Tag Archives: class

Online workshop 2: Layering watercolours in Leith

In the second of my collaborative workshops online I will be looking at drawing with layers of watercolours, taking inspiration from the industrial buildings of Leith.

Just a week to go before the second of our 75 minute Tuesday night workshops where we take a look at urban sketching and the various techniques you can use.

This time on Tuesday 18th at 7pm (UK time) we will be looking at layering watercolours to achieve atmosphere and depth in your sketches. This can be a quick way to capture a scene and with a combination of loose strokes and steady detail can achieve great effects.

We will also be extremely pleased to welcome comedian and Edinburgh Fringe regular Jo Caulfield joining us live and telling us a little about her favourite Leith buildings.

Tickets for this zoom event are £10 (£7 concessions) and can be booked via the link below. You will need 3 roughly A5 pieces of watercolour or thick paper and a watercolour set for this week’s class.

Book your place HERE

Making montages in the New Town

fulldaysketchingTomorrow I will be once again sketching with Arienas Collective. And with many dates booked in for 2018 there is plenty of opportunities for you to join us.

The Arienas Collective experience is that of a friendly, relaxed creative hub in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town. Run from a beautiful home environment our host Lynn creates a welcoming space where you can release your creativity.

Spaces are limited to these special workshops to enable more one to one tuition and in the full day workshops a delicious lunch is provided as well as teas, coffees and snacks. All of which mean guests canlet the time flow by, being fully submerged in the creative process.

All equipment and materials needed are provided so you can just turn up, leave any day-to-day worries behind, and immerse yourself in creating something unique

I think there are still a couple of places free for tomorrows all day class, details of which can be found at the link below. We will be touring the New Town picking out some sights to sketch and creating a number of quick ink drawings. We will also visit the Portrait gallery before returning to the cosy studio at Arienas Collective to add watercolour and frame our masterpieces. I look forward to seeing you there!

Sketching the New Town with Arienas Collective

More dates for my Arienas Collective workshops can be found on my Workshops page HERE.

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Get creative this summer at The Arienas Collective

ArienasCollective soapmaking A new collective is launched for Edinburgh creatives wishing to try something new.

Yesterday I dropped in to see the new creative hub that is The Arienas Collective, situated in a delightful Georgian mews house in the New Town.

The collective is a group of local artists (hopefully myself included) and designer-makers who are passionate about what they do, and who believe there is a creative soul within everyone waiting to be released. Run from a central Edinburgh home environment attendees will be encouraged to relax and lose themselves in their creativity, experiencing a wide range of different processes. Such classes as Photography, Screen printing, Sketching, Soap making and Calligraphy.

Running both open classes where people can make friends and grow confidence in their own skills within a like minded group, and also private groups where friends and family can come to celebrate and create,  I think it will be a huge success and I look forward to being part of its growth.

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Yesterday I sketched proceedings but will have to return myself to have a go, especially the screen printing and calligraphy.

For more information visit The Arienas Collective website below and book yourself in for a creative day soon, I might see you there!

The Arienas Collective website

The Scottish Soap Works on facebook.

A Sketching Day inside one of Edinburgh’s most beautiful locations.

ARsketching4The Assembly Rooms Edinburgh recently opened its doors for sketchers.

This Georgian venue, which lies at the heart of the New Town celebrates its 230th year in 2017 and to mark this, and the 25oth year of the New Town itself there are a number of one off events taking place.

One of which was my Sketching Day Tour when a number of keen sketchers were invited to tour the glorious interiors of the Assembly Rooms and make some beautiful watercolour sketches.

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We had a great time capturing both details and tricky perspectives in pen before adding watercolour washes with a cuppa and a chat.

I really didn’t know what to expect , my favourite part was to find myself increasing in confidence during the course

This was a great way to kick of my season of Sketcher Days in and around Edinburgh, which will include the Old Town, the West End and Lauriston Castle. If you would like to book a place at my next Sketcher Day click on the link below.

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It was perfect! – I believe you have influenced my life for the future.

Sketcher Days in 2017

More about the Assembly Rooms events here. 

Architectural Drawing at Surgeons Hall Museums

SurgeonsHall_cropSurgeonsHall_pillarsI’ll be running a sketching workshop this Saturday 14th May at the Surgeons’ Hall Museums.

Come and draw the magnificent sculptured buildings of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
I will be giving speed sketching tips and helping you capture your view in ink and watercolour. All abilities are welcome for this relaxed and engaging workshop in beautiful surroundings.

Find out more about my  three 90 minute classes on Saturday and book your place from just £6 (£3.50 concession) here:

Book Your Place

Less than a week until the @FestofMuseums – Are you taking part or attending an event? Find out more about what is happening this weekend on the Festival of Museums website.

