Hosted by Jack Wilfred Grieve. (@creamylines) together we embrace our silliness and encourage the weird, forget the rules, we draw each other FAST with a careless abandon. THE ENERGY IS THE PATTERN, THE SPEED IS THE SILLINESS. unexpected marks are what makes your drawing unique, charming and interesting.

As part of the Backhand #4 ’cracking’ exhibition, this upcoming Easter Sunday join artist and illustrator Jack Wilfred Grieve for a 90 minute deep dive into the art of the silly portrait. Jack has been honing his skills on the streets of Bristol practicing quick fire, joyful caricatures now it’s time to pass on the secret sauce.

This isn’t your typical life drawing class. There are no mistakes here only happy unexpected accidents and ridiculous results. We will be using soft pastels to capture quick colour and energy rather than accuracy. the faster you draw the sillier it gets and the more we lock into our creative flow. We learn how to lean into our pure creative expression and recognise what we get ‘wrong’ is what makes our work interesting.
REMEMBER: we are not trying to enhance or ridicule people’s features we are creating Ernest poetic distortions through genuine fast drawings. Art is non hierarchical, no one is better or worse we are all just expressing ourselves and enjoying the creative act. only YOU can create YOUR art.

How it works:
The set up is two lines of chairs face-to-face. We will have a short introduction, a drawing warm up, then we all have five minutes to capture each subject sat in front of you before the whistle blows and we all rotate subjects.
By the end of the session. You would’ve drawn everyone in the group and you will walk away with nine ridiculous representations of yourself created by your fellow participants.

This is a 1.5 hour session with a cost sliding scale starting at £5 if you’re feeling generous, extra donations help us grow this project inspire more people to embrace their creative spark.

Limited capacity up to 10 spots maximum so it first come first serve; all ages and abilities welcome.

MATERIALS PROVIDED: clipboards, soft pastels, charcoal and paper, but feel free to bring your own favourites along too if you feel so inclined.

Parents and guardians of under 18s only need to buy a ticket for the participant, you can come and hang out and enjoy the exhibition for free.

housekeeping: The venue is fully wheelchair accessible.
A donation bar and toilets are available on site.
bicycle locking is available right outside the venue.
Jack is up to date with a fully enhanced DBS check.
We will take photographic documentation and videos for future workshop promo; If you would like to opt out of this, just let Jack know at the start.

Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio) — Read more — Read less