An art studio praised for helping to provide a ‘remedy to lockdown’ with virtual classes will showcase the work of its participants in real life this month.
The Raw Umber Studios: In Real Life exhibition will run from July 22 – 28, painting a picture of lockdown life.
Taking place in the new Raw Umber Studios in Stroud, guests are invited to enjoy the opening of the exhibition with a drinks reception and the chance to delve into how local and international artists have captured the unprecedented times we find ourselves in.
In Real Life
“At the start of the first lockdown, we switched our focus to running weekly online sessions,” Head Tutor Lizet Dingemans explains.
“Over the past year we’ve run well over a hundred online classes and have reached thousands of people who otherwise might not have been able to draw and paint.
“We are running this exhibition to showcase and celebrate the work that our students, and tutors, have done over the past 15 months and put Stroud on the map as a hub for figurative art.”
For regular online participant Mike Sykes, the online classes not only helped him continue to develop his style but also provided much needed connection as the world stood still.
“Raw Umber’s online sessions have been the perfect, challenging stimulus to develop and improve my own style of portrait and figure drawing,” he says.
“Regular short classes brought a strong focus on frequent practice. A perfect remedy for lockdown, and now I have a super set of reference materials and videos to go back to.
“These sessions have been more valuable than you can imagine.”
Discover Raw Umber Studios: In Real Life between 2-8pm on July 22 and from 10am – 6pm from July 23 – 28. Tickets are available at https://rusirl.eventbrite.com The Studio will also host a free drop-in portrait drawing class with artist and tutor Lizet Dingemans and model Manko on Monday, July 26 from 2-6pm. Find out more at rawumberstudios.com/irl