Workshops

I’ve left this page up for now just to remind myself how things used to be.

Spring 2020 course and workshops

Update (6th August)

I won’t be resuming workshops in until next summer at the earliest.

Update (14th March)

I have postponed all workshops until September at the earliest depending on how the coronavirus epidemic progresses.

Update (8th March)

The Plant Life Painting Course is oversubscribed and I may run this again in the Autumn.

There are 3 places available on the Rite of Spring Figure Drawing workshop -contact me to enquire or book – 017687 75022 or info@davidmillerkeswick.com

The Experiments in Drawing the Clothed Figure is booked through The Makers’ Mill. There is some information on The Makers’ Mill website and probably a lot more on my website on this page as I work out the details of the workshop.

At the moment there is a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen over the few weeks and months with Coronavirus. It may become prudent or necessary to postpone these events. For “The Rite of Spring” workshop you pay on the day and you can’t just turn up on the day without pre-booking. I trust people to turn up if they have pre-booked or give me at least a week’s notice. If this workshop has to be postponed anyone who signed up will have priority booking when it does run.

You can download any of the images below.

Rite of Spring – figure drawing workshop 7th April

More details:

You can do your own thing entirely in this workshop or you can follow my guidance and advice from beginning to end – or you can do a bit of pick and mix.

The workshop is aimed at people with some experience of sketching and drawing but the essential ingredient is a willingness to give yourself to the task and let it possess you.

You can bring what media you like, but if it is messy (oils, acrylic, soft pastel) please make sure you bring something to fully protect the floor where you are working.

Because most poses are short I recommend you use a monochrome medium or a very limited range of colours.

Carlie-Rose Laverack will be our model for this workshop. She will be wearing a costume based on the original designs for the first performance of Stravinsky’s ballet “The Rite of Spring” in 1913. Here is the current plan for the poses:

Pose length is shown above each image. The times shown below images are approximate run-time markers for a performance available on YouTube here. Please watch this video beginning 24 minutes in to appreciate the inspiration for this workshop.

All of the poses are dramatic and full of narrative potential, some are difficult to hold for than a few minutes but she will return to the short poses.

The workshop will provide plenty of inspiration and opportunity for quick expressive sketching as well as longer studies.

I aim to start promptly at 9:30 with one short break for free refreshments and finish at 1pm. I have booked the room until 2pm and Carlie-Rose and I are willing to go on until 1:30 for those that wish.

Here are some interesting sketches by Valentine Gross. There are some more in the V&A Collection.

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“Experiments in Drawing the Clothed Figure.”

Saturday 16th May I am running a full-day workshop for Luke Harding and Sophie Wilson at The Makers’ Mill studios. I’ll be surprised if you don’t find the setting and the model inspiring. There are details on the “workshops” pages of The Makers’ Mill website. I’ll be posting more info on my page here shortly (written 4th March 2020).

Carlie-Rose Laverack will be the model and we a planning on having three costumes.

I’d like to introduce a reference to the Wordsworths, Coleridge and Southey.

The model will be posing in front of these big windows overlooking the park:

Two things to note about this photo – 1:the brilliant table won’t be there for the workshop and the river Greta is about 15 feet immediately below those windows!