Tag Archives: online

Online Creativity this Spring

Gallery 19th March 2021 Edinburgh Sketcher Leave a comment

As the lockdown continues and live workshops don’t look to be starting up again until May at the earliest, I now have two online workshops available to book.

In each one I am so glad to be working with fellow Edinburgh artists so you get two for the price of one!!

The image above is the North Bridge in Edinburgh using half of Julie Galante’s gorgeous mixed media painting and my sketch.

On Saturday 24th April mixed media artist Julie Galante and I will run a full day workshop featuring three live sessions which will guide you from simple line drawing to a finished mixed media piece. Also there is a materials kit you can order at the time of booking if you wish.

Then in May artist and teacher Cassandra Harrison will join me for three consecutive evening sessions where we will look at sketching and then using those drawings to create a collage piece.

Each session will be 75 minutes long starting at 7pm on the 4th, 11th and 18th May. Live workshops will return later in the year but in the mean time I am looking forward to these zoom session, connecting with artists online and creating new works together.

See my workshop page for more information and to book.

Workshops

Seeing the shapes when sketching

Gallery 18th November 2020 Edinburgh Sketcher Leave a comment

The latest Zoom workshop with Cassandra was all about looking for the shapes in buildings which can often help you sketch out a scene.

We used tracing paper and print outs from photographs I had taken in Leith. The idea was to highlight the shapes I see when looking at a scene and then use those shapes to draw your own version, block by block.

If was great fun and the 75minutes flew by, and we managed four quick drawings in that time. I love sketching with a fineliner brush as you can get both fine lines and thick brush strokes. I will add a link below to where you can get them.

Our next workshop is live on Zoom on Tuesday the 1st December, from 7pm and each ticket is £10 or £7.50 for concessions.

You can read more about what we will be doing, the materials you will need and how you can book a place by following the link below. I hope to see you there!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/urban-sketching-with-cassandra-and-mark-gas-lamps-with-andrew-kerr-tickets-121979876093

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My first online video workshop with is now available

29th September 2020 Edinburgh Sketcher Leave a comment

Cassandra, aka ‘Bookbinding with Cass’, and I usually teach together at the fabulous Arienas Collective but this is our first online offering and I am so excited to share this with you.

We have loads of online tutorials which will equip you with the skills to create a set of handmade sketchbooks and inspire you to start using them with a mix of fine liner and watercolour straight away!

During lockdown Cass and I have come to appreciate the everyday, particularly our beloved house plants and the nature on our doorstep. This series of pre-recorded video tutorials will encourage you to work with what’s around you and get creative in your own space, in your own time.

Cass will guide you on how to make a handy, refillable book case, ideal for sketching on the go, with the added benefit of being multi-use – the inserts are interchangeable so you can re-jig the inside depending on what you want to sketch on that day. There’ll also be chance to make a cut and fold concertina book and a series of stitched sketchbooks made up of different types of paper to add colour and texture to your sketching. Cass will also share a nifty technique for stitching single signature sketchbooks together once they have been filled – a great way to collate your work and keep it in one place!

I will join in throughout the bookmaking to share tips and ideas for adding a personal touch to your books and watercolour washes to your paper – a great way to take a way that blank page fear in preparation for sketching.

Once your books are complete I will then take you through a number of drawing exercises that will focus mainly on pot plants you have in and around your house, and the exterior of your home. This will involve working with an ink pen and watercolour set, exploring tone, light and shading to discover your own style and create sketches full of character.

Kits and links to our selection of online tutorials will be sent out on 5th October. All participants are invited to join a Zoom sharing event on Monday 26th October, 6-7.30pm, where you can ask questions, share your work and get hints and tips for your bookbinding & sketching practice.

Workshop costs £80 – £130 depending on whether you would like an accompanying materials/tool kit.

For more information and to book your place see this event listing on the Arienas Collective website.

Daily Sketch

Online workshop 2: Layering watercolours in Leith

11th August 2020 Edinburgh Sketcher Leave a comment

In the second of my collaborative workshops online I will be looking at drawing with layers of watercolours, taking inspiration from the industrial buildings of Leith.

Just a week to go before the second of our 75 minute Tuesday night workshops where we take a look at urban sketching and the various techniques you can use.

This time on Tuesday 18th at 7pm (UK time) we will be looking at layering watercolours to achieve atmosphere and depth in your sketches. This can be a quick way to capture a scene and with a combination of loose strokes and steady detail can achieve great effects.

We will also be extremely pleased to welcome comedian and Edinburgh Fringe regular Jo Caulfield joining us live and telling us a little about her favourite Leith buildings.

Tickets for this zoom event are £10 (£7 concessions) and can be booked via the link below. You will need 3 roughly A5 pieces of watercolour or thick paper and a watercolour set for this week’s class.

Book your place HERE

Daily Sketch

Online workshops in June

7th June 2020 Edinburgh Sketcher Leave a comment

This month I am joining Cassandra Harrison to bring you a three session workshop online. Whilst we may not be drawing outside as much as usual why not join us once a week for an hour of online creativity.

Cassandra Harrison is an artist and teacher who creates beautiful bright and colour street scenes. Together we will walk you through creating some art in your own home, learning a few tips which you can then, once allowed, take outdoors to capture the world around you.

You’ll learn drawing, painting and mixed media techniques and the first session starts on Monday 15th June when Cassandra will introduce you to Urban Sketching and line work. I will take the second session on June 22nd where we will look at perspectives and adding detail and watercolour to your drawings. Then during the final session on June 29th Cassandra will help bring all you have learned into a piece which also uses oil pastels to add another dimension.

This collaboration is sure to ignite creativity and experimentation in your art and is ideal for both professionals and absolute beginners. For me I find seeing how another artist works fascinating and trying new materials or a new way of using those materials can be very beneficial to my own process.

This is the first online workshop for me and I am so excited about it, and very thankful to Cassandra for sharing her workshop and I look forward to developing this partnership in the future, and sharing more of my process with you.

Find out more and book for either the whole session or a particular day via the link below, and I look forward to seeing you online!

Urban Sketching – Let’s Draw Some Awesome Cities

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Autumn sketching for #EdinHour on twitter

13th November 2014 Edinburgh Sketcher 35 Comments

Last night I took part in some live sketching online, for 60 minutes during #EdinHour on twitter I posted several photographs of my sketch as it came to life.

As the people at EdinHour explain; ‘#hours are mass chat sessions on twitter on a given subject, virtually always on a regular basis such as ‘the first Friday of each Month at 8pm’. They are operated through a specific hashtag ending in ‘hour’.’

So #EdinHour is all about Edinburgh and each month there is a different subject and list of questions to start the conversation off. Last nights was all about Autumn. I thought it would be fun to draw a sketch within the hour to show my process in stages which a viewer of the final piece would not usually see.

Thankfully I completed the drawing, although I could of done more to it, in the time and the experiment was a success. My final sketch of leaves which I drew from a photo I had taken this week in the Botanics is above. Photos from the different stages, including the initial photo are below.

I hope it gives you a little more insight into the sketching process. I also decided to give away the print to one lucky #EdinHour tweeter last night and that person is Jane Carnall @EyeEdinburgh