Charcoal Flowers with Joanna Smith

Most drawing starts with white paper and adds dark marks. This works the other way round.

You cover the paper in charcoal first. Then you lift the light out with an eraser, and only at the end do you put the deepest darks back in. It is called reduction drawing, and if you are a photographer you already understand it. Lifting charcoal is dodging. Adding charcoal is burning. You are working with light and shade from the very first minute, rather than worrying about outlines.

Jo Smith will take you through the whole thing live, from a blank sheet to a finished flower. She starts by explaining everything you need and why, then works steadily through each stage at a pace you can follow at home, with your own paper and charcoal in front of you.

Jo works from Kathleen Clemons' flower photographs, used with Kathleen's kind permission. Kathleen is one of the presenters our community asks for by name, and drawing from her pictures is a lovely way to look at them more closely than you ever would with a camera in your hand.

Not drawn since school? This is for you

A lot of us were told at school that we could not draw, and it stuck. This session is built for exactly those people.

Charcoal reduction is one of the kindest places to start. You are not trying to draw a perfect line. You are making shapes of light and dark, and the flower appears much sooner than you expect. Nothing is permanent either. If something goes wrong, you lift it out and try again.

When Jo taught her drawing series with us earlier this year, the chat said it better than I can:

• "It frightens me, which is why I am here this morning!" Colin

• "This was great thank you... lots of practise needed but I am really enjoying the focus." Mo

• "Thank you so much Jo! That was so good." Diane

• "I am loving this." Celia

What Jo will cover

• The materials, explained. Which charcoal, which paper and which erasers, what each one does, and what you can manage without.

• Laying the toned ground. Covering the paper and rubbing it to an even grey, the foundation for everything else.

• Getting the proportions right. A simple way to place your flower using quarters, with no grid lines to erase later.

• Lifting the light. Using a putty eraser to pull the lights out of the grey. This is the heart of the method.

• Building the darks. Where to put them, and why they make your lights look brighter.

• Backgrounds, edges and finishing. Pushing the flower forward, softening where it should be soft, and the few crisp highlights that bring it to life.

What you will need

Nothing expensive, and you may have some of it already. Have these ready if you would like to draw along:

• Drawing paper with a little texture, roughly A4. Off-white or cream is ideal.

• Willow or vine charcoal sticks

• A charcoal pencil

• A putty eraser, sometimes called a kneadable eraser

• Tissues or kitchen roll

• A print of the photograph, which we will send you before the session

Useful but not essential: an eraser pen for fine highlights, and a sheet of scrap paper to rest your hand on.

Everything is available from art shops, Hobbycraft, Cass Art, Jackson's, and Blick in the US. If you would rather just watch the first time, that is fine too.

About Jo

Jo Smith is an artist and an experienced art teacher, with more than twenty years spent leading art departments. She specialises in making the creative process feel achievable for everyone, including people who are sure they cannot draw.

Tickets

Three options. Each one includes everything in the one before it, so please choose the single option you want rather than adding them together.

£6, the live session and the recording.

Draw along with Jo live on Saturday 14 November and ask your questions as you go. The recording will be on the website within 24 hours, and you have it for one month.

£12, and Jo's step-by-step guide to keep.

Everything in the £6 ticket, plus a detailed, illustrated guide to the whole drawing, written to print out and keep beside you while you work. Inside:

• Every stage photographed, from the blank sheet to the finished flower, so you can see exactly what your drawing should look like at each point.

• Ten numbered steps, each with what to do, why it matters, and the one thing that most often goes wrong at that stage.

• A full materials list, with what to look for when you buy, and where to buy it in the UK and abroad.

• A troubleshooting page. What to do when the eraser will not lift, the lights look chalky, or the drawing looks flat and grey.

• Keeping your drawing safe. How to use fixative properly, and how to frame charcoal so it does not smudge against the glass.

• Choosing your next photograph, so you can carry on with your own pictures.

• A one-page summary

The recording shows you how. The guide is what you will reach for the second and third time you draw, when Jo is not there to ask. It comes to you [within a week] after the session, and unlike the recording it does not expire. It is yours.

£18, the guide and a full year to watch.

Everything above, with twelve months of access to the recording instead of one month.

Why a year? You might draw along once, then want to watch a stage again when you try a second flower on your own. A month goes quickly. With the £18 ticket, Jo is still there whenever you sit down to draw!

The recording is watched here on our website. There is no download, and access is for the person who bought the ticket. If you cannot make it live, you can still book and watch it afterwards.