During May I've been working with Youth Inspired to provide free art workshops and tutorial videos for young people from my hometown. I'm very pleased to say that I'll be working with them again in a few weeks to deliver more art workshops every Thursday so if you are a young person from Peterborough over 12 just email youthinspired@pcvs.co.uk and ask them to book you in for the Korp workshop. Its free so whats to lose?

As part of last months gig I needed to provide some tutorial videos no longer than 5 minutes in duration. I was keen not to timelapse anything so my challenge was could I doodle something interesting in less than 5 minutes and this is what I came up with. Let me know how you get on.

You can now grab yourself some face masks with Korp artwork on them.

There are several designs to choose from, head over to my RedBubble site to check them out and some new t-shirts.

Since lockdown I've struggled with doing my own stuff but I managed a few pieces and also recorded them. If you like it please subscribe to the channel.

Looking to kill some time but all you have is a pen and no inspiration? Try drawing the paradox zentangle, its an easy pattern using just straight lines that produces amazing spiral results.

Once you understand the principles why not try out your own zentangle? The following videos show you what results you can achieve.

While you are there don't forget to subscribe to my channel.

The Korp Academy is a set of weekly online art workshops to help you learn how to draw. In the first 5 weeks we drew skulls, robots, dinosaurs, ice creams, mushrooms and gremlins all with a little twist. Take a look at the results and my personal story here.

In the previous week I'd cancelled all my offline workshops and set up a members area on my website and this was the very first session of my online workshops. With no idea what to expect I jumped in feet first and hoped for the best. I had 8 students join me for this workshop and I learnt a lot including two important parts of leading a Zoom workshop...how to spotlight a video and how to put everyone on mute :D

At this stage I'm still broadcasting from my lounge but settling into a routine. Specifically that the first workshop would be learning to draw a new character, the second workshop would be around developing the character and the third being to produce a finished piece using Posca pens. 11 students joined on this workshop.

Getting into more of a routine with off camera work as well now, colouring in sheets were being published regularly and I took my first steps into creating and editing videos thanks to attending a course on how to create content for YouTube by Adrian Salisbury.

Week 4 was a milestone, membership levels reached a sustainable amount that I could earn a living during lockdown. We drew the Zoom Shroom and I celebrated quietly that I wouldnt go under.

By week 5 things were really taking off with 22 students joining on 15 cameras. This was a great session and produced one of my favourite characters. At this stage I also started to find time to do my own work again and was being approached by other organisations like Youth Inspired and Graffwerk to run workshops and produce videos for them.

The first 5 weeks were a real adventure. From not knowing how I was going to survive during lockdown through to being an established online workshop leader and content creator. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me during this transition.

I'm now in week 10 and very much enjoying teaching people my simple ways of doodling!

There are 4 online workshops every week. To join in (or watch the replays) you need to subscribe to the Korp Academy at £20 per month. That works out at £1.25 per workshop but there are many other benefits, check them out here.

Members of the Korp Academy had the chance to win a set of all 8 black POSCA pens by taking part in an art competition.

If you would like to take part for fun only here is the download.

There were over 20 entries and it was difficult to choose my favourite however here is your winner and a few honourable mentions.

The Korp Academy is the name given to my online workshops that will start with live broadcasts of Doodle Club but will also include video tutorials, behind the scenes clips from Studio 5 and collaboration interviews.​

The great thing about Doodle Club is that you don't need to be an artist to join in. I teach simple techniques for effective results so you can draw absent mindedly like all the best doodlers. If you are an amateur or professional artist that's interested in joining it would be great to see how you take my Doodle Club lessons to the next level and add your own style. Always tag me if you post on line.

Doodle Club always starts with art drills. This is a 10 minute exercise that encourages students to lose their inhibitions and start making marks on paper which is usually in the form of zentangles and simple mark making. This also introduces some of the shapes and lines we will be using later on in the session. We don't keep art drills so have a bin nearby to aim for.

