Join us to draw and explore the Natural History Museum’s brand new gardens, which map the story of how plant life has changed over history from the days of the dinosaurs to modern era. We will work in a variety of mediums to capture the verdant vitality of prehistoric plant life, examine the museum’s rare dried flower collection and even meet their new life size bronze Diplodocus!

Artists Jennie Webber, Laura Cuppage and Emily Lines will guide you through the process of botanical drawing. The class is suitable for all abilities, from seasoned pros to absolute beginners. We will provide everything a colourful variety of materials for you to experiment with.

Don your dungarees and grab some hay to chew on, because we’re heading to the farm! We are delighted to be returning to one of our favourite spots in the city, Hackney City Farm, for a sketching and stroking sesh. We’ll kid about with goats, have a natter with the sheep, and dilly-dally with the donkeys. There will also be time to go and explore the nature garden, and if you like, you can pop into the cafe afterward the class for a slice of freshly baked cake. Heaven!

The class will be led by nature artist Laura Cuppage, who will kick things off with an introduction to drawing moving moo-dels. With her bucket loads of experience drawing animals from life, Laura has plenty of creative advice to share which is sure to get even total beginners sketching away in no time. We will be given a tour of the farm by animal expert Michelle Frank, who will teach us all about our new four-legged friends.

£10 of each ticket will be donated to Hackney City Farmto support their wonderful community work.

*Please note that Wild Life Drawing gift vouchers are not eligible for this class, as the venue is managing the ticket sales.

Join us at the Florence Nightingale Museum for an evening drawing our favourite family of British Lupine wolf dogs. This stunning hybrid species have real wolves in their bloodline- and are dead ringers for their wild relatives. They howl at the moon and live in a pack, but are gorgeously tame and friendly. The pack also happen to be quite the celebrities, having starred in many photoshoots, and films- try to act cool when you meet them though, yeah?

Hosting the session will be animal-obsessed illustrator Jennie Webber, who will guide you through the process of drawing wolves from life. She will provide her top tips on drawing moving models and will be all ears for any questions you have. We will also be joined by “head wolf” Natalie Langstrom, who will share the extensive knowledge of these animals she has gathered over her many years working as a canine behavioural expert. Natalie is a fierce advocate for wild wolves, and will give an insight into the species and their conservation.

10% of each ticket will be donated to Wolf Watch UK.

Join us for a sunny summer class with an animal that is as friendly as it is furry- the alpaca. These docile creatures hail from South America, where they were domesticated by the indigenous peoples of the Andes Mountains. They are prized for their soft wool, which the Incas valued more than gold. Alpacas are highly social pack animals, and communicate with one another using a wide range of noises including humming, snorting, grumbling and clucking!

The class will be held inside the paddock at Vauxhall City Farm- the perfect setting to get to know the gorgeous resident Alpacas. A team member from the farm will teach us all about these wonderfully woolly animals, and there will be time for lots of your questions too. Artist Jennie Webber will guide you through the process of drawing moving models, beginning with some fun drawing exercises. All abilities are welcome, from haven’t-drawn-since-schoolers to seasoned pros. We will provide everything you need to get sketching; paper, drawing boards and a range of materials, but feel free to bring your own kit if you’d like.

£10 of each ticket will be donated to Vauxhall City Farm.

*Please note that as the venue manage the ticketing for this event, Wild Life Drawing gift vouchers aren’t eligible.*

Prairie Dogs are not only cute, furry and squeaky but they’re affectionate too – partial to a nice kiss and a cuddle when they greet their family members. We are delighted to be welcoming a family of rescue Prairie Dogs to our upcoming drawing class this August, including two gorgeous little pups who will hopefully show us their cutest kisses. These romantic rodents will be joined by some of their rescued and rehomed friends including Vega the Gambian Pouched Rat (AKA the Hero Rat, as this species use their intelligence and super sense of smell to detect landmines). We will be meeting charming little Dorito the Duprasi, with his curiously wide tail used for storing water. Also in attendance will be Hagrid the Skinny Pig and his pal Jeff, a regular Guinea Pig and some pretty little Harvest Mice. Plenty of inspiration for your drawings!

10% of each ticket will be donated to South Essex Wildlife Hospital.

Join us to draw and explore the Natural History Museum’s brand new gardens, which map the story of how plant life has changed over history from the days of the dinosaurs to modern era. We will work in a variety of mediums to capture the verdant vitality of prehistoric plant life, examine the museum’s rare dried flower collection and even meet their new life size bronze Diplodocus!

