Drawing Foundations: Skills and Expression

Curious about drawing but unsure where to start? This 5-day course, designed for complete beginners and those wanting to refresh their skills, offers an entry point into the fundamentals of drawing. In a relaxed studio setting, you will explore a variety of drawing materials and build confidence through guided exercises and demonstrations.

Luke Thurgate teaches strategies for seeing and translating the world around you, focusing on proportion, perspective and tone. Practical exercises will introduce you to the expressive possibilities of different media, including graphite and charcoal. You will strengthen your observational skills by drawing a range of simple subjects, including still life set ups and views from the National Art School campus.

Moving between the analytical and the expressive, Luke encourages you to explore your own individual approach to mark-making. Demonstrations and class discussions will support your learning with personal feedback throughout the week.

By the end of the course, you will have developed a solid foundation in drawing techniques, gained familiarity with a range of traditional materials, and created a collection of studies that reflect your artistic progress and emerging style.

* 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. 

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

• Small sketchbook – A5 or equivalent
• Graphite pencils – HB and 2B
• Charcoal pencil – Medium
• Stanley knife
• White plastic eraser
• 2 bulldog clips
• 2 sticks of willow charcoal - large
• 1 stick of compressed charcoal
• Fixative spray
• 1 pad of A2 cartridge paper

Other materials (not required for first class)

• 1 sheet of grey Canson paper
• 2 sheets of brown craft paper (around 280gsm)
• 1 white pastel pencil or white charcoal pencil
  

Enclosed footwear is essential in all studios on campus.

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’s exhibition history includes recent projects at Grafton Regional Gallery, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Backwoods Gallery, Burra Regional Art Gallery, National Art School and Adelaide Central Gallery. He has been a finalist multiple times in the Dobell Drawing Prize, the Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, and in 2020 was a finalist in the Tom Bass Figurative Sculpture Prize. In 2026, Luke will be the artist in residence at the Glasshouse in Port Macquarie, ahead of a solo exhibition there in 2027.