Expressive and Tonal Drawing

Discover the expressive, representational and atmospheric possibilities of tonal drawing. Starting with observational exercises using still life set ups, you will learn to perceive and convey light and dark tones in your drawings. Luke Thurgate teaches you how to organise tonal values and introduces materials and techniques to express what you see.

Through demonstrations and group discussions, you will be encouraged to explore the various ways artists have used lights and darks to add drama and tension to their work. Building on this, Luke guides you to realize the emotive and poetic aspects of your subject as you develop an individual approach to mark-making and composition. He discusses the power of visual language and its capacity to communicate novel, affecting and human ideas.

* NAS Short Courses are open to students of ages 16 years and over. The NAS Art Club is open to students from ages 15 years and over. 

* Drawing and painting short courses may be held in upstairs studios. If access to stairs is not suitable, please contact us at short.courses@nas.edu.au 

* What to bring? Please refer to the list of required materials in the Art Materials field below. 

Luke Thurgate is an artist living and working on Gadigal Land (Sydney). He teaches drawing and painting at the National Art School, where he graduated in 2021 with a Master of Fine Art. Luke has an extensive exhibition history including recent exhibitions at Backwoods Gallery, Burra Regional Art Gallery, National Art School and Adelaide Central Gallery. He was a finalist in the 2019 Dobell Drawing Prize, the 2020 Tom Bass Figurative Sculpture Prize and the 2020 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award.

Students must supply their own art materials, please refer to the list below.

• 6 sticks of willow charcoal (medium/large)
• 1 stick of compressed charcoal
• 1 stick of white pastel
• Charcoal pencils (2B and 6B)
• White pastel/charcoal pencil
• Graphite pencil (2B or 4B)
• White plastic eraser and/or kneadable putty eraser
• Blending stump and small piece of cotton cloth
• Blade
• A4 journal or sketchbook
• 6 sheets of A1 cartridge paper
• 2 bulldog clips

Additional materials and surfaces will be discussed during the course.

Enclosed footwear is essential in all studios on campus.