The Colours of Life Drawing

Focus on the colour palettes of the human form and how to use them in your painting in this 10-week life drawing course.

Whether you’re a novice artist or a more experienced one who wants to fine tune your use of colour, this exciting approach will provide the skills and knowledge needed to build a real body of work.

The human body is an excellent vehicle of light, and so this course focuses on light and colour. If you struggle to work with colour, this course will break it down for you and tutor Scott will demonstrate various colour palettes and how to use them, giving you a greater understanding of colours and how they relate to each other.

This course is open to all levels of ability, you just need a real commitment to learning to draw and paint the human form.

We will look at different colour grounds, saturated vs. desaturated colour, complimentary colours, limited palettes such as the Zorn palette and the Spanish palette, non-representational colour, shadow colour, simultaneous contrast and more.

Many people are fearful of using colour, not to mention drawing the human body. Through a series of techniques and tried and tested methods, the tutor will guide participants through the common pit falls and nuances of working in colour and depicting the human form.

Each session will begin with short, gestural poses, moving on to specific colour tasks and longer poses. Through group discussions and tutor demonstrations you will be guided towards creating your own unique works of art, and gain a greater understanding of colour and how to use it.

The ten-week course will end with the opportunity to paint a more sustained pose, ending the course with a five-hour painting over two sessions. You are welcome to bring your own canvas for this, or board will be provided.

Tutor Scott Bridgwood is a working artist with over 30 years’ experience after graduating from Chelsea School of Art in 1992. He worked and taught art in Rome (Italy) for 10 years before moving to Leicester. It was during his time in Rome that he developed his passion for drawing/painting the human form, which continues to the present day. Scott has taught at Attenborough Arts Centre for nearly 20 years. He also teaches Life Drawing at De Montfort University and from his home studio in Leicester.

All materials will be provided.

Participants must be aged 18+.

The course will run for 10 sessions on Friday afternoons, 2pm – 4:30pm, starting on Friday 26 September and ending on 12 December 2025.

PLEASE NOTE: no sessions on 24 October and 7 November 2025.

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 agree to our updatedTERMS & CONDITIONS before booking as courses/workshops are non-refundable in some circumstances.

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, 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).