With their striking silhouettes, distinctive calls and knowing expressions, it’s no wonder that owls have fascinated humans throughout history. This June, join us at London Wildlife Trust nature reserve Walthamstow Wetlands for an evening celebrating all things owl- the myths and folk stories surrounding them, their incredible anatomy, and the important role they play within the ecosystem. We will be making the most of the midsummer evenings by inviting you on a special after-hours tour of the wetlands to inspire you before the class begins.

The first of the three stunning species we meet will be a charming eagle owl named Daisy, who is sure to wow you with her prominent ear tufts and bright orange eyes. Then we will meet Fred, an awe-inspiring great grey owl. These huge birds are perfectly adapted for cold climates and can locate prey even beneath thick layers of snow. Our third bird will remain a surprise for the moment, but we promise they won’t disappoint. We may also be joined by some rather delightful owlets, but this is dependent on when the eggs hatch… Keep your talons crossed!

Artist and nature lover Jennie Webber will lead the session, providing plenty of creative guidance along the way. Our falconer Paul will bring the birds out in turn, and teach us all about each species while we sketch them. There will be plenty of time for all your questions, so by the end of the session you will not only have some sketches to be proud of, but you’ll have also learned some cool new owl facts to keep in your back pocket! All abilities welcome- whether your sketching skills are still hatching or you’re a fully fledged artist.

How better to spend a sunny Sunday than wandering around the wetlands? Join artist Jennie Webber for a drawing tour focused on the native and migratory birds of the London Wetlands Centre. Will you catch a glimpse of an oystercatcher, curtsy to a kingfisher, or have a chat with a chiffchaff? As well as bird spotting, we will spend some time with resident otters Honey and Todd, who are sure to charm you with their sleek swimming skills.

As we explore, Jennie will guide you through the process of observational drawing with positivity and enthusiasm. She will provide plenty of tips on drawing moving animals and will be on hand to answer any creative queries you may have. There are so many species to spot at the wetlands that by the end of the session your pages will be brimming with sketches.

All ability levels are welcome at this class, whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced artist. There is always joy and relaxation to be found when observing and drawing wildlife. We will provide paper, drawing boards and a range of materials for you to use.

The price for the class includes your entrance fee to the London Wetlands Centre and you are very welcome to explore the wetlands before or after the workshop.

How better to spend a sunny Sunday than wandering around the wetlands? Join artist Jennie Webber for a drawing tour focused on the native and migratory birds of the London Wetlands Centre. Will you catch a glimpse of an oystercatcher, curtsy to a kingfisher, or have a chat with a chiffchaff? As well as bird spotting, we will spend some time with resident otters Honey and Todd, who are sure to charm you with their sleek swimming skills.

As we explore, Jennie will guide you through the process of observational drawing with positivity and enthusiasm. She will provide plenty of tips on drawing moving animals and will be on hand to answer any creative queries you may have. There are so many species to spot at the wetlands that by the end of the session your pages will be brimming with sketches.

All ability levels are welcome at this class, whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced artist. There is always joy and relaxation to be found when observing and drawing wildlife. We will provide paper, drawing boards and a range of materials for you to use.

The price for the class includes your entrance fee to the London Wetlands Centre and you are very welcome to explore the wetlands before or after the workshop.

Get a waddle on, and meet us at the aquarium for an after-hours sketching session with the gorgeous resident group of Gentoo Penguins. On land, these penguins can look a bit like they have two left flippers, so you may be surprised to learn that they are the fastest swimming birds on earth! When hunting for fish or evading predators, they reach speeds of more than 20 miles per hour. They are expert divers, capable of reaching depths of 200 metres. Since the penguins are fans of an early night, we will begin our class a bit earlier, to make sure we get all our sketches done before the birds hit the hay.

The class will begin with an introduction to drawing from life from illustrator Laura Cuppage, who will be on hand throughout the session with plenty of creative guidance. A penguin expert from the aquarium will take you on a deep dive into all things Gentoo, discussing their social groups, habitats and conservation. You don’t need any art experience to take part in the session, and we will provide everything you need to get sketching: drawing boards, paper and lots of colourful materials.

