Virtual art club keeps isolation at bay during lockdown

A virtual art club run by two artists is keeping people connected during lockdown.

‘The Big Draw’ was created in a Whatsapp group by Ron Burnett and Jacqueline Watt.

The aim is for the 30-odd participants to do one drawing every day, guided by a brief from the two organisers.

Ms Watt is a practising artist and a former Lecturer at Leith School of Art and visiting Lecturer at Sir John Soan’s Museum in London, while Mr Burnett was an art teacher and is now an award-winning graphic designer.

The group started when a 94-year-old friend of the couple who has no family in Edinburgh was struggling with lockdown isolation, and her Canadian-based daughter approached Ms Watt and asked if she could help.

“Sensing that others would also be finding lockdown difficult to cope with, we invited a few friends to join us in a WhatsApp group with an aim to 'do a drawing a day'. Word soon spread and we have now over 30 participants and a waiting list, although we realise that the potential could be very large,” said Ms Watt.

“We devise and send out a basic drawing brief each week to friends and family throughout the UK, as well as in Canada and Denmark, some of whom have started their own little groups.

“Each brief is devised to encourage the progression and development of the group, keeping in mind the very wide range of skill levels.

“It’s very simple, people can go at their own pace. We’ve got people who have never drawn before, and those with no materials. Everyone can draw, we’re teaching them how to look at things in a certain way.”