Drawing with Jo: The Fundamentals

Have you ever looked at a blank piece of paper and felt a bit stuck? Or perhaps you have always wanted to pick up a pencil but felt that art was something for other people?

I have invited local artist and teacher Joanna Smith to join us for a brand new five part series designed specifically for the absolute beginner. This is not a high pressure art school. It is a safe, friendly, and completely non-judgmental space to learn the fundamental skills of drawing from the ground up. Whether you want to improve your photography sketches or just find a new way to relax and create, this is for you.

Joanna believes that drawing is more than just a skill. It is a way of engaging with the world and a habit of attention that helps us truly see what is in front of us.

About Joanna

We are very lucky to have Joanna leading this series. She is a practicing artist with a BA Hons in Fine Art, specialising in printmaking and etching. Beyond her own creative work, she is a wonderful teacher who spent over twenty years in senior leadership as a Head of Art and later as a Head of Faculty.

In those roles, she was responsible for everything from Photography and Textiles to Design Technology. This means she has spent decades helping people find their creative spark and guiding them through the drawing process from the ground up. She is the perfect friend to help our community bridge the gap between the camera and the sketchbook!

What You Will Learn

Each session we will build our confidence through practical exercises and warm ups to get us into the zone.

• Session 1: The Power of Line and Tone. We start with how to hold your pencil for different effects and how to create a tonal scale from the darkest darks to the brightest whites.

• Session 2: Making Objects Look 3D. You will learn the secret of blind drawing to help your brain trust your eyes. We will also explore how light and shadow turn a flat shape into a three dimensional cylinder.

• Session 3: Building Confidence. We will tackle the ellipse and use it to draw everyday objects like mugs or tape rolls.

• Session 4: Mark Making and Texture. This is where we learn how to look at a coloured object and understand which tones to use to represent it beautifully in black and white.

• Session 5: The Grand Finale. We bring everything together by drawing a real orange cut in half. We will explore line, shape, detail, and shadow to create a final piece we can be proud of.

Join Us Live or Watch Later

This series is designed to be incredibly accessible, no matter where you are in the world or what language you speak.

To ensure the best possible learning experience, we are using a multi-camera setup. This means you will be able to see exactly what Jo is doing from multiple angles, making it easy to follow her specific actions and approaches as she demonstrates each technique.

• Live Sessions: We meet on five Saturdays starting 28th March 2026 at 11:00 AM GMT / UTC +0. Translated closed captions are available during the live Zoom sessions.

• Catch-up: Recordings are uploaded to the website within 24 hours of each live session. These recordings can be exported with a variety of closed caption languages, just let us know what you need!

• 12 Months Access: You will have access to the recordings for a full 12 months, so you can watch and practice at your own pace.

• Community Sharing: You will be sent a link to a private sharing page where you can show what you have created during the series and enjoy the work of your fellow drawers!

From Mark

I have known Jo for several years and what I love most about her teaching style is her patience. She has a wonderful way of making the scary parts of art feel totally achievable. I will be sitting in on these sessions myself, probably with a blunt pencil and a lot of enthusiasm, so I hope you will join me!

What You Will Need

To keep things simple, you only need a few household items:

• An HB, B, or 2B drawing pencil and an eraser.

• Scrap paper for practice and a few sheets of cartridge paper, 140gsm is ideal.

• Simple objects like a mug, a shoe, a roll of tape and an orange.

• A lamp or a window to provide a nice directional light source.