Release Your Inner Artist

Starting a new evening class can be exciting but daunting, especially if your motivation for taking them is to have the chance to meet new people and learn in a social environment. Perhaps wriggling into the colourful dress and heels or stiff smart shoes that have been loitering in your wardrobe for years and throwing yourself into dance classes isn’t your cup of tea, in which case a more sedate and less potentially embarrassing pastime might be to embark on a course of art classes in London, home of the Tate Gallery and National Gallery.

Art classes give you the chance to meet likeminded creative and inspired people in a calm and easy going environment. Your first attempts at portraying a fruit bowl on canvas might not be worthy of a young Da Vinci, but you’ll be surprised at how successful a conversation starter your ‘masterpiece’ can be! Most institutions offering art classes have a range of creative outlets for you to explore, including working with clay, portrait classes, basic drawing and working with glass to mention just a few. That means that if your first pottery class leaves you caked head to toe in clay with only a few cracked and unrecognisable vases to show for your efforts, there are plenty of other courses to try your hand at.

Life drawing is always a popular subject choice for classes, for reasons that probably don’t need explaining. Before you sign up amidst the sounds of girly giggles, let me warn you that models aren’t always young twenty-something’s in the prime of life. Despite that, the human form is one of the most fascinating and rewarding subjects to draw. Once you overcome your initial giddy enthusiasm – which will happen, however unlikely you think it is that you’ll get used to objectively staring intently at another person’s naked body – you’ll find that there’s nothing quite like drawing the texture of skin and for the sake of your art: the more wrinkles or folds of fat, the better!

Art classes also have the advantage of being very beginner-friendly, because you won’t ever hold back the rest of the class if you don’t pick things up as quickly as your fellow students. If you’re enthusiastic about learning and you’re enjoying yourself, a good art teacher will give you as much help as you want, even if your dogs look like sheep and your portraits all seem to be of Mr Potato Head.

Finding the right art course for you depends on whether you want a class that places the emphasis on improving your art or providing a relaxed social environment. Most art classes exist to help you enjoy yourself while you create, but some can give you certificates and will push you that little harder to succeed. The Art Academy offers painting, glass and sculpture classes among others, in a range of formats from weekend, weekday or evening classes in Southwark, central London. These can be from a light couple of hours to an intense 7 hour introduction, so you can structure your learning around you lifestyle. The Art Academy’s certificate courses allow potential artists to work alongside diploma students for one day a week for two years – ideal as a part time course to gain a qualification in art.

Alternatively, there are many privately run art classes by individuals which will probably be located closer to you and offer a relaxed learning environment for a cheaper price. It’s common for professional artists to organize art classes in their field of expertise from their own homes, and choosing the right tutor for you is usually a case of finding an artist whose work you like. Martin Close is an example of an artist who splits his time between teaching and working, and rest assured that he is no amateur – his recently commissioned portrait of Boris Johnson is proof of that! Private art classes are advertised online in art class directories or in local publications or newsletters and can sometimes be arranged as a one-on-one arrangement.

Whether you’re a beginner or a budding professional, if the thought of those school art lessons bring back fond memories, art classes could be a brilliant motivational endeavour to bring you a sense of achievement and satisfaction.

The Art Academy is based in Southwark, 5 minutes from London Bridge tube. For more information, visit: http://www.artacademy.org.uk.

Martin Close runs his classes from Henley on Thames and more examples of work can be found on his site: http://www.martinclose.com.

Sam is a freelance article writer who lives and works in the UK and specialises in creative writing and fiction.