The online drawing scene is well worth delving into, whether you are an artist, or a collector. Not only for the drawing activity itself, but for discoveries of exciting artists and art work.
Eventbrite
I stumbled into the scene, when I was searching for live figure drawing locally, using Eventbrite. In the 'suggested' list I discovered exciting stuff happening online via Zoom.
How it works
The way it generally works: a host advertises the event, manages payments, books a model, rehearses the session, distributes the link and guides the session. Any number of people can join. There are usually rules to restrict sharing of the images due to the nudity and the copyright of streamed video.
Sessions are of varying lengths and generally, a model is featured for a couple of hours. Sometimes there are several models one after another. There are rest breaks for the models and the poses are generally timed, starting at around 5 minutes long and going up to 20 minutes.
Sharing work
During the breaks, artists can share their work on screen by flipping through their sketch books. I love getting a glimpse of each artist's studio environment, anything from a kitchen table, to a loft attelier.
Marathons
Once or twice a year some hosts run marathon sessions and you can draw all day from lunchtime, into the early hours of the morning. These have a busy, exciting atmosphere, with a different model for each hour of the day. You get to experience each person's style and personality.
Below is an advert for the Scottish Borders Figure Drawing marathon in 2023. A great way to see in the New Year! I put yellow boxes around the models I particularly enjoyed drawing - then I look out for the days when they do solo sessions.
Clubs / Groups / Hosts - a selection
Scottish Borders Life Drawing Club
Scottish Borders Life Drawing Club on Facebook hosted by Deryck Henley - this started off as a local area group in-real-life and then grew online during lockdown in 2020. Their online presence is mostly on Facebook and people request to join the mailing list from there. Deryck then sends out an email whenever there is an upcoming session.
Sessions are usually on Sundays at 1pm UK time.
Well organised, with spin-off events (prioritising regular attendees) such as a curated exhibition at the Edinburgh Festival and a group holiday in France in 2026.
Very popular with over a 100 attendees for special events.
Judith Yaws Life Drawing
Judith Yaws Life Drawing website
Follow Judith on Instagram @judithyawslife
Judith is a German, multi-lingual artist based in North Carolina USA, who runs sessions at the weekends. They are usually in the evenings or late night in UK time. Judith is also very well organised, offering timed poses which are rehearsed. Judith's approach is also very friendly and personable.
Drawing Cabaret Couture
Drawing Cabaret Couture is an independent production company and studio based in East London UK. They offer almost anything you might want if you love fashion, costume and figure drawing. I joined their Patreon club for a while, which gave me unlimited access to a bedazzled image archive. They organise full theatrical sets for their live streamed fashion poses and these are professionally photographed as well.
On Instagram @drawingcabaretcouture
A few more to add - will come back to this again later (as at Monday 5 May 2025).
