Not Such a Still Life Workshop Fun Speed Sketching Night
Most still life sessions ask you to slow down, settle in, and study one arrangement for the evening. This workshop does something very different.
The Not Such a Still Life Workshop Experience
Steve Cook, our Events and Programme Manager, created Not Such a Still Life, a lively workshop built around quick changes, fresh challenges, and a good dose of creative mischief.
Its on 3rd August
at Hawcoat Memorial Hall
be there to start at 7.00pm
free to members
The idea is simple and fun. Tables will be set out with different things to sketch or paint. You will start at one table, work for a timed slot, then move on to the next. Think of it as speed dating for sketching, without the awkward small talk. Each table gives you a new subject, a new prompt, or a new way of looking.
The aim is not to create a polished masterpiece. The aim is to try something new, loosen up, and enjoy the business of making marks without overthinking every line.
There is no cost to members, and there will be a tea and coffee break halfway through.
More snapshots of last years workshop.
This is still life with the stillness taken out
Traditional still life has its own quiet pleasure. A jug, a bowl of fruit, a vase, a chair, or a cluster of objects can keep an artist busy for hours. You can measure, shade, correct, rub out, repaint, step back, and return.
This workshop keeps the looking, but removes the chance to get too comfortable.
With timed intervals, each table becomes a short creative burst. You have only so long to notice the shapes, choose an approach, and get something down. That time limit can feel strange at first, especially if you tend to work slowly. Then something useful happens. Your hand starts making decisions before your inner critic has time to interrupt.
That is where the fun sits.
A quick sketch can show energy that a careful drawing sometimes loses. A fast wash of paint can catch the weight of a shadow. A loose line can say more than a fully rendered outline. When you know you are about to move on, you stop trying to solve everything. You focus on what matters most in that moment.
This is why Not Such a Still Life Workshop is a Fun Speed Sketching Night a good fit for anyone who wants a playful push and to experiment. It gives structure, but not pressure. It gives subjects, but not strict rules. It gives you permission to be curious.
How the evening will work
Steve Cook has created the workshop with the aim of making people try something different. The rhythm will be easy to follow. It is a friendly format.
The timed element keeps the energy in the room high. People work with focus, then shift, laugh, compare discoveries, and start again. It is sociable without becoming a formal class. It is guided, but not rigid.
Some sketches may be messy. Some may be unfinished. Some may be strange in a way you quite like. That is part of the point.
A workshop like this is not about judging every page. It is about collecting experiences and just trying it.
The goal is to leave with more confidence, not perfect pages. And, have a whole lot of fun with other creatives. It is also a good moment to see how differently people respond to the same prompt.
Expect a night with plenty of movement, quick choices, and a few happy accidents.
What to bring on the night
You do not need to bring a studio’s worth of materials. Bring what you enjoy using to create your art and a sketch book or paper.
A photo of a person. It can be a famous person, someone from a magazine, a printed reference image, or simply a photo you like. The only rule is that it must have a person in it.
The subject does not have to be famous. It simply needs to include a person.
The tea and coffee break is part of the rhythm
Halfway through the session, there will be the usual tea and coffee break.
Come ready to move, sketch, and enjoy it!
It will be good to see you there.
Blog by Marina
Chair of Barrow Society of Artists
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