Kate Boucher
4th - 6th May
£485
Drawing with Charcoal: Your Landscapes
Suitable for all levels.
This three day workshop focuses on drawing landscape with charcoal, working from your own photographs. It’s designed for students who want to explore places that matter to them and learn how charcoal can be used to draw those landscapes with confidence.
You’ll begin by getting reacquainted with charcoal itself: exploring different types of charcoal, tools, papers and erasers. Whether you’re completely new to charcoal or returning with years of experience, Kate assumes no prior knowledge and starts by methodically calibrating eye and hand to the material through simple, purposeful mark making tasks. This is the foundation of her own studio practice — a quiet way to settle into the medium before developing more complex work.
From there, you’ll develop drawings from your own landscape images. Kate will guide you through observational and gestural mark making, building tone, and creating texture and atmosphere — with a focus on looking carefully, developing drawings slowly and thoughtfully, and understanding how to make marks that relate to what’s in front of you. She’ll share examples from her own studio practice, including sketchbooks, source images and completed drawings.
There will be demonstrations, set tasks and short bursts of structured activity. But the heart of the course is the one to one support: each student follows their own path, with Kate offering insight, challenge and encouragement.
By the end of the three days, you’ll have strengthened your technical skills and deepened your understanding of how you might draw landscapes with charcoal.
Lunches and refreshments included. Days run from 10am to 4pm (ish)
About Kate
Kate Boucher is an artist whose work explores landscape and memory through charcoal. She studied Fine Art at Chelsea School of Art and West Dean College. She is a QEST Scholar and the author of two books: Drawing with Charcoal and Making Charcoal: A Practical Guide for Artists.
Kate’s charcoal drawings often map and re map landscapes familiar to her, in a careful dialogue between the charcoal, the act of drawing, and her memories. She wants the drawings to appear as if they’ve been built out of weather — layers of charcoal pressed, lifted, and smudged until the surface feels like something that has settled there over time.
As a tutor, she is known for her instinctive, student centred approach, specialising in inclusive, responsive workshops that support and celebrate individual strengths.
“I use charcoal regularly in my work but learnt so much from Kate, and it is incredible to watch her demonstrate — she has absolute mastery over her medium. Clear instructions, great pace. It has transformed my appreciation for working in charcoal, and I have recommended her courses to so many people!”
Kate currently lives and works in North Wales.
Instagram @misskateboucher
