WORKING WITH A MODEL | UNTUTORED
Draw or Paint from Life. No Instruction. No Pressure. Just Practice.
Remove the pressure of "getting it right" and instead sharpen your ability to observe proportion, gesture, and presence in real time. With various options available each week, you can work without instruction in a supportive environment, embracing mistakes as data and developing a personal visual language free from academic formulas.
Practising the figure and portrait hones your ability to simplify complex forms, detect subtle relationships, and work quickly from life – building the visual memory and confidence essential for all artistic growth. Over time, these untutored sessions become the most valuable part of your artistic routine, building confidence and fluency that no amount of theory can replace .
A Note on Practice
Regular art practice is essential – not for producing masterpieces, but for training your eye to see clearly and your hand to respond honestly. Working from life with a model will help you make quick decisions, remove fear of failure, and build muscle memory and coordination.
Session Options
Sessions commencing from Thursday 3rd September 2026
Thursday Mornings – Figure Drawing/Painting
10am – 2pm
A professional model (female/male, nude) will pose in a variety of short to long poses. The session begins with quick warm-up poses to capture gesture and movement, then progresses to longer sustained poses for more detailed study . This structure helps you develop both rapid mark-making skills and the ability to refine proportions and anatomical structure.
You can purchase a 10 class package below - Untutored with model (10 × 4hr sessions) €400
Friday Mornings – Portrait Drawing/Painting
10am – 2pm
A sitter (female/male, clothed) will pose in a single, sustained long pose for the entire session. This allows you to work on a more finished drawing or painting over the full session, with a consistent pose throughout.
NOTES
Spaces are prioritised for block bookings.
Single classes are available to be booked but are not drop-in and must be pre-booked (if available).
Priority booking for Thursday sessions is given to Atelier students (Annual Programme and Monthly Commitment holders).
Spaces are limited. Single classes may be booked but are not drop-in – pre-booking is required. If the session you are looking for is full, please let us know by emailing info@schoolhouseforart.com and we will add you to the waiting list .
If this course is fully booked or not currently scheduled, go ahead add your name to the waiting list HERE.
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In the traditional atelier, students spend as much time working alone as they do under the master's eye. The master demonstrates, corrects, and guides – but the real learning happens in the hours between.
Untutored model sessions are not an optional extra. They are an essential part of the training.
Here is why:
1. Skill Develops in the Hours Between Instruction
A tutor can show you how to measure, how to see value, how to mix flesh tones. But you cannot learn to draw by watching someone else draw. You have to do the work yourself – over and over – until the movements become automatic. Untutored sessions give you that repetition.
2. You Learn to See Your Own Mistakes
When a tutor is always present, you become dependent on their corrections. In untutored sessions, you have to spot your own errors. You measure, you check, you correct – without someone telling you what is wrong. This is where self‑reliance is built.
3. The Figure Is the Most Complex Subject
The human figure is the most demanding subject in art. Proportions change with every angle. Flesh tones shift in every light. To master it, you need hours of observation that no tutor can provide. Untutored sessions give you that time.
4. You Build Stamina and Confidence
Working from a live model for four hours requires concentration, patience, and trust in your own ability. Each session builds your stamina – the ability to sustain focus over time. And with each session, you gain confidence in your own seeing.
5. Mistakes Are Data, Not Failure
In untutored sessions, there is no "right" or "wrong." There is only observation and response. A drawing that does not work is not a failure – it is information. You learn what to adjust, what to look for, what to try differently next time. This mindset is essential for artistic growth.
6. You Develop Your Own Visual Language
When you work without instruction, you make your own decisions. You choose what to emphasise. You choose your medium. You choose your approach. Over time, these choices become your style – a personal visual language free from academic formulas.
7. They Complete the Atelier Method
The atelier method is not just about what you learn – it is about how you learn.
The cycle is simple:
Demonstration - Tutor shows you a technique
Supervised practice - You try it with tutor feedback
Untutored practice - You repeat it alone until it becomes habitUntutored sessions are the third stage of that cycle. Without them, you only get demonstration and supervised practice – and skill never becomes automatic.
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Proportion & Gesture – Capture the essence of the figure quickly
Anatomical Structure – Refine your understanding of the human form
Simplification – Break down complex forms into manageable shapes
Visual Memory – Build the ability to retain and recall observed details
Confidence – Work quickly from life without fear of "getting it wrong"
Personal Language – Develop your own approach free from academic formulas
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Materials are not provided – please bring your own.
Choose your preferred medium(s) – drawing or painting:Paper – A2 or A3 drawing paper/pad (not spiral bound recommended)
Drawing materials – Graphite pencils (2B, 4B, 6B), willow charcoal (medium and thick sticks), soft pastels, ink, or any medium you prefer
Erasers – Kneadable eraser, putty rubber
Optional extras – Coloured pencils, markers, graphite sticks
What we provide:
Easels and drawing boards
Chairs and benches
Odourless solvents only if necessary
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