Enhance and cultivate your drawing skills, mark-making techniques, and approaches to capture the unique shapes and perspectives of the boats in St Ives harbour.

Working both outside in St Ives and in the studio, this one-day course will focus on how looking at the construction and proportion of boats can inform our drawings and help us tell the stories of their journeys at sea.

Experiment with making marks using pencils and coloured pencils, focusing on line, tone, and texture, learn how the boats’ unique characteristics are defined by the rigging, ropes, buoys and lettering. The colourful layers of paint often peeling and sea worn, tell stories of their journeys in deep sea.

This course will be of interest to anyone who would like to explore new ways of visual expression responding to the unique boats that sit in St Ives Harbour. We will also look into how St Ives artists such as Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood and Alfred Wallis have drawn boats in the past and explore their stories.

Come away from the workshop with a sketchbook/journal of drawings, and finish the day with collaborative drawing on the sand at low tide. We hope to work in the harbour for the majority of the day – tide, time and weather permitting!

The Big Draw Festival is a worldwide celebration of drawing, with events run by organisations big and small across all different sectors bringing people together through the power of creativity. 

What to Bring

All materials are provided. As we endeavour to work outdoors for some of the duration of the workshop, please wear sensible shoes and bring a coat or sunhat as appropriate.

Timings and Breaks

The workshop will run from 10am until 4.30pm. Please arrive 10-15 minutes before the start time so you can check in at reception and get settled in. We will serve tea and coffee at break times during the workshop.