Artists Jennie Webber, Laura Cuppage and Emily Lines will guide you through the process of botanical drawing. The class is suitable for all abilities, from seasoned pros to absolute beginners. We will provide everything a colourful variety of materials for you to experiment with.

Have you ever been to one of our birds of prey classes? If so, you’ll have seen how beautiful our raptors are, with their sharp talons, piercing gazes and delicate feathers. But how about a chance to see them do what they do best; flying! Take it from us, it’s a truly magical experience. We are delighted to bring you the opportunity to do exactly that, at an immersive all-day session, drawing and flying birds of prey at Eastwell Manor in the glorious Kent countryside.

We will spend the morning drawing birds from all over the globe- Xavier the Bald Eagle, Bailey the Makinders Owl, Moet the Chilean Blue and Maggie the Hooded Vulture – who will be stationed on their perches in the tranquil grounds of the manor. The Wild Life Drawing team will be on hand for all the creative guidance you need, and the expert falconers at Sky Birds of Prey will teach us about each of the species in turn.

Then in the afternoon, it will be time for the birds to take to the sky. Paul and his team will give a flying display with in-depth information about each bird’s unique characteristics. Then, after an introduction to falconry, you’ll each don the glove and experience the unforgettable feeling of flying the birds yourselves. There’s nothing like it! There will also be plenty of time to photograph and sketch the birds as they soar through the grounds.

This workshop is open to all abilities. With our top tips on drawing animals from life, you’ll be sketching away in no time. We will provide paper, drawing boards and a range of materials for you to use, but you’re welcome to bring your own kit if you like.

Eastwell Manor is easily accessed by car and there is parking available. The nearest train station is Ashford International, which is a 35 minute journey from London St. Pancras, and is 15 minutes away from the site by taxi.

Saddle up, because our next underwater sketching session is all about seahorses! These miniature marine marvels are distinct from any other fish in so many ways, but perhaps the most unusual is their baby-makin’ style. Seahorses are the only animals that have reversed pregnancies. The female transfers her eggs to the male’s “brood pouch”, which he then fertilises and incubates. After a few weeks, Papa Seahorse expells up to a thousand tiny but perfectly formed baby seahorses, in a most dramatic fashion which is well worth looking up!

At the class we will study short-snouted, long-snouted and big bellied seahorses, as well as the colourful coral that they live in amongst. We will be given an introduction to the species group from one of the aquatic animal specialists at the aquarium, who will be happy to answer your questions. Artist Jennie Webber will then guide you through the process of drawing moving animals, so by the end of the session you’ll have captured all of those sweet, horsey details with flair. Though we will focus on the seahorses, you’ll be free to wander through the space to sketch lots of other beautiful species too. We will provide everything you need to get sketching- a drawing board, paper and a wide range of materials to experiment with, but if you have any trusty favourites do feel free to bring them along too. The class is open to all abilities, and we celebrate all artistic styles!

50% of each ticket will be donated to SEA Life Trust.

Get ready for colour, charisma and just the right amount of chaos, because this September the parrots are back! At this class we will be joined by a rainbow of ravishing macaws, each of whom has a personality which is as bright and lively as their feathers. This class will be very special indeed, because while we draw we will have the chance to hear from their handler Barret Watson, who is one of the UK’s leading parrot experts. Barret will teach us all about these intelligent birds and update us on the breeding programmes he is involved in, which work to conserve rare and endangered species in the wild.

Artist Jennie Webber will begin the session with an introduction to drawing moving models, and some fun warm-up exercises to get your drawings off to a flying start. No prior art experience is needed to join the session- whether you’re a dab hand or an absolute beginner, we will have you sketching away in no time. The aim of our classes is to use drawing as a tool to learn about animals and conservation- there is no pressure to create a “perfect” portrait. We will provide a range of art materials, paper and drawing boards for you to use so no need to bring anything along.

10% of each ticket will be donated to The World Parrot Trust.

Get ready for colour, charisma and just the right amount of chaos, because this September the parrots are back! At this class we will be joined by a rainbow of ravishing macaws, each of whom has a personality which is as bright and lively as their feathers. This class will be very special indeed, because while we draw we will have the chance to hear from their handler Barret Watson, who is one of the UK’s leading parrot experts. Barret will teach us all about these intelligent birds and update us on the breeding programmes he is involved in, which work to conserve rare and endangered species in the wild.

