Few of are lucky enough to visit Antarctica and the Arctic, but the fascination of these wild icy places affects us all. The polar regions are places were scientists can measure climate change in action; just over a century ago, they were the goal of every explorer who wanted to be the first for his country.

In this virtual sketching tour we’ll visit both Arctic and Antarctic regions where Claudia Myatt has been lucky enough to sketch first hand. You won’t have to draw with cold fingers, but you can turn the heating off if it helps!  You’ll learn how to draw and paint the wonderful wildlife of the regions – from penguins to polar bears, seals to walruses, arctic terns, albatross and snow petrel, as well as the abundant sea life, whales and dolphins.

We’ll practice painting snow and ice, using the full range of our blues and turquoises, as well as looking at some of the artist naturalists who first documented the landscape and wildlife for the first time.

The course is suitable for all levels of experience; you can paint along with Claudia’s demos and exercises or just sit back, sketch, make notes and jot down ideas and then revisit the recordings in your own time. There will be an intensive two hour session morning and afternoon with a break in the middle of day to work on your own paintings and grab some lunch!

The workshop will be recorded so you will be able to watch the video online afterwards.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• A laptop, Macbook, PC, ipad or tablet

Claudia works in watercolour but you are welcome to use whatever medium you feel comfortable with.  You will need plenty of cheap cartridge paper or sketch books, pencils and sketching pens, a small drawing board or firm backed watercolour pad. You may well want to produce more finished paintings away from the computer screen, but it will be useful to have a way of drawing and sketching, or at least making notes whilst being able to see your computer screen! Plus the usual water jars, kitchen towel, palettes, your usual art materials.

If you work in watercolours, these are the materials Claudia uses:

Windsor and Newton artists’ watercolours:

• Blues: cobalt, ultramarine, cerulean, indigo, winsor blue
• Reds: alizarin, cadmium red, burnt sienna
• Yellows: raw sienna, aureolin, cadmium yellow, naples yellow

Cartridge paper sketchbooks and Saunders Waterford watercolour paper

Rowney Aquafine watercolour brushes – selection of sizes

Waterproof sketching pens and a selection of pencils, crayons, erasers

If you have any questions about materials, do get in touch.