Welcome to the Drawing Sesh!
The Drawing Sesh is an online drawing school created by Demo Dema, focusing on imagination and creative freedom.
Since 2020, we meet 3 times a month to draw a specific theme, drawing from images and from life, and looking at relevant artists for inspiration along the way.
About the Drawing Sesh
The Drawing Sesh was created by Virgile Demo and Karolina Dema in 2020, when they started running art workshops and modelling online.
We meet 3 times a month on zoom to draw from images and from life, looking at inspiring contemporary artists as a starting point. Each session last 2 hours, with a short break at the hour.
The core missions of the the Drawing Sesh are to:
Make artists aware of their place in art history and in society
Draw from images and from life, exploring the infinite variety of approaches to drawing and painting
Focus on your imagination and creative freedom - artists of all levels are welcome, for the very beginner to the most skilled
Boost your confidence and speed of creation through short poses, ranging from 3 to a maximum of 12 minutes.
Introduce themes that explore the relation between figuration and abstraction, fashion and power dressing, animals in relation to each other, the news cycle, music and architecture, and more. The full catalogue of our classes is available to our patrons here.
Artists who’ve attended our workshops over the years include award winning painters and illustrators: Sara Reeve, Shu-Yun Chang, Kate Ball, Jael O’Connor, Marie Le Men, Rogner 5th, William Butterick amongst others.
Artists we‘ve looked up over the years: Mickalene Thomas, Mequitta Ahuja, Ndjideka Akunyili-Crosby, Nadia Waheed, Lubaina Himid, Amoako Boafo, Noah and Karon Davis, Claire Tabouret and many more.
the Drawing Sesh: Spring/Summer 25
May
1/9: BIRDS, a workshop in drawing birds from around the world (15/05)
Join us as we draw and paint birds from around the world. From the puffin to the penguin and the pelican, from the the ara to the seagull: we’ll draw birds big and small, domestic or exotic, with a focus on colour and movement.
Tickets: £3/$4 on Patreon (fan tier & above)
2/9: RIDING THE STORM, a workshop in drawing storms and rain (22/05)
In this workshop we draw the storm and all its attributes: thunder, rain, wind, clouds and dramatic contrasts. We’ll work from photos and videos, drawing from the warmth of our studios.
Tickets: £12/$16 on Patreon (Drawing Sesh tier & above)
3/9: DRAWING THE NEWS , a workshop in drawing the news cycle (29/05)
We approach image-making with a journalistic lense, looking at international photos that have made the news in 2025. We also draw from life with Virgile as our model, reenacting significant moments in recent memory.
Tickets: £20/$26.5 on Patreon (Illustration tier & above)
June
4/9: DINOS, a workshop in drawing T-Rexes and other dinosaurs (12/06)
Why aren’t there more dino paintings in contemporary art? We agree with you, and we spend two hours drawing dinos in all shapes and sizes, including the T-Rex, triceratops, diplodocus, stegosaurus and more. By the end of the session you’ll want to be a full-time paleo artist.
Tickets: £3/$4 on Patreon (Fan tier & above)
5/9: OVER THE MOON, a workshop in drawing the moon (19/06)
Ever our planet’s companion in the universe, the moon is a guide that we can’t get enough of in our paintings. We look at full moons in 2025 from around the world, drawing them in relation to their environment on Earth. A great opportunity to explore the many facets of a familiar yet mysterious orb.
Tickets: £12/$16 on Patreon (Drawing Sesh tier & above)
6/9: BEHIND THE SCENES!, a workshop in drawing the film and TV set (26/06)
What if film and TV sets were treated like historical paintings? Behind the scenes photos (or BTS) make for great compositions, where technicians, gear and talent offer a multiplicity of stories. We draw and paint from Virgile’s photo archives of video projects of the past 10 years.
Tickets: £20/$26.5 on Patreon (Illustration tier & above)
July
7/9: INFINITY CITIES, a workshop in drawing skylines in relation to nature (10/07)
Where does the city end, and where does nature begin? We answer the question through drawing, looking at cities from across the globe that share their territory with nature. From Rio to Kuala Lumpur, from Nairobi to Brussels, we draw towers in relation to forests, from digital collages and our own photos.
Tickets: £3/$4 on Patreon (Fan tier & above)
8/9: CLOUDS, a workshop in painting towards abstraction (17/07)
As painters, we notice abstraction in everyday things, like the clouds above us. In this workshop, we will paint towards abstraction, using clouds as our inspiration. It’s also chance to learn about the different types of clouds and how to identify them.
Tickets: £12/$16 on Patreon (Drawing Sesh tier & above)
9/9: THE ARTIST AS MODEL, a workshop in painting the portrait from life (26/06)
The artist's body can be seen as inspiration, a subject to study, or a creative space, depending on whom you ask. In this life-drawing workshop, we draw Virgile striking poses inspired by contemporary artists like Mequitta Ahuja and Cindy Sherman.
Tickets: £20/$26.5 on Patreon (Illustrator tier & above)
Program for this Spring/Summer 25:
May:
1/9: BIRDS, a workshop in painting birds of all over the world - the Fan Tier (15/05)
2/9: RIDING THE STORM, a workshop in drawing storms and rains - the Drawing Sesh Tier (19/05)
3/9: DRAWING THE NEWS, a workshop in drawing the news cycle - the Illustrator Tier (29/05)
June:
4/9: DINOS, a workshop in drawing T-Rexes and other dinosaurs - the Fan Tier (12/06)
5/9: OVER THE MOON, a workshop in drawing the full moon across the globe - the Drawing Sesh Tier (19/06)
6/9 BEHIND THE SCENES, a workshop in drawing the film and TV set - the Illustrator Tier (26/06)
July:
7/9: INFINITY CITIES, a workshop in drawing global skylines in relation to nature - the Fan Tier (10/07)
8/9: CLOUDS, a workshop in painting towards abstraction - the Drawing Sesh Tier (17/07)
9/9: THE ARTIST AS MODEL, a workshop in drawing the portrait from life - the Illustrator Tier (24/07)
Our workshops are held on zoom, accessible through our Patreon.
