Jake Attree takes new look at York's Vikings in sketching workshop at Yorkshire Museum

Jake invites artists of all abilities to join him in taking inspiration from "the most significant collections of Viking Age treasure in Britain" to fill up their sketchbooks while benefiting from his expert tuition as he leads his drawing class in the exhibition space of Viking: Rediscover The Legend.

Emma Williams, assistant curator of science and archaeology learning, says: “The Viking exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum is brimming with the rarest and most unique Viking objects in the country. We're very excited to have such an established artist as Jake lead a class at the museum to capture this fantastic exhibition and share his skills and knowledge with participants.”

Born in York, Jake studied at the York School of Art and still has strong connections with the city, where he exhibits at According To McGee and the New School House Gallery. From his studio at Dean Clough, Halifax, his paintings and drawings are exhibited in galleries in Britain, Europe and the United States, and in his capacity as artist in residence at the newly restored and reopened Piece Hall in Halifax, he is showing works depicting the site's workmen at work at the Piece Hall Gallery until October 15.

Looking forward to Saturday's session, Jake says: "A definition of drawing for me is it's the way I explain the world to myself wordlessly. All you are trying to do is get the proportions in the right place, but there will also be a deeper and emotional connection with the object."

In the case of this weekend's sketching day, he hopes that, as with the Viking; Rediscover The Legend exhibition, it will lead to a re-evaluation of the Vikings.

Star objects from the British Museum are featured alongside the Yorkshire Museum’s collections, which have been interpreted in new ways to challenge our perceptions of what it means to be Viking.

"The fact is they had an enormous impact on the North, the North East and across the country. They weren't invited in, they weren't indigenous, they were invaders, but while some people like their culture to be comfortable and collaborative, if you don't freshen things up, a river begins to stink," says Jake. "York is particularly rich in diverse culture because of the Anglo-Saxons, the Romans and the Vikings."

Attree on art: "It's the way I explain the world to myself wordlessly," he says

The message behind the exhibition and Saturday's session, suggests Jake, is that "we're all the same species and we're much closer to each other than we realise, but at the same time it's our differences that make us interesting, though overall we're infinitely more similar than different. That's why going to an exhibition is more important than not going out on a rainy day, as it shows our core species."

"When we're confronted with a different view, it means there's conflict and that's part of the role of art, presenting that different view, just as someone coming in to this country as an immigrant and doing something new, be it introducing new food or new clothing, brings something different, and it's from that position that we then need to be collaborative."

Sketchbooks and materials will be provided for Saturday's art class to work alongside Jake. "In my workshops, I'm not showing the participants how to do it but how I do it, as I know that when you're learning, it's good to feel confident that the artist knows what he's doing!" says Jake. "A workshop is not about working with wonderful materials but learning to see.

"They need to be asking themselves, 'what is it that's particularly not true in a painting or sketch?'; are the proportions right?'. At the same time, they have to go through that step of not abandoning what they're doing if it's not going well and stick with it instead.

"It's creative to have inner conflict, like Van Gogh did. You need to take that risk as an artist, don't you. It's about having a go, making an attempt, always striving to achieve something. You need conflict in your art, otherwise it will be anodyne."

Across the city at the School House Gallery, off Peasholme Green, Jake's new exhibition, In Search Of The Key, will open next Friday (October 13)from 6pm, when all are welcome.

The exhibition will see Jake take on a three-month residency in the gallery, wherein he will complete works in progress, run a variety of workshops and be available for artist appointments in the form of hour-long mentoring sessions that can be booked in advance for £10. To find out more about the residency, you can attend a free talk by the artist at 2pm on October 15.

To book a place for the Sketching The Vikings session with Jake Attree costs £30 online at yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk/whats-on/events. Meanwhile, Viking: Rediscover The Legend runs at the Yorkshire Museum until November 5.