FIGURE & GESTURE DRAWING COURSE FOR BEGINNERS

This beginner-friendly course introduces foundational techniques for figure and gesture drawing. Designed to help students understand the structure of the human body and how to capture movement, the course covers proportion, anatomy, perspective, and dynamic gesture—all essential for creating expressive and accurate figure drawings.

Over the weekend, students will develop skills to both observe and interpret the human form, learning how to quickly capture poses and refine their understanding of light and shadow.

COURSE FORMAT

Dates:

• Saturday, August 23 & Sunday, August 24

• Evening session: Wednesday, August 27 (6:00–9:00 PM)

Time:

• Weekend: 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM (Please arrive by 8:50 AM to set up)

• Wednesday: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Please arrive by 5:50 PM)

Location:
Upstairs at Hive Art Gallery
Unit 23/5 Coghill Dr, Currumbin Waters QLD 4223

Fee: $375

Model:
A live model will be present for all sessions.

Facilities:
A small fridge is available. No kitchen facilities. Cafes are nearby.

Materials:

• A2 Cartridge Paper

• Pencils: 2H, HB, 2B, 6B

• Pencil Sharpener

• Kneaded Eraser

• Willow Charcoal

Note:
Easels, drawing boards, and clips provided.
This course is limited to 10 students.

COURSE OUTLINE

1. Blocking
Learn how to break the figure down into basic shapes and lines to establish proportion and form. This process simplifies the complexity of the human body, making it more approachable. We'll also introduce chiaroscuro (light-dark), a foundational principle for understanding volume through light.

2. Measuring
Building on blocking, this session explores contouring and shading to create volume and depth. We’ll touch briefly on anatomy and introduce the "pencil as ruler" technique for accurate proportion measurement.

3. Gesture & Line
We begin Day 2 by exploring gesture—those fluid, expressive lines that bring the figure to life. Understanding gesture is essential for capturing emotion, movement, and energy. We'll revisit chiaroscuro in greater depth, applying it to dynamic poses.

4. Practice
In the final Wednesday evening session, the model will hold a single long pose. This is your opportunity to bring everything together—blocking, measuring, gesture, and shading—to complete one final, fully developed drawing.

About IRENE MESSIA

Irene was born and trained in Rome. She studied art at Mario Mafai Art School during this time Irene did additional external studies attending the three -year painting course of the master Giovanni Arcangeli at San Giacomo Art school in Rome.When she finished school, she spent the next few years pursuing training at various art institutions including the Art Academy of Rome and then the University RomeTre where she studied ‘History of Art’ and graduated in 2014. Immediately after graduation Irene moved to Australia. In 2017 Irene lived  in London where she painted various large scale wall commissions. She also worked as a studio and painter assistant.In 2019 Irene came back to Australia, where she now lives and practices her art.