Join nine playful weeks of gestural figure drawing and painting from a live model. Explore movement, gesture, and expressive mark-making as you experiment with graphite, charcoal, ink, watercolour, gouache, and acrylic. Through quick poses, intuitive exercises, and layered studies, you’ll build confidence and develop bold, dynamic, and expressive responses to the human form.
Participants of all levels, from beginner to advanced, are welcome. However, some prior experience in figure drawing or painting would be beneficial to feel comfortable working from the human form.
This nine-week series of workshops offers an immersive exploration of gestural figure drawing and painting. Working each week from a live nude model, you’ll focus on capturing the energy, movement, and expressive qualities of the human form.
The sessions emphasise observing and expressing physical action, speed, and movement, prioritising process, energy, and spontaneity in mark-making. Rooted in observation, instinct, and the physicality of drawing, the workshops encourage expressive approaches using gesture, colour, distortion, and tonal contrast to convey emotion and rhythm.
You’ll begin with intuitive charcoal exercises, including blind and semi-blind contour drawing, alongside large-scale expressive studies. Through a combination of quick poses and varied techniques, you’ll develop fluidity, confidence, and a responsive approach to line and tone.
As the workshops progress, you’ll explore layering, sequential figure studies, and semi-abstract compositions, experimenting with rhythm, transparency, and abstraction. Media such as ink, watercolour, and acrylic will be introduced through a series of guided exercises, enabling you to develop new techniques and build confidence and practical skills in working with these materials. In particular, you’ll develop an understanding of ink and watercolour processes, using them to explore mark-making, fluidity, and tonal variation, and to cultivate your own visual language and personal expression of the figure. Alongside this, tonal approaches, including chiaroscuro and reductive methods, will support the development of depth, volume, and atmosphere.
A wide range of mark-making tools will be encouraged, with materials provided and the option to bring your own. You’ll also be invited to create tools from organic materials to further explore gesture and movement.
Work will be produced on a variety of papers and scales, (up to A1 size) offering space to experiment and develop expressive, dynamic responses to the figure.
Learning Methods
This workshops will be delivered on campus from 18:30 – 21:00 every Wednesday for 9 weeks.
Activity Summary
- Minimum of 8 students, maximum of 10 in the group
- 22.5 hours of teaching in total over 9 evenings, 18:30 – 21:00
Timetable
- Week 1: 16 September - first workshop
- Week 2: 23 September
- Week 3: 30 September
- Week 4: 7 October
- 14 October- no workshop due to public holiday
- 21 October- no workshop due to public holiday
- Week 5: 28 October
- Week 6: 4 November
- Week 7: 11 November.
- Week 8: 18 November
- Week 9: 25 November - last workshop
Independent Study
Students are encouraged to create and maintain a personal sketchbook which reflects their own creative practice involving the documentation of processes, inspirations, learnings and basic sketches.
Tools and Equipment
Core materials are provided during the workshops. Participants are encouraged to experiment with a variety of mark-making tools and to independently source organic materials to create their own tools, or to bring tools they have previously made.
Assessment
This workshop is not formally assessed.
Workshop facilitator
Catriona Platten is an alumna of Gray’s School of Art and has over 30 years of experience as a professional painter since earning her BA Hons in Drawing and Painting. Based in Scotland, she specialises in life drawing and teaches both life drawing and painting in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, where she has been active for 12 years. Platten regularly exhibits her work throughout the UK and is currently preparing for a solo exhibition.
The artist primarily focuses on figurative painting, exploring folklore and symbolism and often places figures within imaginary landscapes. Recently, Platten has been drawn to themes of solitude and isolation, using contrasts of light and dark to depict figures in empty spaces.
The artist is currently working on a body of work that explores the relationship between herself and her mother looking at the aging process of the physical and spiritual self.
Entry Requirements
There are no formal entry requirements for this workshop.
This workshop is suitable for participants of all levels, from beginner to advanced, are welcome. However, some prior experience in figure drawing or painting would be beneficial to feel comfortable working from the human form.
Required Age
All students are required to be at least 18 years of age at the commencement of the workshop.
For Academic Year 2026/2027
Course fee: £290 per person
The fee is to be paid as part of sign up process and prior to the first session.
After completing the registration form, you will be directed to the payment page. Your place on the course is not confirmed until payment has been received. If you have any difficulties locating the payment link or if you have registered for this course but have not completed the payment form, please contact us for a direct link to pay which will bypass registration.
Additional Costs
Essential core materials are provided.
The following course-related costs are not included in the course fees:
Workshop Cancellation & Changes
If minimum participant numbers for this 9-week workshop are not met, the workshop will be cancelled and participants will receive a full refund.
If you’ve signed up and paid for this workshop but need to cancel, please email us at engage@rgu.ac.uk at least 7 days before the first evening session begins.
If the named practitioner is unable to deliver the scheduled workshop, the session may be cancelled or delivered by an alternative facilitator.
Disclaimer
Fees are regularly reviewed and published for each series of workshops. Tuition fees are fixed for the duration of a workshop/course at the rate confirmed during the application process.
Any questions?
Get in touch with the Engage Team and we'll do our best to help.