Drawing: Observation & Imagination

This intensively structured course will open students to the possibilities of drawing from observation and imagination, true to each individual’s own experience of being in the world.

Drawing from Imagination

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Drawing: Observation & Imagination Image

Course details

Dates

18 September – 20 November 2025

Times

10:00 – 17:00

Duration

10 sessions

Fees

£478.00 Concessions available

Location

Online

Tutors

Leon Pozniakow

Katy Papineau

Overview

Students will draw from a number of observational sources in their homes, alongside learning how to source imagery ‘without looking’, but from their interior selves, building a solid group of drawings to provide a personal image bank. This image bank will form the foundation of idea generation, into which students will be guided through playful exercises. They will learn how to access that key moment of transformation, where the reliance on the primary source to make a drawing is superseded by an ability to take inspiration from it.

Each week will focus on aspects of composition, narrative, colour, emotion, editing and mark-making, always investigating how these more formal concerns contribute to the imaginative strength of an image. The final achievement of the course will be a complete work, or number of works, drawn from the realm of the imagination.

Who is it for

Beginners welcome. No experience of drawing required.

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

Leon Pozniakow

Tutor, Drawing Year Alumni, 2013

Katy Papineau

Tutor, Drawing Year Alumni, 2019