Autumn Botanical Drawing

Autumn Botanical Drawing kicks off at Exeter Phoenix on Monday 2 November, and it's a five-week course rather than a one-off, so you'll be heading back to the Top Studio every Monday evening through to 30 November. The sessions run from 7pm to 9.30pm, and the whole thing is led by tutor Ludmila Centurión Segovia.

The starting point is the idea that plants are more than just ecological: they're symbols of identity, as well as sources of food and medicine. Over the five weeks, you'll be recording the colours and forms of the season as plants produce seed and fruit and settle in for winter. You'll work through observation, texture, line, colour, proportion, volume, light and shadow, and botanical illustration within the context of art histories.

There's a fair bit of variety in the materials you'll use. You'll experiment with graphite, black and white charcoal, sanguine, and watercolours, so you'll get to see how different mediums handle the same subject. In the final week, everyone shares their illustrations and the stories behind them, which gives the whole thing a bit of a communal finish rather than just working in your own corner. It's open to people with no previous experience as well as those returning to expand their skills, and all basic materials are provided, so you don't need to turn up with a kit of your own.

The course runs on Mondays 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 November, 7pm to 9.30pm, in the Top Studio at Exeter Phoenix, Brandninch Place, Exeter, EX4 3LS. It costs £135, or £115 for the concession rate, subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge.