Author: Kenny Wilson

For stress awareness month we ran a number of sessions to demonstrate the impact that drawing and painting can have on our physical body and mental health. The benefits of making art have been demonstrated in many different ways over the last few decades, from lower stress levels through to improved memory.

We offered a short talk on how making art impacts our health, giving people the opportunity to hear about the physiological changes that take place when we make art. The mindful art session reset people for the day and left them feeling refreshed and inspired to make art more often. 

In celebration of Black History Month, colleagues were invited to learn to draw portraits inspired by one of the world’s leading contemporary portraitists Kehinde Wiley. Wiley’s work raises questions about race, gender, and the politics of representation by portraying contemporary African American men and women using the conventions of traditional European portraiture.

This session taught participants to draw a portrait, learning to position the features of the face, create contrast and incorporate shadow in their work. Taking inspiration from Wiley’s paintings, participants integrated a floral background into their finished piece.

In this virtual art class, participants learned to draw portraits inspired by one of India’s best known artists Satish Gujral. Exploring the themes of family and politics in his painting, Gujral’s portraits are distinct and expressive. After a childhood swimming accident left Gujral’s hearing permanently lost and one of his legs severely damaged, he battled personal trauma and prejudice on his journey to becoming a international multi-disciplinary artist.

Suitable for all abilities, this session taught participants how to draw a portrait, learning to position the features of the face, create texture and contrast in their work.

Following the fashion brand’s annual theme, we put together a watercolour session that celebrated the joy of surprises and the creative power of the unexpected.

A bespoke plan was put together for the team, that would deliver enough challenge to make the session satisfying to participants as well as provide exciting results. We provided watercolour paints, brushes, 350g cold pressed watercolour paper and folders for people to take their work and materials home with them afterwards.

Beginning with a warm up of colourful circles, participants were taken through the process of applying water to the paper in order to encourage the paint to ‘bleed’ into different colours. This exciting process was then applied to a series of beautiful fish and then simple figures, generating a series of stunning artworks that the team were proud of.

A private online gallery was produced in celebration of the event so that the Hermes team could look back on their work and share it with friends and family should they wish to.

Kennedys were looking for a way to connect their global team and so we developed a series of sessions, set across three time zones. Over 100 people attended and the results were fantastic.

A number of animal subjects were selected, with the teams being taught live via Zoom. Everybody created something unique to them and each piece was celebrated in a private online gallery created for Kennedy’s after the event.

One of the biggest successes this year has been a series of art classes, run live across three different time zones, with more than 100 people around the world taking part.

Kennedys

Baker McKenzie were looking for an engaging drawing session to offer employees during a lunch break. The session was broken up into several sections, giving participants the opportunity to tackle a number of different subjects, including a series of animals. This hour long session offered participants an opportunity to step away from their day to day tasks and fully immerse themselves in a mindful activity.

In celebration of Love, Acceptance and Equality, this drawing session inspired by one of the most celebrated and established LGBTQ+ artists still working today, David Hockney. Best known for his playful, pop-primitivist works, Hockney combines cubism with a cartoonish flair to create tender depictions of queer domestic life. With no signs of slowing down, Hockney is undergoing a late-career renaissance, and continues to put out exciting new work year after year.

This session was suitable for all levels, teaching participants about the life and artistic work of David Hockney whilst creating their own work inspired by the artist.