Drawing from Music

This drawing course will use pen, ink and various water-based media techniques and mark-making to focus on a narrative inspired by music.

Drawing from Imagination

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Course details

Dates

19 September – 17 October 2025

Times

10:00 – 17:00

Duration

5 sessions

Fees

£287.00 Concessions available

Location

Online

Tutors

Iona Roberts

Overview

Responding to music deepens the drawing language and enriches our mark-making. Short pieces of narrative orchestral music - tone poems - will be integral to the course; they are excellent for emphasising the connection between sound, rhythm and textures for varied pen and ink mark-making. Tapping into the narrative of a piece of music each week as a starting point with visual prompts, students can research and delve into their inner world and articulate marks and images of their own; compiling imagery together to narrate an atmospheric story.

We will listen to composers such as Felix Mendelssohn, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Franz Schubert, Jean Sibelius, Anatoly Lyadov, Modest Mussorgsky and Edvard Greig, and explore artists and composers who have explored the crossover of art and music such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and John Cage.

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

Iona Roberts

Tutor, Drawing Year Alumni, 2016