
Len Grant
Len Grant has worked for over three decades as a documentary photographer in Manchester (UK) making books and exhibitions about the city’s regeneration. He discovered Urban Sketching in 2013 when the Manchester USk chapter was launched and has been drawing ever since.
Nowadays he has swapped his camera for a sketchbook and pen and uses his storytelling skills in commissions for charities, local government agencies, housing providers and universities.
Apart from attending USK workshops, he is a self-taught artist and has shared his passion for drawing with dozens of beginners through numerous workshops he runs in Manchester and beyond.
Len has published three books of his sketches so far, and is working on his fourth. In his latest book, Bars and Barbers, he spent months sketching a trendy Manchester neighbourhood capturing the vibe with his quirky drawings and cheeky short stories.
Workshop: Drawing people
Do you normally avoid drawing people? Then this workshop is for you. In this workshop Len will share his approach of bringing an urban scene to life with people.
Len will guide you through a simple, step by step approach of drawing figures and building a library of ‘people templates’ that can be adapted for any scene.
The aim of the workshop is to give participants the confidence to add people into their urban scenes, making sketches that are more lively and better tell the story of the chosen location.
Sketchers often avoid drawing people because it’s too difficult; their subjects move too quickly; or their drawings don’t have a likeness for the person they’re trying to capture.
By just concentrating on buildings and parts of the urban scene that don’t move, then sketchers miss out on telling the full story of their location.
My objective is to give participants a simple, step-by-step guide on how to draw people using ‘people templates’, adding them into the scene first rather than adding them as an afterthought.
Suggested materials:
Bring your regular sketching kit but perhaps add a thicker pen than you might normally use. Len recommends a thick fineliner (0.8 upwards) and often uses a ‘Faber-Castell Pitt Big Brush Pen’.
Saturday, March 15th, 10 to 13 - Morning workshop: W1 (M) - Len Grant Saturday, March 15th, 16 to 19 - Afternoon workshop: W1 (T) - Len Grant
Workshop's Language: English (Catalan/Spanish) Location: El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria