Please help us
LARA is delighted to have found a way to stay in London and we can't wait to welcome our students to Clapham North. But this unexpected move is putting a huge financial strain on the school - we need your help.
The good news is that there is plenty of time to do the necessary building work in Clapham North before term starts - phewph! But the bad news is we have to pay for it: all £50,000 of it. The demand for and cost of commercial space in London right now means there's no getting away from this.
£50,000 is a huge cost for any small business to absorb. So really, we're asking for your help so LARA can survive. The business needs to stay viable so that all the good work of our students can continue. Please help us over this hurdle and back to business as usual!
Student George Thomas works on his final grisaille cast painting
LARA Donors
Titanium whiteis a staple of the LARA grisaille palette (black, white and raw umber) used when students first encounter painting. Titanium white is the most opaque of the whites making it excellent for direct painting.
Cadmium red is a staple of the LARA limited palette (the grisaille palette plus red and yellow.) Though limited, this ‘Zorn’ palette can be used to create a remarkable number of colours. Cadmium red is expensive because of the lengthy chemical processes required to produce this emotionally powerful colour.
Cobalt blue is the final colour to be added to the standard LARA palette. Among pigment makers it is known as the ‘true blue’ and artists value its unique colour: a colour that cannot be mixed. It has always been expensive and its cost is still rising due to the metal’s use in modern technologies.
Thank you for your donation. Everything helps and all donors will have their names featured on the wall in the new studio and online.
*All donations over £10 will automatically enter the Donor into our Raffle! See below for more details*
Our history
Founded in 2008, LARA has trained many award-winning artists, launched the careers of several digital arts industry professionals and built a thriving community of amateur and professional painters and sculptors. It’s a lot to have achieved in nine short years!
"LARA is a first class art teaching facility and the best in London" LARA workshop student and supporter
At LARA, we don’t have a house style. We simply provide artists with world-class skills training; we expect our students to develop their own voices during their studies and beyond to become unique and relevant contemporary artists.
"LARA is a breath of fresh air! Representational art in the art capital of the world" Parent of a current LARA student and Friends of LARA donor
The plan
The newly set-up LARA Bristol studio
Having recently and successfully set up a fantastic new studio in Bristol, we are really excited about how nice our Clapham studio will be. Our new studio will also have disabled access, something we wished to but were unable to offer in Vauxhall.
We’ll be doing everything we can to get the word out about our Crowdfunder campaign to fund this refit. We’ll be posting regularly on social media with pictures of how the works are going. We urge you to follow us and share our campaign with your friends and family.
The architect's floorplan for LARA London showing cast room, figure room, workshop room
How your pledge will be spent
We are spending the very minimum we can to make the new studio functionable. No one likes a leaky roof! We are lucky that our building contractor has worked with LARA before and is kindly offering very low prices.
Over the last nine years around 2,000 people have come to study at LARA. If all of these people were able to give £25 to keep LARA London going, we'd be there!
The rewards
We have some fantastic rewards for you. In fact, if you have any plans to attend a course at LARA in the next year make sure to check them out! With money off and cut-price courses you might just find yourself in pocket!
£2000 - Your portrait painted
Your portrait painted by a current LARA student in the new studio in Clapham North. Experience the day to day of a working atelier, get to know an up-and-coming painter and take away a life-size portrait at a bargain price. Alternatively, make this donation to have a loved one immortalised in oils. Your name will be added as a ‘Cobalt’ donor on LARA's wall and online.
£1000 - Your portrait drawn
Your portrait drawn by a current LARA student in the new studio in Clapham North. Experience the day to day of a working atelier and what it’s like to sit for a portrait as so many illustrious men and women have done through history! Take your likeness home as a souvenir of your generosity to LARA. Your name will be added as a 'Cadmium' donor on LARA's wall and online.
£350 - 5 day Portrait Drawing Masterclass with Lucy Fyffe (4th - 8th December)
Experience LARA training at a bargain price. Over the five days you will learn the basics of sight-size drawing, key structural elements of portrait drawing, how to perfect your proportions and shapes to get a likeness and how to work with charcoal and chalk. Your name will be added as a 'Titanium' donor on LARA's wall and online. Please click here for more information.
