In this video, Emily Roberts offers a glimpse into her upcoming life drawing workshop at the Higher Spargo School of Art. With a background in traditional oil painting, drawing, and sculpture, Emily brings a classical approach to life drawing - focusing on contour, tone, and form - but with a distinctive twist.

What sets this workshop apart is its focus on foraged materials. Emily invites participants to step outside the studio and into the landscape, gathering natural resources from around the Higher Spargo farm to make their own charcoal, inks, and watercolours.

Emily emphasises foraging as a crucial part of the drawing process.  In a world where art supplies can arrive at your door with a few clicks, she encourages a slower, more hands-on approach. As she explains, gathering and making your own resources reconnects artists to the materials they use, demystifies the process and fosters a deeper understanding of the medium.

“Once you see how materials are made, it opens up new, intuitive ways of working.”

Videographer: Sophie May

Writer: Muirne MacKinlay MacLeod