• Introduction-Intermediate
  • Drawing

ONLINE: Life Drawing: Figure in Context PART 2

Beauty, Identity, Power, Spirit and Belief, Sex and Gender, Emotion Embodied, The Body’s Limits, Bodies and Space, The Abject Body, The Absent Body.... all will be explored in this ONLINE Life Drawing course. This course contextualizes the use of the figure in art.

The model will engage with constructed and local environments to create compositional and conceptual challenges. 

The relationship of the figure to the surrounding space will be explored as a means to develop and expand on visual language skills.
Lectures will focus on the aesthetic, political or social meaning of the nude in historical and contemporary art.

This course will be offered ONLINE in 2 parts. Each part is stand alone and can be taken individually, or, for students wishing to continue the experience from Figure in Context, Part 1, this is an excellent follow-up.

Fall 2020: 6 weeks: Tuition: $265 + $80 model fee = $345 (starts Nov. 11, 2020)

Prerequisite: some experience with basic life drawing 


This course will be offered via 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: Martha Eleen, a Toronto-based painter, has been teaching painting and drawing at Toronto School of Art since 2004. Her own works explore the relationship between culture and landscape. Eleen’s paintings are represented in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, and have been exhibited in public galleries in Canada, the US, Mexico and Japan. Her work has received critical attention in the form of curatorial essays, reviews and publications. She is currently represented by Loop Gallery in Toronto.
* This course is not currently open for registration

What you will learn

  • Observational skill and development of ways of seeing
  • Composition and spatial relationships 
  • Exploration of ideas and meaning
  • Practice with variety of media 

Materials to Bring

Basic Supplies:

  • Charcoal: Vine (Willow) charcoal thin/medium sticks Conte: orange and black (HB) Ink
  • Chinese bamboo brush (medium)
  • 5B nib and pen
  • Oil pastels (Pentel or Selectum are inexpensive (under $4)
  • White plastic eraser
  • Bull clips
  • Cartridge or bond paper (white, 18” x 24”)

Thicker paper such as watercolour (smooth) or printmaking paper to support ink and washes. Try a variety of papers: manilla, craft, vellum, mylar.

Plywood board the size of paper pad: this can be used if you don't have an easel by resting it in your lap or leaning it against a table.