Welcome to Drawing Ground – where big ideas begin with simple lines!
"Drawing Ground starts with drawing - it grows into a wider world of art, exploring new materials and creative approaches beyond just lines on paper."
Come and explore the fun world of drawing which is one of the most fundamental and powerful forms of art. Drawing Ground is a playful and inspiring drawing project that explores drawing as a tool for creative thinking, communication, and self-expression. Each session is full of creative activities designed to spark creativity, build drawing skills, and stretch your thinking - rooted in the experimental, curious spirit of contemporary art.
Drawing helps you focus, build confidence, and see the world in fresh and surprising ways. It’s also a great way to relax, explore your feelings, and make something that’s completely your own. Along the way, you will naturally strengthen focus, coordination, observation, and self-expression.
Drawing Ground is for anyone curious about the possibilities of drawing. Join us and see where your lines can take you.This will be a playground for imagination to explore, invent, and grow!
UPCOMING PROGRAMMES
Drawing Ground: The Pause
How can we make our lives more creative and joyful? Perhaps by setting aside one creative day each month as a starting point.
Drawing is a simple and powerful way to reconnect with your imagination, slow down, and reset. Drawing Ground: The Pause at Stanley Arts is a series of relaxed and welcoming drawing sessions for adults, offering a gentle creative space to pause, breathe, and make art away from the pressures of everyday life.
This is for anyone needing a creative reset - whether you’re a freelancer taking a mindful day away from work, a parent carving out a rare quiet moment, an older adult exploring creativity with more time, or simply someone looking for calm, inspiration, and connection.
Each session explores a different approach to drawing, with gentle guidance, creative prompts, and all materials provided. Inspired by the performative energy of Stanley Arts, these sessions invite you to explore drawing as a sensory experience. You’ll be invited to explore drawing in playful, imaginative, and sometimes unexpected ways. No previous experience is needed. You’ll leave with your own unique drawings, a sense of creative confidence, and a refreshed mind.
Refreshments will be provided. Enjoy a morning tea or coffee while meeting others and drawing together.
By the end of these sessions, you will leave with a set of refined drawings and new ideas about drawing that you can continue to explore in your own way.
Session 1, 22 May: Close observation & sensory still life drawing
Starting with a series of guided drawing exercises, participants will explore drawing as a way of sensing - paying attention to detail, texture, and rhythm from provided objects. The focus is on slowing perception and translating what is seen and felt into your drawing.
Session 2, 26 June: Expressive pastel drawing inspired by abstract artists
Participants will create an expressive drawing using soft pastels, working with movement and gesture beyond the desk. Inspired by abstract artists, you explore how colour, rhythm, and mark-making can express energy and feeling.
Session 3, 17 July: Fluid watercolour drawing
Introducing watercolour as a fluid extension of drawing, participants will explore wet drawing materials responding intuitively rather than controlling outcomes. You combine line, wash, and chance effects to create atmospheric works.
Time: 10am–12.30pm
When: 22 May, 26 June, 17 July 2026 (Fridays)
Where: The Living Room, Stanley Arts
£30 – Single session