Here at Wild Life Drawing we are a small team who are dedicated to animal welfare. We only ever work with the finest animal handlers, who treat their animals with care and respect, and healthy animals who are happy being around humans. 50% of your ticket price will be donated to the aquarium’s partner charity SEA Life Trust to support their work protecting marine life around the world.

50% of profits will be donated to SEA Life Trust, to support marine habitats around the world.

Have you ever visited Spitalfields City Farm? If you have, you’ll know what a magical place it is, with its community garden, cute cafe and salt of the earth team. This July, join us to explore the farm on a drawing tour where we will meet and sketch the rescue animals and rare breeds from life. We will kick things off in the paddock with darling donkeys, mosey on over to meet the gorgeous goats, and then hop over to hang out with the bunnies and guinea pigs! Fabulous Farm Manager Jenny will teach us about the various species that live at the farm, and we will discuss their welfare and conservation across the world.

The class will be led by nature illustrator Laura Cuppage, who will begin with an introduction to drawing from life. Throughout the session, Laura will be on hand with creative advice and will have some handy hints on how to sketch moving models while having your drawing board nibbled by a goat. We welcome all abilities to partake- whether you’re a dab hand or you haven’t picked up a pencil in years, we will have you sketching away in no time. We will provide everything you need to get going- paper, drawing boards and materials, but you’re welcome to bring your own kit along if you’d like.

Animal welfare is at the heart of everything we do at Wild Life Drawing. We are a small team of animal lovers who are dedicated to nature, and we strive to make each of our classes a positive experience for the animals we draw. We only ever work with handlers who treat their animals with respect and care, and animals who are healthy and happy being around humans.

£10 from each ticket will be donated to Spitalfields City Farm, to support their fantastic community work. The charity provides a retreat for local school children and adults with learning difficulties, as well as working to conserve endangered breeds.

Sharpen your pencils and your claws, and come join our pack! At this class we will be 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 nature lover and artist Jennie Webber, who will guide you through the process of drawing wolves from life. Jennie 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.

Our sessions are open to everyone- all abilities are welcome and all artistic styles are celebrated! We will provide everything you need to get sketching- drawing boards, paper and a wide range of materials- but feel free to bring along your own kit if you’d like.

Here at Wild Life Drawing we are a small team who are dedicated to animal welfare. We only ever work with the finest animal handlers, who treat their animals with care and respect, and healthy animals that are happy being around humans.

10% of profits will be donated to Wolf Watch UK. This fantastic organisation provides a safe haven for displaced wolves at their 100 acre woodland sanctuary in Shropshire.

Absolutely buzzing to announce this very special class, where we will be peeking into the busy and intricate world of honey bees! We will be joined by Meetal Patel, who is the founder of Pearly Queen Honey, a collective of London-based urban beekeepers. For half the session, you will don a beekeeper’s suit and get up close to the hives. Meetal will teach you the basics of beekeeping, show you the incredible honeycombs and explain why it’s so important to encourage bees to thrive in city landscapes.

The other half of the class will be spent with nature-loving artist Jennie Webber, who will teach you how to sketch bees and honeycomb. We will have some cloches on the tables, each containing bees and honeycomb, so you’ll be able to observe them in detail as they buzz about. Jennie will be focusing on the anatomy of these amazing little insects and will help you capture their features on your page.

Finally, we couldn’t have a honey bee class without a honey tasting, could we?! You’ll get to try Meetal’s hyper-local honey, and he will point out the topnotes and base flavours to look out for. Sounds delightful and delicious, doesn’t it?

Throughout the workshop we will get lots of advice on ways to support our local bees, from the best plants to grow to how to use our purchasing power to support ethical honey production. 10% of each ticket will be donated to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

How do you feel about pigeons? These birds’ lives are so entwined with those of us humans, and opinions on them are most certainly divided. Some loathe them, regard them as dirty, and refer to them with that dreaded term “vermin”. Others are charmed by their gentle nature and pretty iridescent plumage, and are soothed by the soft sound of their cooing. Can you guess which camp we fall into? It will come as no surprise that we LOVE them.

