Embellishing the Body - Costume and Poise

Course Dates: 10^th- 12^th December  2025 (Wednesday - Friday)

This 3 day course is about making confident and expressive drawings and paintings that explore the poise and character of the model and the rich sumptuous fabrics that make up her costume. Along with the silhouette of the costume and poses, the texture and colours of the fabrics will be an inspiration.

Eve is our model and is Emily Ball's daughter. She is currently studying Costume Design for Stage and Screen at Wimbledon College of Art. She will be designing, making and modelling her own costume for this course as a reflection of who she is as a modern young woman. Painting from the clothed figure means we will be looking at colour, texture and pattern as much as the revealed and framed areas of the body. Celebrate the way fabric adorns the figure, how it changes as it wraps around form, glimpses of skin, the features of the face emerging from folds and frills.

Her designs take inspiration from Medieval and Elizabethan portraits and costumes but with an added contemporary twist. These portraits show an unconventional beauty of the women. The clothing speaks volumes and the head is often framed, pale and beautiful. These images - with their deep patterns and contrast  - reflect the independent strong women gazing back at us.

Using inspiring creative processes you will make a series of quick studies from the figure in movement, as a warm up, reacquainting yourself with the body as a subject using the fluidity of paint to express the lyrical qualities, dance like. You will then start 2 or 3 longer paintings in which you will start to use the language of paint to describe the texture, direction and weight of cloth, how it shrouds, conceals, and reveals the form underneath. You will be encouraged to play and experiment, not relying simply on observation, so that the paintings you begin to make will be fresh and exciting, open to change.

We will look at artists including Matisse, Bonnard, Vuillard, Chantal Joffe, Alice Neal, and Jennifer Packer for inspiration. 

Eve is starting her third year of Theatre and Costume Design at Wimbledon College of Art*

See Course Details for further information