Saturday 8 June 2024

10am - 12.30pm and 2 - 4.30pm

Life drawing has always played an important role in traditional training for Western artists; helping them understand the shape and movement of the human body and practicing observational skills and drawing techniques. Join artist Rachel Mercer, who specialises in introducing life drawing to younger audiences, for a life drawing workshop.

In this class students will gain skills in sustained observational drawing from the nude model. Beginners in life drawing will be introduced to techniques to improve fluency, developing hand-eye coordination and speed. The class will focus on layering and reworking drawings to challenge accuracy while also considering tone. Students will be shown examples of life drawings from old and contemporary artists which will help inform their own approach to drawing.

This course is designed in mind of beginners and those making portfolios for applications to art and design courses. Many universities specially ask for examples of observational drawings.

In the 10am workshop the model will be partially nude. In the 2pm workshop the model will be fully nude.

About the artist

Born in Cambridgeshire, Rachel Mercer studied at Cardiff School of Art and Design graduating in 2012 before being awarded the postgraduate programme at The Royal Drawing School. Since 2014 she has been a painter working in London. She has exhibited in the UK and China. Stand-out exhibitions include: Christie's London, 2013: Mercer Chance Gallery and Mandell's Gallery 2018: San Mei Gallery 2019: Fitzrovia Gallery 2022 and Aleph Contemporary 2023. Shortlisted for the Ruth Borchard Prize and Waverton Art prize (2020): Prize winner of the Hampstead Art Society Prize, 2022. Selected for the NEAC and Hampstead Art Society Summer Exhibition 2023. She had work purchased for the Royal Collection by HM Charles III.

People and places are a recurring theme in Mercer’s paintings. At the centre of her approach is an interest in human interaction and the importance of the observed world. There is a sense of movement, fluidity, and haptic beauty in the way the figures in her work move and dissolve across the canvas. At times the subject fades into the sensuality of the medium simultaneously creating a sense of disappearance and presence.

Alongside her own artistic practice Rachel has been an educator since 2013. She teaches drawing and painting to young people and adults specialising in life drawing tuition for teenagers. In her work with various schools across London and for the Young Artists Programme at the Royal Drawing School she has introduced hundreds of students to drawing from the model, helping them to gain skills and confidence in drawing.

Rachel lives and works in London, UK. Take a look at her Instagram.