LIFE DRAWING – foundations and process

Start Date: Tuesday 3/03/2026 (Weekly)

Time: 11:00pm

Duration: 2 ( total 8) hrs

Price: £240.00

Ability: All Welcome

Tutor: Anna Milgrom

Tickets Available: 8

About this course

This lively and practical 4 week life drawing course is designed for beginners and those returning to drawing, offering a supportive and playful space to explore the human figure. Led by artist and tutor Anna Milgrom, the course encourages curiosity, experimentation and having fun with drawing, with less emphasis on perfection and more on process. For complete beginners, those returning to life drawing or anyone looking for a structured but relaxed and enjoyable introduction to drawing the human figure

Working from professional life models, you will be guided through the full life drawing process, from measuring and proportion to expressive mark-making. A variety of materials will be used throughout the course—including charcoal, soft pastels and ink—to help you explore line, tone, texture and mood, and to discover which approaches suit you best.

What You Will Explore

  • Measuring the body and understanding proportion
  • Foundational approaches to the figure: box, spherical, linear and gestural
  • Balance, symmetry and weight
  • Composition, perspective and working with the picture plane
  • Using negative space to improve accuracy
  • Expressive mood through varied mark-making, line and tone

course structure

Week 1 – Looking, Measuring and Letting Go

  • Measuring techniques and proportion
  • Gesture drawing to capture movement and energy
  • Linear and box-based approaches to place the figure on the page
    Using charcoal to encourage bold, confident marks.

Week 2 – Structure, Shape and Volume
Developing the figure through simplified forms.

  • Spherical and box forms to describe volume
  • Exploring symmetry, balance and weight
  • Introducing tone and layering using charcoal and soft pastels.

Week 3 – Space, Composition and the Page
Thinking about how the drawing sits within the page.

  • Composition and cropping
  • Perspective and the picture plane
  • Using negative space to refine observation
    Exploring ink to develop clarity, contrast and decisive mark-making.

Week 4 – Expression, Mark and Mood
Bringing structure and expression together.

  • Experimenting with mixed materials and expressive marks
  • Using texture, tone and rhythm to suggest mood and atmosphere
  • Encouraging personal, playful responses to the figure
    Time for reflection and ideas for continuing your drawing practice.

All materials are provided.

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Reviews

“Taking the time to learn in the inspiring environment of Colne Road Studios was such a treat! The group was welcoming and supportive and Rachel is an extremely talented and generous teacher, sharing her skills and knowledge to give us fresh perspectives and a wealth of useful advice and feedback. I felt my ability and interest in drawing had been revived after many years dormant, learning how to observe as well as how to draw. I would encourage anyone willing to pick up a pencil to have a go, and have already signed up to Rachel’s next course!   “CB  March 2025

‘I decided to do the Drawing for Beginners class at Colne Road Studios as I have recently started painting for the first time since school and felt that doing a beginner drawing class would aid me with this in looking at image and form.  That and the fact that I hadn’t picked up a pencil to draw since I was a teenager.   The course exceeded my expectations.  The group were lovely and from very different backgrounds – some beginners, some already dabbled, and a couple were professionals who used drawing in differing forms in their careers.  Rachel Labovitch is an exceptional tutor.  She is informative in her teaching approach bringing in examples of other artists as we went along meaning that new or well-known works of art were discussed and techniques explored.  She is positive, supportive and very encouraging.   I left each class feeling inspired and even did ‘homework’ during the week to practice what I’d learnt – something I didn’t do at school.  I would highly recommend this course to anyone and everyone – if you think you can’t draw, you’ll be proved wrong and you’ll start to notice the world around you with fresh eyes.’  LA Feb 2025

 

Can I park nearby ?

A CPZ is in force from Mon to Sat 8.30 – 6.30pm
Limited paid spaces available in surrounding roads with Ring Go cashless Parking

Max stay 4 hours during operational hours

Holly Road Car park, behind Marks & Spencer TW1 4HF

Mon to Sat – 8am to 6.30pm.
This car park is accessible and free to park in outside of these hours. Max stay 4 hours during operational hours – walking to the Studio approx 9mins

Are your courses just for adults or do you offer any courses for children ?

At the moment the courses at Colne Road Studios are designed for adults over the age of 18 . The aim is to create a relaxed  environment, provide  a bit of an escape and switch off from every day responsibilites. We are not able to accommodate children in our classes, nor do we provide children’s classes at this time.

Enrolment deadline

To secure a course, please book at least 8 days before the listed course start date.

Any course with no bookings 8 days prior to it’s start date will then be removed from the website .

Courses with fewer than 3 participants may be cancelled, with 5 days’ notice given to those who had enrolled.

You will be notified by email if this happens, unless you would like us to text you  instead, but please let us know.
A refund for the full course value will then be made.
Please bare with us .    This might take 5-10 days to come through.

Where is my course taking place ?

100 Colne Road Twickenham TW2 6QE. map ref

WHAT3WORDS : location kind.cook.honest

What is your refund policy?

All of our longer courses are exchangeable up until 28 days prior to the start of the course. After this, you are able to change your booking to a different course for a £20 admin fee. Please note that from 14 days prior to the start of the course, your booking is non-refundable and non-exchangeable.

Our refund policy is strict because it enables us to pay ourselves and our tutors a fair wage, and remain accessible as a studio.
Every time we are asked to to accommodate a refund request, we would be forced to lower our staff wages or increase our prices – both of which we really want to avoid. We hope you understand that this is why there are no exemptions to our refund policies.

What if the course is cancelled by Colne Road Studios ?

Courses with fewer than 3 participants may be cancelled, with 5 days’ notice given to those who had enrolled.

You will be notified by email if this happens, unless you would like us to text you instead, but please let us know.
A refund for the full course value will then be made.
Please bare with us . This might take 5-10 days to come through.