, including but not limited to the suggestion of urban landscapes. Objectives: 1. Become comfortable using pencils, paper, and erasers in a creative and expressive manner. 2. Understand the basics of shading, light, and tone through observation to create realistic and expressive drawings. 3. Develop your observational skills so that you can carefully recreate what you see, not what you think. 4. Draw from image references and still life setups simple forms and objects to gain confidence. About your tutor: Leticia Suárez is an industrial designer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with several years of professional experience designing a wide range of products. In recent years, she has shifted her focus towards the fine arts, following her passion for art and dedicating herself to painting as her primary profession. Since the beginning of 2026, she has been a teacher in training at the Life Drawing and Still Life courses at Saltaire Art School. "I am Leticia Suarez, a trilingual, and my first language is drawing. Throughout my life, drawing has been my constant in every aspect of life. From my early life in those non-verbal days to the darkest and most emotional moments, drawings had always appeared on paper able to communicate what I could not express through a common verbal language. My aim as a drawing teacher is to remind you of the many possibilities drawing offers, and to equip you with the skills and tools to nurture this language that comes to us naturally in early childhood."