Event start date: 09/07/2026
Location: Raw Umber Studios, 16 Nelson Street, Stroud GL5 2HN
Date: Thursday, 9 July 2026 – Saturday, 11 July 2026
Time: 10am – 5pm
Tutor: Alan McGowan
Cost: £360
Location: Raw Umber Studios, 16 Nelson Street, Stroud GL5 2HN
Join Alan McGowan in this three-day workshop and explore a practical, expressive approach to drawing the figure with an emphasis on tone, structure and the character of the mark.
During this short course, we will examine what we are trying to do in drawing and connect those aims to practical methods. Alongside studio work, we will look at artists who have grappled with these questions—Delacroix, Michelangelo, Raphael, Ingres, Giacometti, Coldstream, Eugene Carrière, Anne Gale, Rodin, Picasso, among others—each offering different ways of thinking and working.
Over three days, working from life models, we will explore:
- Different ways to begin a drawing
- Drawing with light
- Tonal value
- Accuracy and inaccuracy
Materials:
- Willow charcoal (assorted)
- Putty rubber
- Fixative
- White Conté pastel
- White acrylic paint and brushes
Surfaces:
- 4 sheets of newsprint
- 10 sheets of white cartridge paper (A2)
- 2 sheets neutral-toned paper (grey/buff, A2)
- 3 sheets of black paper (A2)
Alan McGowan has been a practising artist for over 30 years. His work has appeared in many significant exhibitions of contemporary figurative art, including the Scottish Portrait Awards (2017), the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Threadneedle Prize for Figurative Art, the Society of Portrait Sculptors exhibition, and the Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait exhibition.
How many students will there be?
There is a maximum of 12 participants, and the tutor will customise the course according to your individual needs.
To Find out more and join the waiting list visit here:
https://rawumberstudios.com/n/events/expressive-figure-drawing-with-alan-mcgowan-july-2026/register
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