Years ago (well, 2016) I attended a Wild Life Drawing class over at a falconry centre in Kent, where the morning was spent drawing, and the afternoon flying the birds. I thought it was a brilliant idea to combine fundraising and sketching, and I have followed the company ever since.
I would love to go to some of the live classes – many of them are easy for me to get to being in Brighton and London – but the pandemic has introduced us all to the delights of Zoom, and this is of course an excellent way to support a worthwhile cause from the comfort of home.
This Sunday I joined the Donkey and Foal Class, brought to us by Hackney City Farm. The hour-and-a-half consisted of an introduction to drawing the animals in question by the reassuring and talented Laura, then the cameras shift to the animals, and we can enjoy sketching from the screened hearing about the personalities, upkeep and background of the subjects. There are plenty of opportunities to switch cameras, take screenshots, and the session is recorded so if you miss bits or can’t make it after all, you can rewatch the event in your own time.
The donkeys were naturally, adorable, especially when they got the pre-feed-zoomies which was very entertaining, even if a little tricky to draw!
My mum joined me halfway through the session, as did my cat…
They are such fun sessions, and a great way to support some wonderful charities. Have a look at their website and hop on to a Zoom if you’re not able to get to one of the fabulous in-house classes.
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