 

My new Friday afternoon Art Class

ZoeJames_Nature_650My new Friday afternoon Art Class begins on August 28th and runs for six weeks, in partnership with Honey Pot Ceramics Arts and Crafts Studio.

 

I’m so excited to be starting a regular class for kids after school on a Friday. Based at the Edinburgh International Climbing Centre, Honey Pot run a number of creative classes and together we will combine to run a creative and artistic weekly class through to Friday 2nd October.

 

Alternating the weeks between sketching with me and creating clay pieces with Honey Pots, by the end of the 6 classes your child will have learnt new sketching and clay making skills and have a number of sketches and pottery pieces to take home. Plus a framed piece from my classes encompassing all we have learnt to create a portrait.

 

Sessions run from 3.30pm – 5pm and will run in term-time. Each session costs £12 per child, or a block of six sessions is £60. Classes are suitable for children aged 5 and over.

 

For more information and to book one of our limited places on the course call Honey Pot Ceramics on 0131 333 6348 or visit their facebook page below.

 

Honey Pot Ceramics Arts and Crafts Studio on facebook.

 

 

 

Sketching workshops at Lauriston Castle

sketchers3_fromYana_webThis summer I am running a number of sketch workshops at Lauriston Castle, in partnership with Edinburgh Council

My first day of workshops took place in July and I am very glad to say, a sell out. Marketed for families just starting their summer holidays we had a good range of ages attending, and a good range of accents as many had made the event part of their holiday in Edinburgh.

 

You may of seen some of the images below on my social media at the time but for those who didn’t the blue door selection was one of our subjects. I like to have a whole class focus in on a detail, such as the blue door and then see all the work together. It shows the range of styles and how each one has merits and personality.

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My next day of classes is tomorrow, Saturday 15th August and although the morning session is sold out, at the time of writing there was still a few places in the afternoon. The session runs from  1-3pm and costs £20. Tickets can be booked via the Usher Hall website HERE

 

Below are a few more photographs from the first event. Thanks to Yana from The Green Deer company who came along on the tour and supplied the images with myself in them!

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Book your tickets here

Lauriston Castle on facebook

 

EdinburghSketcher sketching workshops – on Pinterest

PinterestScreengrab
See photos from my latest Sketch Classes on this Pinterest board. Collected from various events I will add more as I go.

 

Included are ones from Lauriston Castle​ and Honey Pot Ceramics – Arts and Crafts Studio​ from over the weekend.  If you have taken any photos from the classes which you would like to add to the board send them to me at contact@www.edinburghsketcher.com

 

EdinburghSketcher sketching workshops on Pinterest

Lauriston Castle on Facebook

Honepot Ceramics Arts and Crafts on Facebook

 

My next sketch class, on Sunday 26th July

AutumnLeavesCones_RBGEMy next sketching workshop is just two days away!

Call Honey Pot Ceramics Art and Crafts studio on 0131 333 6348 tomorrow between 10am and 5pm to book your place on this family sketch class, focusing on nature and texture drawing. This is what they had to say about our first sketch class together…

 

EXCITING NEW PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCED TODAY!

We are really excited to announce that we will be working with the Edinburgh Sketcher (aka Mark Kirkham) over the next few months on a variety of projects. The first is detailed below:

Sketching Workshop for Families: Sunday 26th July 10.30-12.30

This is a fantastic opportunity to join us with the Edinburgh Sketcher for 2 hours of sketching bliss.

We’ll go outside into the quarry/canal and forage for items to draw. Mark will then show you how to do some close sketching, distance sketching combining short timed sketches with longer studies. You’ll discuss your sketches before mounting your favourite sketch.

This 2 hour workshop is aimed at Families: Adults £20, children (age 5+) £6 with an accompanying adult, who is also sketching.

You will learn speed sketching skills and techniques to be able to capture the world around you in ink and watercolour

 

Honey Pot Ceramics Art and Crafts Studio Facebook page

 

Sketching at Lauriston Castle a great success

4 Thanks to all who came to the sketch tour at Lauriston Castle this morning.

 

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Here are a few photos from our session, after we were back inside the beautiful castle and could compare our doodles. The location was stunning and everyone seemed to enjoy their time sketching in the beautiful grounds, situated close to the Firth of Forth in North Edinburgh.

 

We started with some timed sketching and drawing exercises to relax everyone and loosen up the line work. After focusing on cross hatching and close up details we built up to a watercolour version using the skills we had practised.

 

Here are some of the sketches produced, well done all who took part. If you would like to join us this Friday at the City Art Centre then follow the link below.

 

Lauriston Castle sketch tour link