Friday Sketchbook Sessions

Learn tips and tricks to fuel your passion for sketching and to
Help keep a sketchbook as part of your creative life.

In
A relaxed and supportive environment, you'll learn interesting ways to fill a
Sketchbook whilst honing your sketching skills and embracing the creative
journey. Come join us in The Friday Sketchbook Sessions and let’s nurture a
Creative sketchbook habit together...

This
Eight-week course is suitable for anyone new to sketching, but also for those
Students looking to reignite their passion for sketchbook drawing, or simply
For anyone wanting to explore the creative power that working in a sketchbook
offers. Previous participants will be encouraged to expand their sketching
Practice with a series of weekly projects designed to enhance creativity and
Drawing skills, with guidance from the tutor.

With
20 hours of studio contact time across the weeks, we will be using such
Things as the built environment, elements of nature, and a menagerie of
still-life objects as our reference. As well as doing plenty of sketching
There will be many playful sketching exercises to enhance both your skill-set
and enjoyment of this fabulously creative pastime. Mainly project led, we’ll
Think about layout and consider different compositions on each page to
enhance your sense of design. We’ll also look at ways to distort the
perspective of a scene so we can depict it in new and exciting ways. There
will also be an opportunity to spend time in the Attenborough Arts Centre
Gallery spaces, where we'll perhaps be inspired to fill a sketchbook page or
Two.

Amongst
Many other things we'll show you how to make a start in a sketchbook, how to
lose the fear of the blank page, and how to see things differently. A
Sketchbook is not only a portable place to store your work, but a place that
Can hold your creative endeavours, your learnings, your thoughts and your
growth... as well as your finished drawings. It’s a place for fun and a place
Where rules Don't matter.

About the tutor:

Working
in a sketchbook is fundamental to tutor Austin Orwin’s artistic practice. It offers him a space to experiment
And grow, a space to work out ideas, and a space to document his day to day
thoughts and existence. His enjoyment grows with every sketch he makes, and
he almost never leaves home without a sketchbook in one of his pockets. See
more of Austin’s sketch work on Instagram @theleicestersketcher

Further information:

Sketchbook
And all drawing materials are included in the course fee.

Participants
Must be aged 18+.

This 8-week course runs on Friday mornings, 10am - 12:30pm
starting on 4 September and ending on 30 October 2026.

Please note: No session on Friday 25 September
2026.

This
course also runs on Thursday afternoons - see Thursday Sketchbook Sessions.
Please ensure you book the day that suits you best!

If the course/workshop
You'd like to book is sold out, we do operate a waiting list - simply contact
our box office team on / and ask to be added to the waiting list. We’ll then
Contact you if a place becomes available, with absolutely no obligation to
Accept it if you've made other plans!

Please
ensure that you read and agree to our updated Terms & Conditions before
Booking as courses/workshops are non-refundable if cancelled within 21 days
Of the start date for any reason.

We aim to make all our
sessions as accessible as possible and carers/PAs are very welcome - just
remember to book their free place when you book your session. If you'd like
To talk to us in advance of booking or attending your sessions to discuss
your access needs, our Box Office team is here to help! Email
Arts-centre@le.Ac.UK, pop in or call, open 7 days a week.

We have four blue badge parking spaces outside Attenborough Arts
Centre, plus double yellow line roadside parking very close to the building
For blue badge holders for up to three hours if our parking spaces are
Occupied.

Free
Parking for all customers is available after 5pm on weekdays and all day at
weekends in the University of Leicester car park next door to Attenborough
Arts Centre on Lancaster Road. The closest public car park for parking at all
other times is Victoria Park, 5-10 minutes walk from us (near De Montfort Hall).