Wild Life Drawing Online: Seal Pups

For our online Christmas Special this year, we will be once again virtually visiting the wonderful Seal Sanctuary in Cornwall, meeting and drawing three of the rescued Grey Seal pups! Each winter the sanctuary rescues lost, abandoned or malnourished seal pups from the Cornish coast, and rehabilitates them to be re-released out into the wild when they're strong enough to fend for themselves. These seal pups are receiving the best care from a team of dedicated experts, and the sanctuary is also home to a variety of seals and sea lions that need special care and could not be released back into the wild. I guarantee your hearts will be well and truly melted!

It costs approximately £2000 to rescue, feed and house ONE seal pup for the winter months, and the seal sanctuary rescue around SEVENTY per season. That's a lot of money needed and that's why 50% of your ticket price will be donated to the sanctuary, which will go directly to helping the seals. The pandemic has prevented the sanctuary from making much-needed funds through visitor fees, so this donation will make a real difference.

The class will begin with an introduction from WLD founder and artist Jennie Webber, who will take you through the basics of drawing animals from life. There will be a drawing demonstration of the shapes, proportions and anatomical features to identify and some handy hints for capturing the movement. We will then switch screens to be introduced to some of the rescued seal pups in the "hospital" area and we'll hear from the sanctuary director Jana Sirova all about seals, their conservation and what to do if you find a lost pup. We'll spend a whole hour drawing the seals from life, and there will be plenty of creative guidance and demonstrations along the way to help you with your drawings.

The basic materials you need to take part are paper, a pencil, eraser and sharpener, but of course you are more than welcome to work in whatever materials you enjoy or have to hand. Please get in touch if you need advice on materials, we're happy to help! You will be emailed the Zoom link to join and 48 hours before the event is due to start. If you haven't received the link, do check your junk mail first and then get in touch and we'll make sure you have it before the event is due to take place.

50% of each ticket sold will be donated to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.