Back to All Events

Drawing and mindfulness: into abstraction


  • City Lit, Holborn, London (map)

4-WEEK ONLINE COURSE

Explore how mindfulness can enrich the process of drawing, as we encounter a range of approaches to making abstract drawings, with reference to artist’s work. This course offers a great introduction to mindful drawing or ways to explore it more deeply. A practical drawing course exploring the visual language of abstraction, with reference to colour, composition, tone and layering.

Dates: 4/6/26 - 25/6/26
Day:
Thursday 6-9pm

What is the course about?

  • Learning how mindfulness can stimulate, support and enhance your creativity

  • Exploring different pathways into making abstract drawings

  • Providing a stimulating atmosphere for personal discovery

  • Encouraging an imaginative, sensitive and individual handling of drawing materials

  • Becoming familiar with visual language by looking at a variety of artists' work

What will we cover?

  • Mindfulness skills and practices to inspire new directions and help you to draw with more confidence and enjoyment (less ‘inner critic’!)

  • A range of methods for arriving at abstraction e.g. starting from observation, sensory perception, chance, conceptual systems and the imagination.

  • Ideas and practices re: visual language in drawing: colour, composition, tone and layering

  • Discover a range of artists drawings to inspire your work

  • Key ideas on how mindfulness works, with reference to scientific theory 

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

  • Apply a range of mindfulness skills in drawing to ignite your creativity and inspiration

  • Identify materials and subject matter that inspire you

  • Select the pictorial and material means with which to express a range of ideas, sensations and emotions

  • Become increasingly confident with your use of materials, colour and composition

  • Practice mindfulness to help you identify creative blocks and let go of them

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This is a course for anyone with an open mind and/or some basic drawing or painting skills.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

You will be guided through several processes to produce abstract drawings referring to specific artists or genres. Experimentation will be encouraged.

There will be guided mindfulness practices, demonstration of drawing methods, practical projects, individual guidance and encouragement, group discussion and examination of artists' work.

Materials you will need:

Pencil, graphite sticks, water-soluble graphite, willow charcoal, coloured pastels, eraser, pencil sharpener, a small range of coloured inks, brushes, 30 sheets cartridge paper e.g. A2 or A3, plus any other drawing materials you’d like to use.