Life Drawing with Rob Oldfield

Join us in our monthly life drawing class with Gallery favourite, experienced artist and tutor, Rob Oldfield.

This workshop is open to everyone, from newcomers who want to take up a hobby through to experienced artists looking to hone their sketching skills.

Materials including various papers, pencils, charcoal and drawing boards will be supplied, but please feel free to bring your own too.

Cyanotypes

Explore the beautiful photographic process of cyanotype to create your own cyan-blue prints.

You will learn how to produce a set of cyanotypes where thin objects or acetates are placed directly onto specially-coated paper and then exposed to UV light. When these objects are removed and the paper is washed with water a blue image remains. You will also learn how to use a variety of effects called toning, intensifying and reducing which alters the blue-ness of the prints.

Portraiture: Drawing & Monoprinting

Learn and develop your skills and confidence in using a range of media such as charcoal, pencil and graphite to create drawn portraits working from reference images.

You will then experiment with monoprinting using a technique in which the inked up plate is drawn into and partially wiped away, creating light and dark areas (chiaroscuro) before making prints of your portraits.

The workshop will be taught in a step by step way with tutor advice and guidance.

Procreate Basics for Portraiture

Explore the exciting possibilities of using Procreate software for iPad to create drawings and portraits.

This is an introductory session in which you will be guided through the basic use of tools and brushes on the software. With these skills you will then be able to create your own portrait.

Important: it is a requirement that participants will need to bring your own iPad on which you have downloaded the Procreate software. You will need an iPencil and have access to a portrait reference image to use as inspiration.

Textile Screen Printing

On this one-day textile screen printing workshop you will learn how to prepare imagery for screen printing, and how to coat and expose screens using the photo emulsion method.

You will explore colour using textile pigment inks and learn how to mix colours for screen printing. You will be encouraged to develop a range of surface pattern prints using layering techniques with a focus on colour, shape and pattern.

Woodcut Relief Printing

Spend a day learning how to use specialist woodcutting tools to carve your own design into high-quality plywood to print from. 

You’ll learn how to use oil based inks and use Leeds Print Workshop’s traditional relief printing presses, as well as other printing methods including hand burnishing. 

This is a great introduction to woodcut techniques.

Linocut Taster Session

Join us for a taster session exploring linocut relief printing techniques and print a range of your own greeting cards, or designs onto paper.

Your tutor will guide you through designing an image for linocut. You will be shown how to carve the lino block, apply the inks, and print it – both with our traditional Albion relief printing press, and burnishing by hand. You will be shown examples of lino prints and advice on the kind of designs that work best.

Paper Screen Printing – Two Day Course

The course will teach you the fundamentals of screen printing onto paper, introduce you to the equipment and develop your confidence as an independent screen printer. 

You will learn how to register and layer your designs, and print with multiple colours. By the end of the course, you will be able to use various stencil making techniques and understand their effects. You will gain an understanding of the photo stencil emulsion technique and will learn how to coat and expose screens.

Maqam-based music and rhythm workshop with Abderraouf Ouertani

Join us for a workshop during which participants will be introduced to some staple rhythms and modes of maqam-based music. We will use our hands and voices to explore key rhythms and scales that underpin repertoires common across the Arab and Turkish worlds. By the end we will be bringing all of the elements together in a song!

No materials or previous experience of maqam-based music will be necessary – we will be using our hands, feet and voices! Instruments are welcome for those who would like to follow the workshop on their instruments.

All welcome, family friendly.

Gelli Printing Taster Session

Printing from gelatine plates is a type of monoprinting which is instant and effective without the need for a press. 

Using water based inks you will explore a range of different effects from bold colourful textures to more subtle colours and patterns. You will be encouraged to overprint layers and build up interesting compositions.

Gelatine plates are easy to make and print from at home and you will also be given instructions on how to make the plates so you can carry on using the skills you’ve learned.