All this being said, we thought it was high time for a class celebrating these humble heroes! And who better to join us than bird enthusiast and author Charlie Bingham? During the session, Charlie will tell us about the adventures she went on around the UK while writing her brilliant new book, The Life-Affirming Magic of Birds. We will discuss the whole book, but our focus for the drawing will be on pigeons. Charlie will have lots of surprising facts about these familiar birds, and will teach us about the history that we share with them, going all the way back to Roman times, when they were one of the first species of bird to be domesticated.

Artist and nature lover Jennie Webber will host the session and will guide you through the process of observational drawing. She will provide plenty of tips and tricks that she’s learned during her 10 years teaching people how to draw animals. We will work from some high-quality reference images, and will study the evolutionary traits that make pigeons unique.

The class is open to all abilities, so whether your sketching skills are still hatching or you’re a fully fledged artist, you’ll get loads out of the session. The basic materials you need to take part are some paper, a pencil, a sharpener and a rubber, but if you’d like to experiment with other materials, please feel free to get creative! We will email you an event link along with instructions and the reference images before the event. As with all our online sessions, we will send out a recording of the class afterwards so that you can watch it back as many times as you like.

This class is the first in our new ‘Book Club’ series. You don’t need to have read the book to join the session, but we’re sure that by the end you’ll be heading to your nearest bookshop to pick up your copy.

Hip hip hooray! This July, join us online as we explore the semi-aquatic world of the second-largest land animal on earth, the hippopotamus. There is so much to learn about these unique animals, and some myths to bust too. Despite their name meaning “river horse” in Greek, the closest living relatives of hippos are whales. It’s thought that they share a common ancestor that lived about 55 million years ago. Hippos are considered to be a keystone species, as they play a significant role in shaping their environments.

You’ll be getting two top-notch teachers for the price of one this time, because Jennie will be joined by artist and educator Tim Pond. Tim is the author of three excellent books on drawing wildlife, and has travelled around the world as an expedition artist. Throughout the session, both Jennie and Tim will provide plenty of creative guidance and will be all ears for any creative queries that you have. They will each demonstrate their own artistic approach, and together they will discuss their love of art and the natural world.

The class is open to all abilities, and there’s no pressure to work in a particular style. The basic materials you need to take part are some paper, a pencil, a sharpener and a rubber- but please feel free to work in whichever materials you enjoy using. We will send you an email before the session, which will contain a Zoom link and all the information you need. After the class, we will send all ticket holders a recording so you can catch up/ rewatch as many times as you like.

It’s high time we caught up with our furry friends over in Costa Rica, don’t you think? The team over at Jaguar Rescue Centre have been busy rescuing, nurturing and releasing lots of native wildlife this year, and we can’t wait for an update. We will spend a big chunk of the class cooing over the latest group of baby sloths, and sketch them as they pootle about their play area. Then we will take a tour of the sanctuary, to meet some of the latest additions- like perky possums, darling deers and mischievous monkeys.

Costa Rica is home to two of the six species of sloth: the Brown Throated Three-Fingered sloth, and the Hoffman’s Two-Fingered sloth. Jaguar Rescue Centre takes in more than 300 sloths each year, many of those being orphaned babies. From rescue to release, a young sloth stays at the centre for up to two years, until they are ready to be released back to the wild. In this time, the youngsters develop together and learn the skills needed for them to have a great chance at survival.

The class with be led by nature illustrator Jennie Webber, who will begin with her top animal drawing tips. We will be drawing the animals as they move about freely, so Jennie will provide plenty of advice on sketching moving models. We will be shown around by the lovely Noelia, whose dedication and passion for wildlife know no bounds. While we sketch, you’ll be very welcome to ask questions about the animals and the sanctuary, and what it’s like being on the front line of animal rescue.

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