TASMANIAN holidaymaker Eric Vanderlaan never expected to see his broad grin and bushy eyebrows rendered in a delicate filigree of blue crayon and grey lead pencil.

But when he was besieged by a group of primary school-age artists on the City Circle tram who wanted to draw his likeness, Mr Vanderlaan willingly agreed. Fifteen students from grade three to grade six from All Hallows Primary in Balwyn yesterday embarked on an art class with a difference - a journey on trams around Melbourne spent drawing the portraits of passengers and handing over the artwork when their subject disembarked.

Asked what Mr Vanderlaan's best characteristics were, students noted his smile and his eyes. ''Don't say his hair,'' his wife Tanya laughed, lifting up his cap and pointing to his bald head.

Visual art teacher Yvonne Torrico explained that the travelling class was an example of experiential learning - making meaning from direct experience.

She said the students learnt to compose portraits from live subjects and were much more engaged than in the classroom. ''They respond because it is an authentic situation, and that's what we're continually looking for in education.''

Some passengers seemed flattered at the offer - one woman remarked that no one had ever offered to draw her ''ugly mug'' before - but some were quick to make their excuses and shuffle off the tram, missing a chance to have their inner essence captured for artistic posterity.