BA Drawing

About this course

Drawing is one of the most fundamental and versatile of the visual arts, a practice that predates writing and that continues to sit at the heart of artistic thinking in all media. It is a way of seeing as much as a way of making, training the eye and the hand to work together in the service of observation, imagination and expression. Drawing can be analytical or expressive, documentary or abstract, a means of exploring an idea or a finished work in its own right. The Open University offers this drawing programme in a part-time and distance learning format, which makes serious studio-based practice accessible to students who cannot attend a traditional art school. Drawing is in some respects particularly well suited to distance learning, since it is a practice that develops through sustained individual work rather than requiring constant studio presence, and the Open University has developed effective approaches to supporting drawing practice at a distance, including the submission and critical feedback of practical work. You will develop technical skills across a range of drawing approaches, including observational drawing, life drawing, drawing from imagination and experimental approaches that push the medium in new directions, alongside the critical and contextual understanding of drawing's history, theory and contemporary practice that rounds out a serious engagement with the field. Studying drawing develops close observation, the ability to translate three-dimensional reality into two-dimensional marks, patience and the willingness to work through failure towards something better. The part-time and distance format develops self-direction and the habit of sustained independent practice, which are essential for any working artist. Graduates from drawing programmes work as practising artists, illustrators, designers, art educators, community arts practitioners and in a wide range of creative roles. The skills developed in drawing also support work in animation, architecture, product design, fashion and many other design disciplines. Further study at postgraduate level in fine art, illustration or art education is a natural option for those wishing to develop their practice further.

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