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Battersea Business Centre

Anyone can learn to draw, if you can write your name you can learn to draw! Using techniques perfected over hundreds of years you will be shown how to develop your drawing skills into accurate and realistic works of art.

You will be shown the difference between line and tonal drawing and how to use both in order to create a convincing realistic drawing, also how to  avoid the common pitfalls beginners often find themselves in. 

At no stage will you be left wondering where to go next as each stage develops on top of the last, starting with simple objects gradually progressing in complexity. You  will be given the tools in which to work out any problems you may have under guidance of a classical trained artist and teacher.

If you are looking to develop your portfolio for school, college, university or simply wishing to learn more about the craft of drawing and painting, you will receive personalised tuition in a studio purposely designed for the craft of drawing. 

In this easy going environment, you will be taken through the fundamentals of seeing visually and how to start a drawing and develop it into a successful piece!

Introduction to the Fundamentals of Learning to Draw

Awesome teacher, really chill; incredibly talented guy. Great session. Wholeheartedly recommend.

Natali

I really enjoyed this lesson. Chris is a very patient and talented teacher. The 3 hours session took place in his personal studio where you can see some of his great work. I would recommend him to anyone wanting to learn the fundamentals of drawing.

Fundamentals of Learning to Draw

Sophie RP

Christopher is such a lovely teacher, and makes you consider the dimensions in a very real and applicable way. He really help me to improve my drawing skills and I would highly recommend him as a tutor. 

Joan Bowen

Interesting class with a clearly, very talented artist.
Start of session had a lot of structure and patience - however have a feeling either my ineptitude or lack of speed led to less coaching and more show/tell as we neared the end of the session.  Was great to watch how talented Chris is for the last 30 minutes however the contrast left me somewhat  deflated as we didn’t get near to trying the tonal drawing he beautifully demonstrated.  One better suited to people with some level of artistry and skill but at least I know  I am definitely sub-fundamentals for future reference! 

Tazzy Sinclair

I love the techniques that he teaches in this class.  I really enjoyed practising them and applying them to different objects. It’s been very easy to do and has drawing in proportion a lot easier which has always been a problem for me. The class was great and Chris is very patient.

Julija Weir

Christopher was a really pleasant tutor. He created a relaxed environment and spent time to explain the background to the technique, showed practical application and allowed us to put it in practice at our own speed.
As someone with no artistic ability, I thought he created a lesson that was very enjoyable, understandable and fun. I would highly recommend him.

Anyone can learn the ability to see visually giving you the tools to draw anything!

Do you wish you could draw but have never found the time? Or find the idea of learning to draw daunting? Do you often start a drawing but find yourself stuck or confused about how to proceed? This course will give you the confidence to start drawing or to improve. Using easy to follow, step by step tuition it will demystify and encourage, enabling students to follow a clear pathway to successful representational drawing by breaking each stage down into manageable units. 

For almost a decade I have taught students of all ages, from beginners to professional artists, guiding them to a point where they have confidence in their ability and no task is overwhelming. 

Each week I will guide you through a live drawing demonstration  which will be broken down into manageable areas of focus, with regular intervals to give you the time to digest the information and ask any questions. Following the lesson you will be provided with the video file of the lesson to re-use as a reference as well as a written step by step PDF guide to follow.

Drawing can be broken down into 4 key elements; proportion, shapes, edges and values with each stage being built on top of the other, each element giving a stable base for the next like a pyramid. Often students will spend too much time on small details at the top of the pyramid (edges and values) and hope that the ‘boring’ elements’ like proportion and shapes will magicly sort themselves out, but as with real life pyramids without stable foundations it doesn’t matter how nicely the walls are painted, the house (or pyramid) comes tumbling down! I will teach you these important foundations as well as the smaller details using very simple techniques in a clear and easy to follow way - never again will you be left with a nose that is too long, or legs that are too short!

All you will need to participate and succeed in becoming a better artist are your eyes, an open mind and enthusiasm.


Introduction to drawing

Christopher did an excellent job of explaining and demonstrating the fundamental methods and techniques of drawing which even a couple of total beginners like us, with the experience and aptitude of a pair of below average six year olds (with all due respect to six year olds everywhere) were able to follow. We're looking forward to practicing what we learned in this highly recommended class.

Learn the fundamentals of representational drawing in no time using carefully designed exercises with easy to follow, step by step instructions in one on one le

Learn the time tested and proven approach to successfully drawing portraits using a clear systematic approach along with detailed examples of how to simplify complex information like proportion, anatomy and construction of the head.
This course covers all the essential elements needed to get you confident in drawing the portrait, all aspects of portrait drawing will be covered from how to begin a portrait to a fully rendered drawing. This course will teach you about the “visual abstraction” a method of drawing which has its roots in the ateliers of the 18th-19th century art schools where students were taught the importance of proportion, shapes, edges and values. Bringing together almost 300 years of traditional art training and combining them with modern learning methods that help engage and inspire students and foster new figurative artists.
You will be given 1:1 feedback on your work both in classtime and through work submitted to Google classroom. Livley group discussion will be encouraged, enabling you to learn from your peers.


Step by Step: How to draw the portrait

Mixing time tested and proven methods with modern techniques to help the student develop successful portraits, by using a clear systematic approach

Chris originally studied at Falmouth University of the Arts before becoming frustrated with the lack of proper drawing and painting tuition offered. After leaving university he started  studying at London Fine Art Studios in 2012 (formerly Lavender Hill Studios) for 3 years before being asked to teach at london Fine Art Studios in 2015.  The studios taught Chris the traditional craft of drawing and painting which  gives the students the tools to draw and paint anything using the method of the visual abstraction. This method breaks down what we see into simple elements of shapes values and edges, with these tools Chris went onto win various awards. These include  winning runner up young artist award and the John Purcell paper award at the Pastel Society, exhibiting there in both 2013 and 2015. He also competed in the  Sky arts portrait  artist of the year 2014 and recently asked to exhibit in the Federation of British Artists, Futures exhibition in 2016 winning the Jacksons One To Watch prize.

As well as teaching the craft of drawing and painting Chris also runs a print making workshop, teaching the traditional skill of intaglio and relief printmaking. Printmaking is a great way to explore the myriad of ways to create marks  on paper and can be as expressive or as refined as one would like, there are endless ways to experiment.

Christopher A E Gray Fine Art

Our classes

Our classes

Our classes