Melbourne Art School
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Drawing: Learning to See

Learn the foundations of observational drawing through exercises in looking, proportion, line, light and composition.

Level
Beginner
Price
$255 or $220 concession
Next class
6 Tuesdays from 2 February 2027
Time
6.30–8.30 pm
Location
Blam Blam Place, Brunswick
Places
12 places
Book your place

No payment today. Reserve your place and we’ll confirm by email before the class goes ahead.

Georges Seurat’s conté crayon drawing of the painter Aman-Jean in profile, holding a brush, emerging from deep shadow
Georges Seurat, Aman-Jean, 1882–83. Conté crayon on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

What you’ll learn

  • See shapes, angles and spaces accurately, and get them down on paper.
  • Measure proportion by eye, and with a pencil held at arm’s length.
  • Use simple perspective to place objects convincingly in space.
  • Build light and form with tone, from the palest grey to the deepest dark.
  • Compose a drawing with intent, and understand why it works.
  • Talk about your own drawings, and other people’s, with confidence.

Who it’s for

Complete beginners, people coming back to drawing after years away, and anyone who wants firmer foundations.

No experience needed: we start with looking, not talent. If you already draw, the exercises will sharpen what you have.

Course structure

Each week pairs a practical skill with a look at how artists have tackled the same problem.

  1. Week 1Learning to look: observation and lineLooking at Albrecht Dürer’s drawing machines and Rembrandt’s quick ink sketches
  2. Week 2Proportion, shape and negative spaceLooking at Leonardo da Vinci’s studies of hands
  3. Week 3Perspective and spatial relationshipsLooking at how Renaissance artists, from Brunelleschi to Dürer, worked out perspective
  4. Week 4Light, tone and formLooking at Georges Seurat’s conté crayon drawings
  5. Week 5Composition and expressionLooking at Hokusai’s sketchbooks and Käthe Kollwitz’s drawings
  6. Week 6Developing your own approach, and a group critiqueLooking at each other’s work
Leonardo da Vinci’s sheet of studies of hands, drawn in fine grey lines on pale paper
Leonardo da Vinci, Studies of hands, c. 1480. Royal Collection Trust.

Practical information

Dates and times
6 sessions on Tuesdays, 6.30–8.30 pm, from 2 February to 9 March 2027.
Venue
Blam Blam Place, Brunswick VIC 3056. The full address and directions come with your confirmation email.
What to bring
Just yourself. If you have a sketchbook you love, bring it along.
Materials provided
Paper, graphite pencils, charcoal, erasers and drawing boards.
Accessibility
We’ll share access details for Blam Blam Place before the first class. Tell us what you need when you reserve and we’ll do our best to make it work.
Cancellations and refunds
Full refund if you cancel 7 or more days before the first class. After that, we can move you to a future class. If we cancel, you’ll get a full refund.
Concessions
$220 for full-time students and holders of a Health Care, Pensioner Concession or Seniors card.
Class size
Up to 12 students.
Point cloud self-portrait of Alex Gibson: a head and shoulders built from thousands of small blue cubes against black
Alex Gibson, Point cloud self-portrait, 2020

About your teacher

I’m Alex Gibson, an artist and creative technologist with a Master of Fine Arts. I make drawing machines, point clouds and generative images, and perform live printmaking with the collective Performprint.

How I teach

Short demonstrations, plenty of time to draw, and honest, friendly feedback. Every week we look at how other artists solved the same problem, then try it ourselves.

Book your place

$255 for six weeks of drawing, materials included, or $220 concession. Up to 12 students.

Reserving is free. We confirm dates and send a payment link once the class has enough students, and you can change your mind any time before paying.

Continue your creative journey

Enjoyed learning to draw? We’re developing intermediate and advanced drawing classes for students who want to take their practice further.

These classes aren’t scheduled yet, so there are no dates or prices. Registering interest is free and doesn’t commit you to anything.

  1. BeginnerThis courseNo prior experience required. Foundational skills, confidence, observation, techniques and experimentation.
  2. IntermediateComing soonFor students with foundational experience who want to deepen their skills, explore more complex techniques and develop an independent practice.
  3. AdvancedComing soonFor experienced students and practising artists seeking sophisticated techniques, critical feedback, mentorship and sustained artistic development.