Draw Your Bestie or Your Nextie
On Thursday 26th June, part of Thursday Late and Celebrating Chichester Pride I run a drawing portrait workshop I ran at Pallant House Gallery, part of Chichester Pride.
It was so lovely to get everyone drawing in the main gallery, among the fantastic current exhibition Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists. I asked visitors to really get under the skin of the current show, and the response was wonderful—bringing understanding of art through observation and practice closer to everyone.
This workshop is a variation on the famous Portrait Club run by Draw Brighton , where artists take turns drawing each other’s portraits in a casual environment. My version pairs people up, so the distance between model and artist is both emotionally and physically more intimate.
As I explained a few times last night to participants , the loveliness of this workshop and close portraiture making, lies in the fact that we are not just allowed, but required, to stare for a few minutes at our partner, friend, or the person next to us we’ve only just met. The exercise becomes very human the recognition and close examination of the skin, the hair, the eyes, and so on.
This also takes the pressure off the art-making—it becomes secondary. Somehow, we gaze at their faces as we would at artworks in a museum. We all become both subjects and makers of art. It’s a wholesome concept, and once I explained it, you feel the itch to join and enjoy the experience.
Thanks to everyone who did!
Thank you Pallant House Gallery and volunteer Mary that was ace! And thank you to Rachel, Cynara, and Director Simon Martin.
Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists
At Pallant House Gallery, this exhibition brings together over 150 works that delve into artistic friendships, identity, and shared influence in modern and contemporary British art. Covering 125 years, it features paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculpture and installations that reflect the unique ways artists look at one another.
With more than 80 artists represented — including Lucian Freud, Lubaina Himid, David Hockney, Lee Miller, Eric Ravilious, Paula Rego and many others — the show reveals friendships, influences and tributes through striking and often intimate portraits.
From rare depictions of well-known figures to newly commissioned pieces, the exhibition traces the connections that have shaped British art — offering fresh insights into artistic circles from the Bloomsbury Group to the Young British Artists.
