Seabird Drawing Week bursary
The John Busby Seabird Drawing Week
The John Busby Seabird Drawing Week A field sketching and painting week based in East Lothian, dedicated to the memory of John Busby, David Measures and Greg Poole. Led by Darren Woodhead SWLA and Nik Pollard SWLA. The next drawing week will take place in 19–26 June 2027 and is open to artists over the age of 18 and is based at Dukes of West Barnes, Dunbar.
The John Busby Seabird Drawing Week has been running for over 30 years and is an opportunity for enthusiasts with experience of field sketching to gather for a week of drawing and painting among the many seabird sites in the area: Bass Rock, Fidra, Dunbar, St Abbs Head, Tyninghame, Aberlady Bay. Artists can opt to do their own thing or join others on visits to seabird sites. Darren Woodhead and Nik Pollard will guide students through a number of different ways to approach drawing wildlife in the field based on their own experience and artistic practice. This is a fantastic opportunity to work alongside a group of both new and established artists with the shared aim of creating exciting, diverse and innovative artwork. Each year sees students bond over the triumphs and struggles of working with moving subject matter in all weathers, forming friendships and working relationships which continue well beyond the parameters of the drawing week.
The John Busby Seabird Drawing Week is not run by the SWLA but the Society offers between three and five bursaries for places on the Drawing Week each year. Applications will open in the autumn, the deadline for the Bursary 22 November 2026.
You can also apply independently for the course – the self funded deadline for this is 6 December 2026.
Register your interest here. You will then be sent an application form. Please email seabird.drawing@gmail.com if you have any questions.
We aim to make visits to a couple of islands whenever possible — this usually means the Bass Rock or Fidra. Payment for boat trips is separate from the week’s fee. Weather, tides & poor sea conditions can mean that an island trip is not always possible.
Our most frequent destination is the dramatic clifftops at St Abbs Head. This is a thrilling location, alive with seabird colonies as well as being a visually spectacular landscape.
We usually start the field drawing days with warm-up exercises and we ask that everyone shares their work in the evenings (even if it has been a hard day). A really important part of the ethos of the course is one of a shared experience.
Although seabirds are a central theme we have had many artists focussing on the wider landscape, the flora, the sea, the rocks, the butterflies etc. It is perhaps best described as an intensive drawing week with seabirds at its centre.
The week’s ‘headquarters’ is the Dukes of West Barnes – we meet each evening here for a review of the day and to have dinner as a group. This is also where any evening teaching activities take place.
Most participants stay at the Belhaven Bay campsite which offers a range of accommodation options. B&Bs and hotels in Dunbar would also be an easy option. We ask that everyone with a vehicle shares transport if possible.
Founder Member John Busby set up the Seabird Drawing Week over thirty years ago and although many SWLA members have participated, it is an independent course and open to all.
What the bursary provides
The current bursary is £550 per person and and covers the full course fee.
Selection
There is inevitably an element of selection to who is accepted for the course because of limited places. We try to keep the course diverse in all ways. This includes allocating places for relative beginners as well as for seasoned professionals.
All applicants for the Drawing Week are selected based on various criteria, including the quality of their artwork. You do not have to have had prior bird field drawing experience, but we are keen to have a range of styles and approaches. We encourage people to share their experience during the course. The week is not suitable for complete beginners, but we are open to applicants with a wide range of artistic practice. The criteria we will be considering include:
• quality of current work
• potential benefits of your attendance, eg in your professional artistic practice
• the balance of applicants in the group – a mixed range of people is good
To apply for the SWLA Seabird Drawing Course Bursary please register your interest here. Open to over 18s only.