We then move into the main purpose of Doodle Club which is to teach you to draw something new every week. This section takes from 15 to 30 minutes and in the past we have learnt to draw zombies, ice lollies, brains and fish to name a few (see more photos and videos here). I break this down into some simple shapes then we all draw together one step at a time. I rarely use pencils so be prepared to be brave and go straight in with Sharpie markers. After we've finished its your chance to take what you've learnt and start taking risks with it. I'll be on hand for any advice until the session is over which will usually be after 40 minutes.

Most of the drawing is done with Sharpie markers and a 0.4 Uni Pin fine line pen so these are the first items to have on your shopping list. Further sessions will introduce Posca paint markers so its worth grabbing a set of them as well when you can.

To start with you'll need A4 copier paper to draw on but feel free to experiment with different surfaces like cardboard, especially when we get the paint markers out. You can usually get free cardboard from local supermarkets (they use it for packaging and throw it away).

It would be preferable to work from a sturdy desk or dining table and try to get yourself some good light. Make sure you check everything and are all set before the live feed starts.

I haven't settled on a platform to use yet. I'll be trying Zoom, Facebook Live, Google Hangouts and any other similar streaming service. Ideally I'd like us all to be able to broadcast as I strongly believe that art is a team sport and we'll all have a lot more fun if we share what we are doing however you are under no obligation to do that. My advice is be brave and broadcast your art, it'll help me give you advice and don't worry about any mistakes because as Bob Ross would say "They are just happy little accidents".

Don't forget if you are going to broadcast you might need a tripod or something similar to hold your phone or webcam. I'll be using an elastic band, a stick, gaffa tape and a tin of beans.

I'll start with 3 Doodle Club workshops every week. All of these will be the same subject matter so if you miss one you can jump on the next one. The official schedule will be published on the EARLYWORM page every week with login links and details of what you will need to join.

​So that's about it...if you have any questions try the FAQ section at the bottom of the Korp Academy page or send me a message.

This week I had to move out of my studio and cancel all my art workshops due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This represented a huge loss of work for me so I've been busy over the last few days making my workshops available online and I'm very pleased to be able to launch that today.

If you click on the link below it will take you to a members only area on my website. For £20 a month you will get access to all my live online workshops that will be broadcast several times a week, free weekly downloads of colouring in sheets and art challenges and a 20% discount code that can be redeemed against any of my artwork and merchandise.

If youre still not sure take a look at the Korp Academy page for examples of the artwork that will be produced, videos and an FAQ section.

I'm a bit late to the party but after seeing my friend Doug Shaws post about #MarchMeetTheMaker I thought I'd try and join in.

Today the prompt is HELP and this is somewhere I have been lucky. Over the years I have been surrounded by people that have helped me grow into a full time artist and none more so than the poet Keely Mills from Eastern Angles.

A couple of years ago I was losing my studio space and about to call time on what, at that point, had been a fairly short career as a "full time" artist. Keely and I had been casual acquaintances for many years crossing paths at different cultural events in the city and it was during one of these events that she invited me to take a look at some large retail units being used as a pop up theatre called the Undercroft. Despite being focused on poetry and theatre Keely was critical in securing a 3 month trial for me to set up my studio, Studio 4, inside the Undercroft. Since then Keely and Eastern Angles have helped me to set up a successful art school with over 50 registered students, an established live art event in Korpest that has seen over 60 artists painting live in Peterborough including My Dog Sighs, Nyces and Irony and helped me to continue to be a full time artist.

Thank you.
🙏

The Junk Yard Jam has quickly become one of my favourite events of the year. Andy and Mike are doing a great job on so many levels. To start with its great to be able to have some really amazing canvases to work on like cars, vans, trailers, containers and even some big silo's. After the event most of the pieces are grabbed and destroyed by the on site excavator (see below) or, where artistically appropriate, set alight (check the Irony Lighter piece). The other thing they do so well is make you feel welcome and appreciated and with drinks, snacks and pizza for that energy boost. Top fellas putting on a top jam!