£300 - 3 evening Understanding Colour Masterclass with Andrew Gow (6th - 8th November)
After the highly-successful trial-run with full-time LARA students, Andrew Gow brings his fantastic colour workshop to you! This is not to be missed. Think about colour in an entirely new way with Andrew’s expert insights. Learn to prioritise colour, see magnificent examples from artists who do just that and be challenged in this action-packed short course. Please note, the first evening you will work on a transfer drawing with another LARA tutor to help you get the most out of Andrew’s tuition the following two evenings. Your name will be added as a 'Titanium' donor on LARA's wall and online. Please click here for more information.
£100 - Figure Drawing and Demo day with Sam Kaprielov (Sunday 12th November)
Sam’s unique style and way of working makes him a fantastic resource for all those who want to develop their quick drawing. Enjoy a day of drawing with like-minded people and a world-class artist. Your name will be added as a 'Titanium' donor on LARA's wall and online. Please click here for more information.
£100 - Your portfolio reviewed by a LARA tutor
Big application coming up? Know something’s wrong but you just can’t work out what? Need a new direction for your drawing or painting practice? Whatever the reason, the advice and experience of a LARA tutor is sure to find the potential in your work to take it to the next level. Your name will be added as a 'Titanium' donor on LARA's wall and online.
£40 - A whopping 20% off all short courses for 6 months!
If you have any plans to study on a short course at LARA over the next six months this is the pledge for you! If, for example, you take a Portrait Drawing Workshop you would latterly save £95 - or £45 when all is said and done. We’re planning loads of exciting new short, evening and weekend courses so keep an eye on our newsletter for their announcements. (Please note all courses are first-come, first-served.) Your name will be added as a donor on LARA's wall and online.
£25 - Recieve £35 worth of LARA gift vouchers - magic!
Pledge £25 and receive £35 in LARA gift vouchers - you can’t say fairer than that! Give the gift of drawing to a friend or family member, for a birthday or Christmas, or why not treat yourself? Your name will be added as a donor on LARA's wall and online. (One voucher per donor only.)
£25 - 5 Drop-in Life Drawing sessions
Drop-in Life Drawing for 5 pounds a session? Where else in London can you find that? At LARA we book fantastic models and you can get to know the space and other artists drawing. (Please note places at Drop-in Life Drawing are first-come, first-served. While we do not foresee the discontinuation of these sessions, LARA will not be liable if you have not used all your sessions should they end.) Your name will be added as a donor on LARA's wall and online. Please click here for more information.
£10 - 5% off all short course for 6 months
For those short on cash who would still like to help LARA, we would like to thank you for your support by extending a 5% discount on all short courses for six months. It’s also a great deal - on a Portrait Painting Masterclass you’ll end up £15 to the good! Your name will be added as a donor on LARA's wall and online.
£5 - 1 Drop-in Life Drawing session
Come and see the new space, meet the team, get a taste of life at the Atelier, at a bargain price! (Please note places at Drop-in Life Drawing are first-come, first-served. While we do not foresee the discontinuation of these sessions, LARA will not be liable if you have not used your session should sessions end.) Your name will be added as a donor on LARA's wall and online. Please click here for more information.
Too hard to pick? We don’t blame you, but remember you can always donate more than once to receive multiple rewards!
More ways to help
Alongside our Crowdfunder Campaign, Friends of LARA is also running an Artwork Sal at the new Clapham North studio.
Come and see what you can find at our Artwork Sale!
As a rough guide, still-lifes are going at £25-100, portrait sketches £15-45, colour studies £5-25 and figures £70-250. There are positively loads of artworks for you to have a rummage through. Find something you like - name your price!
'Plagiarism 14' by internationally renowned artist Sam Kaprielov - our raffle top prize!
For more information about both our Artwork Sale and Raffle please visit http://www.drawpaintsculpt.com/save-our-studio
"It's not often you find something genuinely unique in London, but LARA really is that. It offers a kind of training that is extremely hard to find and so very valuable. The education as well as the community it creates is an asset to the city" LARA tutor and atelier-trained artist
Thank you for your pledge
Every pledge will help secure the future of LARA. If, together, we can get LARA over this hurdle, we are in a very strong position for a bright future. We have built a vibrant and creative community of artists, the standard of work being produced in the studios is second to none and our alumni are working as self-employed artists, winning impressive awards and prizes. Help us get back to the good work!
We look forward to welcoming you to the new studio. Every donor will have their name displayed on our Donors wall: come and find yours soon!
"LARA does wonderful work keeping a worthy tradition alive and engages a new generation. Our entire community would be very grateful to you if you were to support the arts in this manner" LARA workshop student and supporter