Drawing as Diary

It’s easy to overlook the wonder and magic of daily life, but stopping to record helps to make sense of our experiences and provides a rich resource for drawings.

Drawing from Imagination

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Course details

Dates

20 October – 17 November 2025

Times

10:00 – 17:00

Duration

5 sessions

Fees

£287.00 Concessions available

Location

Online

Tutors

Pia Bramley

Overview

Throughout this playful course we’ll use our pencils (and pens and brushes) to capture dramatic or mundane moments in our lives, allowing the process of drawing to lead us on a satisfying mental journey. We’ll dig into the archives of artists who use drawing as a form of journal; recorded so that we may have the artists' ideas and opinions transmitted vividly to us today.

Photographs, places and objects will become portals to our former selves, a time travelling vehicle to explore memories and excavate something new and surprising from our histories. Together we'll work through structured activities to generate ideas and make lots of fast-paced drawings, balanced with time to expand ideas and develop drawings at a slower pace. Use of simple materials and a broad range of practical approaches will help us to stitch drawing into the fabric of daily life.

Please note this course has an emphasis on the use of imagination and memory which can at times elicit difficult feelings for some.

Who is it for

Artists, creatives and image-makers of all levels welcome, including beginners.

What’s provided

For our online courses, you will receive prior to the start of the course access to our Padlet Noticeboard where you will be given course details, material lists and some references, as well as our Padlet Gallery where you will be able to upload and comment on work created during the course.

What to bring

For our online courses, you must provide your own materials. Feel free to use any that you would like to during classes, however other suggestions may be posted on the Padlet noticeboard throughout the course by tutors. This is a suggested list of what may be needed:

Drawing Pencils
Conté Crayons
Pastels
Ink Pens
Coloured Pencils
Putty and Hard Erasers
Pencil Sharpener
Sketchbook

Concessions

We offer a range of discounts. To apply, email admin@royaldrawingschool.org with the required proof. Please wait for confirmation before booking.

Available discounts

NHS Staff: 20%
Send a photo of your NHS staff badge.
Full-time Fine Art BA Students: 75%
Students on design or applied arts degrees may also be eligible. Send your student ID and proof of enrolment.
Primary and Secondary Art Teachers: 50%
Send a letter from your headteacher or head of art department.
Jobseekers: 50%
Send a recent DWP or JobCentre Plus letter confirming you receive Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit (if out of work). Appointment booklets are not accepted.
Disability Benefit Recipients: 50%
Send proof that you currently receive this allowance.
Tower Hamlets and Hackney Residents: 25% (Shoreditch courses only)
Send a copy of your most recent council tax bill.
Tower Hamlets and Hackney Businesses: 25% (Shoreditch courses only)
Send a staff ID, business card or a letter from your line manager.
Over 60s: 10%
Send a photo ID as proof of age.
Alumni: Postgraduate Programme or Foundation Year: 50% off short courses
Online Drawing Development Year: 50% off online short courses

Before you apply

Documents must be dated within the last 6 months (or 12 months for council tax)
Your name must be clearly visible
Accepted file formats: PDF, JPG, DOC or DOCX

All our courses are subsidised.

Tutors

Pia Bramley

Tutor, Drawing Year Alumni, 2014