Six evenings online with Guy Allott, building a sketchbook that holds your thinking and keeps working long after the course ends.
29 Oct | 5, 12, 19, 26 Nov | 3 Dec
A sketchbook is where a painting begins, and where most of the thinking happens. Over six evenings you will build one that carries experiment, false starts and discoveries in equal measure, a record of the work as it actually happens rather than a display of finished pieces.
Like life, a sketchbook should reflect the artist’s journey, the difficulties as well as the successes. A good one reveals and puzzles at the same time.
Each week brings a task that opens a new way of making an image. Some are worked alone, some in company with the group. What you take away is not a set of exercises but a process of your own.
What each evening holds
- A set task introducing a new idea or way of making images
- Close discussion of an artist whose sketchbooks shaped their work
- Time to work on your own book, with the tutor alongside you
- Individual feedback and group critique
- Collaborative tasks set against solo exploration
Sketchbook pages by Athy, Hester and Tessa, class of 2022 to 2023.
Guy Allott
Guy Allott was born in Hexham, Northumberland, in 1972. He graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1999 and the Royal College of Art in 2002, and works across painting, printmaking, sculpture and woodcut.
His work is held in private and public collections in Europe, the United States and Asia, among them the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Society, the British Library Collection, Fidelity and the UBS Art Collection. He received the First Base Award from ACAVA in 2003 and is a founder of IntoArts, a charity teaching painting and the arts to students with learning disabilities.
Practical notes
What materials do I need?
You supply your own. A recommended list is sent to you when you enrol. A sketchbook you are willing to work hard in matters more than an expensive one.
How many students are in the class?
Ten. Every ESOP online course is capped at ten so that each student’s pages get proper attention in the time available.
How does the online class run?
Sessions run live on video, 6pm to 9pm. A joining link is sent to you before the first evening. You will need a working camera so that your pages can be seen and discussed.
Can I join in the studio instead?
No. This course is taught online only.
What if I miss an evening?
Extra coaching is not offered, but we will do what we can to bring you up to date with what you missed.
Photography and recording
Photographing your own work is welcome. Please ask permission before recording another student’s work. Recording the tutor is not permitted.
Where this can lead
Six evenings is a beginning. Painters who start here often go on to ESOP’s yearlong courses, which run from October through to July and carry a painter from first principles to a sustained body of work. There is no obligation and no set route. Coming back for another short course is just as good an answer.
Image copyright belongs to the artists or the school. All rights reserved.
