• Intermediate
  • Drawing

Broaden your life drawing expression through colour. Working with coloured drawing media opens up worlds of exploration. It can also be a very valuable companion to painting, as a rapid and spontaneous way to explore colour possibilities. In this ONLINE course you will be working with models on Zoom, supplemented by instructor demos and brief lectures.  We'll use a  few coloured drawing media (predominately 'dry' pastels).

Explore the expressive and psychological potential of working with a variety of different colour schemes. The class will start with a monochrome palette, moving into analogous colour and limited palettes, as well as exploring unconventional colour choices. We will also allow time to work with more naturalistic colour choices.

(This course makes an excellent complement to Figure Drawing 2: Drawing Better Bodies. It is intended for any students with prior life drawing experience. It is recommended that students have taken the Introduction to Life Drawing course or have equivalent and recent life drawing instruction.)


Spring 2021: 5 Weeks: Tuition: $235 + Model Fee: $60  = Total $295

TSA will deliver this course using ZOOM. Prior to the course session, you will receive an invitation for the session(s) via email. You'll need a laptop, desktop or tablet, internet connection with good bandwidth and headset (either wired or wireless). We recommend that you set up a free ZOOM account and be familiar with ZOOM prior to the class beginning.  Here is a link to help you get started: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697

Notes: Instructor Thomas Hendry is a Toronto-based artist and has been teaching at the Toronto School of Art since 1996. His drawings, shown in numerous exhibitions, use the means of traditional art to create contemporary images, images that address the beauty, mystery and complexity embodied in the human form. In addition to teaching at TSA, Thomas is an instructor at Sheridan College and has taught at The Haliburton School of Fine Arts, the AGO Gallery School, OCAD Outreach Program and the Toronto District School Board.
* This course is not currently open for registration

What you will learn

  • Types of colour palettes and some colour theory essentials
  • Mixing with different coloured chalks to broaden your colour options
  • The role different colours and types of paper supports play in working with colour media
  • Stretching paper and preparing a coloured ground with acrylic
  • The important role of values in organizing colour compositions

Materials to Bring

Materials will be discussed in more depth during the first class.

Please try to bring for the first class:

  • Kneadable eraser
  • 2 large bulldog clips
  • 1 pad of 18 x 24” cartridge paper
  • 1 package of mixed earth tone drawing sticks (Gallery brand or Conte)
  • 1 black and 1 white drawing stick (Conte or Gallery brand)

For later classes:

  • 1 pad of 18 x 24” Kraft paper (brown paper)
  • A modestly priced* set of coloured dry pastels (not oil pastel)
    • Options include: Prismacolor firm pastels
  • Set of 12 or 24 Mungyo Gallery semi-hard pastels
  • Set of 24 or 36 Mungyo Soft pastels

*All of these sets are in the $15 - $30 range.

Generally, the more costly the material, the better quality the pigment is, and the richer the colour. 'Firm' and 'semi-hard' pastel sticks are thinner, allow for more control, and take longer to build up. 'Soft pastels' are creamier in handling, apply quickly but go blunt very rapidly. Steer clear of sets specifically called 'chalk pastels' these tend to have a lot more cheap filler. 'Generals' brand colour media are not recommended as they tend to be too hard. Later in the course, other papers to be bought will be discussed (under $20 total).