PORTRAIT PLAY: STRUCTURE & EXPRESSION WITH SUSANNAH PAL – SEPTEMBER 2025

This relaxed, exploratory course is perfect for beginners or anyone looking to loosen up their portrait drawing. If you’ve ever wanted to draw faces but felt overwhelmed, this is a gentle and supportive place to start. You’ll learn how to break down the head into simple shapes, explore tonal contrast, and experiment with lively, expressive mark-making.

We’ll look at a variety of artists to inspire your own approach – and most importantly, we’ll prioritise enjoyment over perfection. This course is about having a go, trying new materials, and discovering what happens when you let go of rigid expectations.

Taught by experienced painter and tutor Susannah Pal, this course draws on over a decade of teaching observational drawing to help you build confidence and find joy in the process.

Find out more about your teacher:Teaching Instagram @susannah_art_tutorArt Instagram @susannah__pal

Limited spots available – secure your place to transform your portrait drawing skills!

Thursdays 4, 11, 18, 25 September 20257-9pm BST/ GMT£60 Low income tickets – please email info@londondrawing.com to arrange payment£80 Early Bird tickets – SOLD OUT£95 Full Price tickets

Below – More info about the course and materials list:

🌟 What You’ll Gain:Inspiration from a wide range of artists and their mark-making techniques

Confidence drawing faces from different angles

Fast-paced sketching using graphite, pen, and coloured pencil

New skills to bring into our Saturday Life Drawing and Tuesday Portrait Drawing live stream sessions

A meditative, focused drawing experience with live demos and personal guidance

Recordings are provided after each session, with two months of access to rewatch, pause, and rewind at your own pace.

🖼 A Flexible PathwayThis course is a great standalone introduction to portrait drawing — and also a brilliant springboard into upcoming courses:

Capturing the Head in Graphite (October)

Coloured Pencil Portraits (November)

Take one course or follow the whole series – either way, you’ll build a strong, expressive approach to portraiture through structure, tone, and play.

A week before the first session you will receive an email including:

PDF Reference Image

Essential Materials List

Zoom log-in details

One-month access to session recordings

Materials You’ll Need:

Good quality smooth drawing paper. At least 190 gsm. A4 or A3.

A good eraser – (recommended- Faber Castell Dust Free)

A few soft pencils (3B – 7B)

A range of coloured pencils. (I recommend Faber-Castell Polychromos Coloured Pencil Set of 12 for a good basic range). You may want to buy extra coloured pencils. This course is about being playful so choose colours you are attracted to.

Tissue,cotton wool or chamois cloth for blending

A decent pencil sharpener

Scissors

Glue – eg. pritt stick

Optional materials

Electric eraser

Putty rubber or blue-tack

A eraser pen eg. Tombow MONO Zero Eraser Fine

To achieve darker tones Mars Lumograph Black pencil and Faber-Castell Pitt Graphite Matt Pencil to achieve darker tones

Graphite powder and soft brush