Watercolour Workshop: Medieval Bestiary

This one-day art workshop is aimed at sharing the work of an exciting Wellcome Trust funded project on animal feeding. The project looks at why people keep and feed animals in zoos and as pets, and how and why we feed wildlife either deliberately or unintentionally. Perhaps most importantly the project looks at what the consequences of all this feeding are. It also looks at the historical and contemporary narratives about animals feeding which go all the way back to Medieval Bestiaries.

Natural history artists Rebecca Jewell and Sandy Ross Sykes will guide participants through creating their own artwork in the style of a Medieval Book of Beasts, or Bestiary. There will be a chance to see some of the displays in the museum, as well as specimens and items to draw from. The tutors will demonstrate and teach painting techniques using watercolour, gouache, and gold pigment, and at the end of the day all works will be photographed for an exhibition as part of the ongoing outreach programme for the project (but originals can be taken home).

Jewell and Ross Sykes both studied Natural History Drawing at the Royal College of Art and have been teaching art workshops for over fifteen years. They co-founded www.drawnfromnature.co.uk and are members of the Art Workers’ Guild. They are both practicing artists and exhibit their work widely in the UK and Internationally.

Additional Information

• Booking required
• This is a one-day workshop. Select the date you’d like to attend on the booking form.
• No experience necessary
• Suitable for adults (16+)
• Free to attend and materials are provided