Join us for an underwater adventure at SEA LIFE Brighton, the world's oldest aquarium! Our first after hours exploration will focus on their Sharks and Sea Turtles. Sea Turtles are an iconic species, recognised globally as a symbol of the sea. The Brighton Aquarium is home to two rescued green sea turtles by the names of Lulu and Gulliver. Around the late 1930's - early 40's, they were born along a beach in Mexico, however it is believed they were illegally taken from the beach by a TV advertising agency to appear in an advert for soap powder (?!) They were rescued from an uncertain fate and have lived with many other species of marine life in the Aquarium's largest Ocean Tank ever since, feasting upon a daily diet of green veggies. Green sea turtles are named after the layer of green fat that sits underneath their shells. We will also be introduced to their tank-mates – different species of sharks and fish including Zebra Sharks, Black Tip Reef Sharks, Nurse Sharks along with Stingrays, Grouper and Wrasse plus the charmingly odd-looking Unicorn and Rabbitfish.

The class will commence with a short talk by an Aquarium expert, who will tell us about sea turtle and shark conservation around the world, and the effects of climate change, plastic pollution and the fishing industry on both species. As always, 50% of each ticket price will be donated to the SEA LIFE Trust – and some of the charity’s current projects are particularly focusing on the conservation of sea turtles around the world. The charity have also recently opened the first Beluga Whale sanctuary in Iceland, giving homes to ex-circus and water park cetaceans across the world.

50% of the ticket price will be donated to the Sea Life Trust

Inspired by the local Crystal Palace dinosaurs we will be delving into prehistoric evolution for our first visit to Gipsy Hill Taproom. Reptiles arose around 310–320 million years ago during the Carboniferous period and from this classification came Dinosaurs and many other creatures. We'll be sketching different species of reptiles that have particularly interesting evolutionary histories. First a salamander, that's been on the fossil register since the Jurassic period when dinosaurs roamed the earth. We'll be meeting tortoises, decedents from turtles – which have been on the fossil register for over 220 millions years largely unchanged. We'll sketch snakes and explore their evolutionary history, seeing their 'ghost legs' which they now use for something quite different from walking! We'll also draw a lovely range of lizards including a Green Iguana, Bearded Dragons and a Bosc Monitor Lizard that has a distinct likeness to a velociraptor!

All these animals are absolutely magnificent, with unbelievable textures and colours to inspire your artworks. And being cold-blooded, they don't expend any unnecessary energy, making them excellent drawing subjects! As well as sketching these reptiles, we will also be learning about their natural habitats, eating habits and their lives in the wild from the expert knowledge of the animal handlers. We will also be discussing the complex care these reptiles need, responsible pet ownership, the dangers of the trade in exotic pets and any conservation issues affecting these species around the world.

Join us at the Garden Museum for a drawing class focused on London's most iconic parks in Winter. We will draw from three curated botanical displays inspired by Hyde Park, Richmond Park and Kensington Gardens featuring iconic plants, flowers and foliage that reference particular parts of the parks, people or events throughout history. Our flora will include roses, herbs and wildflowers inspired by Hyde Park's rose gardens, herbaceous borders and meadow area. We will sketch azeleas, rhododendrons, honeysuckle and camellias found in Richmond Park's Isabella Plantation. And Kensington's Italian Gardens will offer us a variety of vegetables and herbs from the allotments there. The workshop will commence with a demonstration in observational drawing and there will be plenty of drawing materials to experiement with, as well as helpful tips and creative guidance on hand throughout.

We have a truly amazing selection of unusual reptiles and amphibians for you to meet, draw and learn about at our first class with Draw Brighton in the new year. We'll be sketching different species including two colourful Veiled Chameleons, Crested Geckos and Leopard Geckos, a Dwarf Monitor Lizard, Tortoises and Bearded Dragons and Stanley the Axolotl – which will give us the opportunity to talk about how this species is critically endangered in the wild and what we can do to help. We'll be leaning how chameleons can change colour, how geckos can drop their tails to distract predators, why crested geckos have to lick their eyeballs and how reptiles communicate in the wild. All these animals are absolutely magnificent, with unbelievable textures and colours to inspire your artworks. And being cold-blooded, they don't expend any unnecessary energy, making them excellent drawing subjects! All these animals are rehomed ex-pets or rescues and we will be discussing the complex care they need, responsible pet ownership, the dangers of the trade in exotic pets and any conservation issues affecting these species around the world.

