Three-Day Courses

We will provide all basic materials for your course. More specialist items you can bring or can be purchased locally.

We supply all the necessary equipment you will need but you are welcome to bring your own favourite items, eg brushes, portable easel, palette, if you prefer. It would be useful to have your own digital camera and if possible a portfolio to keep your work together.

Drawing techniques

This course focuses on the core elements of line, tone and texture using a variety of different drawing materials - soft pencils, graphite, stick charcoal and compressed charcoal, conte, pen and ink. See how combining materials gives your work added interest. Learn to gather information in a sketchbook and use it effectively back in the studio.

We will work on location in the mornings and come back to use the studio in the afternoons. We also have interesting collections of natural forms from which you can work, but you can collect your own during the course.

Life drawing

This course will cover the techniques of working from a life model in both drawing and painting.

The first day using pencil and charcoal will be spent concentrating on looking at the relationship between the figure and background using both short and long poses.

The second day will concentrate on using colour to define form.

The third day will give you the opprtunity to work from the model in a mixture of materials.

Exploring colour

A course for those keen to try out different colour media. Work in conte or pastel over painted washes or experiment with acrylic or oil. Try combining simple prints over paint or work on different types of paper. Learn how to use colour effectively whether bold and colourful or dark and moody.

Mixed media

This course gives you the opportunity to try working in different media from charcoal and pastel to paint and even printing.

Try working on a large scale in chalk and charcoal one day and then try mixing media together on the next.

Three days full of interrelating activities.

The course includes discussion and demonstrations in techniques.

Photographic Silk Screen Printing

This course combines the skills of photography and printing to give some stunning results.

Transform your photos into a unique series of individual prints. For this course you will need to bring your own digital camera or a selection of your favourite photographs on disc.

On the first day we will teach you how to convert your photographs into high contrast black and white images printed onto clear acetate. These are then fixed onto a silk screen in our darkroom. The next two days will be spent printing in a variety of different ways. We will show you how to print onto many different surfaces, using subtle changes of tone or bright colourful contrasts. You can experiment with torn surfaces giving an interesting texture or print onto an opaque surface to soften the effect. Experience comes through experimentation and the excitement of discovering different methods.

You’ll be surprised at the wonderful results this process will give.