Artist Jennie Webber will begin the session with an introduction to drawing moving models, and some fun warm-up exercises to get your drawings off to a flying start. No prior art experience is needed to join the session- whether you’re a dab hand or an absolute beginner, we will have you sketching away in no time. The aim of our classes is to use drawing as a tool to learn about animals and conservation- there is no pressure to create a “perfect” portrait. We will provide a range of art materials, paper and drawing boards for you to use so no need to bring anything along.

10% of each ticket will be donated to The World Parrot Trust.

There are few animals more peculiar, more iconic or more delightful than the giraffe. They are the tallest mammals on earth, with bulls reaching staggering heights of almost 6 metres. They are generally peaceful and sociable creatures, and even behave honourably in combat. Recent research has shown that large male giraffes do not take advantage of their size and status to pick on smaller bulls, and will only spar with evenly matched opponents.

For this online class we will be live streaming with Collette Massier, who is part of the team at Na’ankusê Animal Sanctuary in Namibia. We will be working from reference images of the rescued giraffes who freely roam the reserve. Collette will teach us all about this amazing species and what it’s like to work with them, and give us an update on the latest news from the sanctuary. The class will be led by animal artist Jennie Webber, who will begin with an introduction to observational drawing. She will provide plenty of creative guidance throughout the session so that by the end of the class your pages will be filled with life and character.

50% of ticket profits will be donated to Na’ankusê.

It’s about time for another visit to Costa Rica, don’t you think? We are delighted to be teaming up with our friends over at Jaguar Rescue Centre for another live online class, this time studying the resident deer that call the sanctuary home. We’ll meet a pair of red brocket deer named Ginger and Wasabi, along with white-tailed deer Penelope and Xai (who just so happens to be regarded by all at JRC as queen of the centre). We will hear each of the deer’s life stories and how they came to be at the centre, as well as going into detail about both species.

Artist Jennie Webber will lead the session, kicking things off with a drawing demonstration. She will be joined from the sanctuary by Noelia, who will introduce us to the animals and get us up to speed on these graceful forest creatures. As always, the class is open to all; you don’t need any prior art experience to take part. We see sketching as a pathway into the lives of our mammalian models- there’s no pressure to create a perfect portrait!

50% of ticket profits will be donated to Jaguar Rescue Centre.

Join us to study the largest land beetle in the U.K; the giant stag beetle. These incredible insects spend the majority of their lives as larvae, hidden from sight in old trees and rotting wood. The grubs spend up to six years bulking up on a strict diet of dead wood, until they are big and strong enough for metamorphosis. They then build themselves a cocoon, from which they emerge several months later as the beautiful adults we know and love.

Seeing a stag beetle used to be a fairly common (but always exciting) summertime occurence, but these days it’s becoming more and more of a rare event. This is because the population of these excellent beetles is in decline, mainly because of habitat loss. Urbanisation and the “tidying up” of forests mean that there is less and less rotting wood available for them to live in. Thankfully there are dedicated people who are doing their best to turn around the fate of the species, like our friends over at People’s Trust for Endangered Species. For this class we are delighted to be joined by Laura Bower, a conservation officer at the charity who specialises in invertebrates. While we sketch, Laura will teach us all about about stag beetles and give us some simple actions- like building a log pile- that we can all do to do to help in the fight to save them.

50% of ticket profits will be donated to People’s Trust for Endangered Species.

We are so looking forward to this upcoming class, where we will be drawing an adorable and unusual species- the Tanuki! Also known as Japanese Raccoon Dogs, this ancient canine species play an important role in the folklore of their native Japan. They are often depicted as shapeshifters, who can turn to humans and sing songs. As this is a live class, we will have to wait and see if our models feel like performing a number for us on the day!

The class will be live-streamed from the wonderful Ventura Wildlife Foundation, where we will meet animal expert Steve Goodwin, who will be joining us from inside the tanuki enclosure. Expect lots of lovely close-ups of the gang! The class will be led by artist and wildlife enthusiast Laura Cuppage, who will begin with her top animal drawing tips. We will draw the tanukis as they move freely about their enclosure, so Laura will provide plenty of advice on sketching moving models. Steve will be happy to answer your questions, and will have lots of fun tanuki facts to share throughout the session.

50% of ticket profits will be donated to Ventura Wildlife Foundation.