Our Valentine’s Special this year will be exploring the cute, curious – and sometimes cruel – courtship rituals in the natural world. Just FYI, this class isn't just for couples looking for an alternative celebration, but for anyone and everyone who fancies coming along! We will be meeting and drawing hedgehogs, and learning how the males of the species try to seduce potential mates with a huffing, snorting mating dance that can last for hours. We’ll draw ferrets, whose courtship rituals charmingly include biting their females neck and dragging them around. We’ll meet cockerels who ‘drop a wing’ and dance around their hens to entice them. We’ll sketch male mice that sing an ultrasonic song to their females. We’ll learn about Leopard Geckos that vibrate and wave their tails to seduce their females. We will also be sketching Giant Millipedes – who use the art of massage to entice their mates, Giant Land Snails who shoot LOVE DARTS (actual name) and Tarantulas, who will eat the male after copulation. Join us for a day of mind blowing biology!

We're back at the London Aquarium for another after-hours aquatic exploration into the weird world of jellyfish. We'll be focussing on capturing the wonderful wibbliness of these ancient organisms on paper, reflecting their translucency and delicacy in the water. The class will commence with some amazing jellyfish facts, then you'll be able to explore and be mesmerised by the jellies, whilst sketching with a variety of media including pens, pastels and watercolours. All materials will be provided, and technique tips and advice will be on hand all the way through the session.

Now the largest jellyfish facility in the UK, experts at the aquarium – fondly nicknamed “jellyologists” – have been breeding Moon Jellyfish, Sea Nettles, Barrel and Upside Down Jellyfish at different stages of their lives, with some reaching more than three meters in length! The three stages of the exhibition will explore the lifecycle of these gelatinous creatures, as well as how they thrive, sting and reproduce. Drawing these drifting forms will not only be an enjoyable creative challenge, but a relaxing and meditative experience.

Jellyfish are truly unbelievable; they have no brain, heart, blood or bones, but they do have a nervous system, a stomach and reproductive organs. Jellyfish have a complicated life cycle, growing quickly and living on average around a year. Feeding on plankton, fish and other jellyfish, they catch prey with their stinging tentacles. Where there are approximately 2000 species of jellyfish, only around 70 have stings strong enough to harm humans. And a group of jellyfish is called a smack!

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

We’ll be celebrating International Women's Day by spending our evening with dominant females in the bird world. In an unusual example of reverse sexual dimorphism, female birds of prey are always one third bigger than males on average (because the females need to lay and incubate eggs). We will draw Harris Hawks that live and hunt in a matriarchal groups, where the dominant female leads a pack of males to work together to catch the food – they’re known as the ‘wolves of the sky’ and it’s one of the only examples of cooperative hunting in the avian world. We’ll also be meeting and drawing a female African Hooded Vulture named Mauve and speaking about the serious conservation issues affecting these birds across the world. Lovely Maggie the Lanner Falcon will also be joinging us – a very pretty and flirtatious bird with distinct love hearts on her breast feathers. We’ll be learning about the nesting and breeding process and how the birds raise their young in just 9 weeks from hatching. All genders welcome of course!

10% of each ticket will be donated to the Vulture Conservation Foundation.

This Spring we're back at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium to explore their incredible Rainforest area with another after-hours drawing class for charity. With a focus on the Amazonian waterways and dense jungles, we will be able to get up close and personal with dwarf crocodiles, snapping turtles, red-bellied piranhas, hissing cockroaches and leaf cutter ants, giraffe nosed cat fish, sleek arowana fish and terrapins that like to balance on top of each other! The class will start with an introduction to rainforest habitats and we will discuss the conservation issues affecting them; including deforestation due to logging and agriculture, commercial fishing, bio-piracy and poaching. Attendees will be able to head off to explore with their drawing boards, and helpful hints and guidance will be on hand from workshop leader, illustrator Jennie Webber.

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