Find a recording of an In The Studio session focusing on observational and experimental drawing exercises using feathers as the subject matter.

In this 30 minute session designed to give you a practical and hands-on introduction to an exercise or approach, Paula and Rowan demonstrate some drawing activities that can be used in sketchbooks to enable close looking and experimental mark making through a variety of layered materials.

If you’d like to join along with the activities in the recording please have some basic drawing materials, a feather (or an image of) and paper to hand.

This session is suitable for educators working in all settings, including EYFS, Primary and Secondary Schools, Health & Community Care, Home Education, Lifelong Learning and Museum and Gallery Education.

The video below is available to full AccessArt members. Please login to access the video.

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AccessArt is a UK Charity and we believe everyone has the right to be creative. AccessArt provides inspiration to help us all reach our creative potential.

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Other Resources by Joe Gamble

Adapting AccessArt: Colour and Composition

Thoughtful Mark making

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What i ate in a day

Paint Your corner Shop

Creating Repeat Patterns

A collection of sources and imagery to explore terms used in colour theory.

Please note that this page contains links to external websites and has videos from external websites embedded. At the time of creating, AccessArt checked all links to ensure content is appropriate for teachers to access. However external websites and videos are updated and that is beyond our control. 

Please let us know if you find a 404 link, or if you feel content is no longer appropriate. 

We strongly recommend as part of good teaching practice that teachers watch all videos and visit all websites before sharing with a class. On occasion there may be elements of a video you would prefer not to show to your class and it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure content is appropriate. Many thanks. 

*If you are having issues viewing videos it may be due to your schools firewall or your cookie selection. Please check with your IT department.*

This resource is free to access and is not a part of AccessArt membership.

Colour Theory

Colour theory can be overwhelming to understand and teach. 

AccessArt would encourage an intuitive approach to teaching colour through resources such as Expressive Painting and Colour Mixing, however the information below will help you understand some of the terminology used in colour theory.

Primary Colours

Primary colours are any of a group of colours from which all other colours can be achieved by mixing. Red, yellow and blue can’t be recreated through colour mixing and act as the building blocks for all other colours.

Secondary Colours

Secondary colours are achieved when the primary colours are mixed together in equal parts. On the colour wheel, secondary colours are located between primary colours.

• Red and blue: Purple

• Red and yellow: Orange

• Yellow and Blue: Green

Tertiary Colours

Tertiary colours can be achieved by mixing primary and secondary colours. Blue-green, blue-violet, red-orange, red-violet, yellow-orange and yellow-green are colour combinations you can make from colour mixing. On a colour wheel, tertiary colours are between primary and secondary colours. – Adobe

Additional Terms Used When Talking About Colour:

Hue: Brightest and purest form of the colour on the colour wheel.

Saturation: The intensity and vibrance of a colour.

Value: How light or dark a colour is.

Shades: Achieved by adding black gradually to a colour.

Tint: Achieved by adding white gradually to a colour.

Tone: Achieved by adding grey gradually to a colour.

See Resources Exploring Colour Below…

Colour Mixing

Exciting Colour

Expressive Painting and Colour Mixing

A collection of evidence-based reports which help map the changes to the art education (and wider arts) landscape over the past few years, and a collection of articles to help share solutions to the issues raised.

If you would like us to add a link to a report or relevant article please email paula@accessart.org.uk.

Paula Briggs, CEO & Creative Director AccessArt, 2024.

Evidence

A Class Act

Social Mobility and the Creative Industries, Sutton Trust 2024

The State of The Arts

Campaign for the Arts and the University of Warwick, 2024

The Art Now Report

Commissioned by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Art, Craft and Design Education

The Arts in Schools: Foundations for the Future

Published by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and A New Direction

Urgent Reform needed in 11-16 Education

The Education for 11–16 Year Olds Committee, December 2023

Culture in Crisis: impacts of Covid-19 on the UK cultural sector

Culture in Crisis shares research findings from one of the world’s largest investigations into the impacts of Covid-19 on the cultural industries.

Solutions

Can Labour Show It Really Understands The Power Of The Arts To Transform Lives?

Why Would We Ignore What The Arts Can Do For Us?

The Current Education System: Too Much Beta, Not Enough Alpha

Rethinking the Space in Which We Learn

Taking Control of the narrative

Why We Need To Change The Narrative Around Art Education

Not Just Ideas: Action

Explore AccessArt’s vision and the impact it is having on art education.

AccessArt’s Pedagogical Approach

Over the past 25 years AccessArt has helped define a rigorous yet highly accessible approach to visual arts education.

Education: The Fundamentals

Produced by Nesta and the Education Policy Institute

Visual Arts Manifesto

24 Arts Organisations share a vision

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Layered Colour Gestural Drawing

Cut Paper Collage Still Life

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Watercolour Washes Inspired by the Tapestries of Henry Moore

Paint Your corner Shop

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Manipulating Paper: Turning 2D into 3D

Making Prompt cards

playful making pathway

ASTRONAUT PAPER BODY CASTS

Turkish map fold

Adapting AccessArt: Playful Making Inspired by Nnena Kalu

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Screenprinting in the classrom

SCREENPRINTING USING OVERLAID PATTERN

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What We Like About This Resource…

“I really like how Yu-Ching’s process combines hand-drawing and painting, before moving across to digital. Combining those processes ensures that the illustrations retain a very warm, tactile look to them, but the digital element refines the imagery. We really like what Yu-Ching says about the benefits of silent books being universally understood and feel that the benefits and challenges of not using words means that the imagery has to be really clear, which encourages lots of exciting creative problem-solving.” – Tobi, AccessArt

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Creating a Storyboard and dummy book

Drawable: the 3 Panel Challenge

Drawable: My Tiger Sketchbook

Illustrating The Jabberwocky

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Making a Sculptural Modroc Mask

Making a Mask from Sticks and Tissue Paper

See This Resource Used in Schools…

On Monday 1st July 2024 we celebrated AccessArt’s 25th birthday by hosting the first ever AccessArt Draw-Along!

The AccessArt team led a number of drawing exercises, and Rowan Briggs Smith was our live drawing demonstrator.

Thousands of participants watched the live event on their whiteboards or devices following along in classrooms, halls, community spaces or homes. You can find images of drawings from the session on this Padlet.

Register Your Interest in the Next Draw-Along

Wherever you are, whoever you are, you are invited to our next Draw-Along event (date to be confirmed) to draw alongside us in a participatory event!

Keep an eye on the CPD Zoom Events page to get updates on when the next Draw-Along will be.

The event will be open and free of charge to AccessArt members only.

Please Remember:

• The exercises are suitable for everyone – ages 5 through to adult

• By showing the event on a whiteboard you can have as large a participatory audience as you like. You only need to book one place per device used to share from.

• You must not charge participants for the event.

• The event is free of charge but only open to AccessArt members. The Zoom webinar link will be behind the AccessArt membership wall – so please make sure you are a member of AccessArt and can login! 

• These events will NOT be recorded.

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InSET Day at Welland Academy: Exploring Printmaking Processes

TEACHERS MAKE MARK MAKING TOOLS AND ‘BATTLE IT OUT’ ON AN INSET DAY