Hopton Hall Gallery to celebrate The Big Draw Festival this October

Ashbourne’s Hopton Hall Gallery, part of the Hopton Hall Estate, is partnering with The Big Draw International Drawing Festival this October, offering local people the opportunity to get involved in drawing in all its forms.

The gallery is marking the festival, which is the world's largest celebration of drawing, with a programme of exhibitions and creative workshops showcasing drawing in all its forms from pen, pencil and pastels to charcoal and mark making.

The programme begins on 3 October with The Big Drawing Tableau (AU), a free drop-in collaborative drawing session led by Derbyshire based fine artist and educator, Liz Wellby. Visitors to the gallery will be encouraged to contribute to a giant artwork using line drawing, collage, oil pastel and watercolour. The work will remain on display throughout October and will grow during that time as visitors continue to add their mark.

It will be followed by a further six workshops taking place throughout the month: the opportunity to create botanical artwork at Pen and Watercolour with Kate Dawes (8^th October); exploring traditional, technical and contemporary approaches to drawing and reading artefacts at Drawing the Past in the Present with Chris Lewis Jones (10^th October); a free informal art appreciation talk followed by a hands-on drawing session on Masters of Drawing with Sue J Blake (17^th October); exploring the vivid colours and soft texture of pastel pencils at Pastel Pencils with Katie Wyke (22^nd October); creating a winter tree landscape scene at Charcoal Sketching with Diane Green (24th October); and exploring traditional and contemporary approaches to mark making and drawing to capture the spirit of a place at The Graphic Art of Psychogeography with Chris Lewis Jones (30th October).

Complementing the practical drawing workshops are two exhibitions, running from 1 – 28 October: Mixed Media Drawing which celebrates experimentation and mark-making and encourages visitors to consider that everything can be drawn; and illustrator Rebecca Morledge’s solo exhibition, offering a fresh perspective of local streets and villages as well as seaside scenes.

Hopton Hall Gallery Director Ruth Matthews said:

“I’ve taken part in and organised Big Draw events on and off for the last 23 years and have witnessed first hand its impact. Drawing really is the most accessible and creative activity. All you really need is a pencil! We’ve tried to incorporate as many different techniques as possible in Hopton Hall Gallery’s Big Draw programme – pen, watercolour, pastels, pencil and mark making – to give participants as much choice as possible. Importantly, the workshops are suited to artists of all levels, from absolute beginners to the most accomplished. Drawing is a great way to boost wellbeing and socialise, and we’d encourage anyone interested to come along and try their hand!”