Every student, regardless of professional experience completes the ten session introductory Foundation Course. This is the basis of our philosophy and is very informative. The course runs three times during the academic year and once in July. Ten 3hour sessions to be completed within a 11 week period, held both in the mornings (9.30-12.30) and on Monday evenings (6.30-9.30). 

Details: 

1. Proportion: To catch the likeness of an object or person, you need to see and accurately reproduce the distances between the features. We show a century old, brilliantly simple way of doing this.

2. Line/Volume: By making, at the outset, the longest outlines of the subject, one can reduce the essential bulk and movement of an object to a few lines. This is a similar process to that of a sculptor taking a block of marble and slicing off the biggest bits not needed. We do this with plaster casts, charcoal, and cheap paper.

3. Chiaroscuro: This is the distinction between the dark, light, and grey tones in between. To simplify the teaching of this principle, we use a white plaster cast and a single light source against a black background.

4. Colour: Finally, colour is introduced with a simple still-life, lit by a single light source to exaggerate dark and light. You capture the essential elements of a still-life, sometimes practicing under the pressure of a stopwatch.