A great opportunity to explore abstract drawing and to build your confidence and gain a practical understanding of fundamental concepts, such as colour, tone, mark-making and composition in a fun and well structured course. Under the tutor´s guidance you will explore making abstract drawings by combining quick exercises with the exploration of concepts like chance, geometry and gestural expression. We will discuss and investigate different approaches to making abstract drawings and will open discussions around relevant artists’ work and their techniques. This course is suitable for beginners ready to explore drawing in an experimental way, as well as more experienced students who would like to develop their understanding of abstraction.

This 5 week course is a wonderfully relaxing way to start the weekend and develop drawing and creative skills both for beginners and advanced drawers. The course is suitable for all skill levels and is designed to enable students to express a creative response to either museum artworks, or outdoor environment. The tutor will meet each student at their unique individual level. The course locations may vary nearer the time in response to the current situation. We will draw in indoor locations such as cafes and undercover markets where possible. Students will learn fundamental observational skills such structural drawing, measuring, tone and basic perspective. As well as develop an understanding of how artworks are put together to create particular impressions upon the viewer.

This is a well-structured and systematic course for those who have never painted before or would like to reassess their approach to painting. Students learn to see colour, shape and tone, and to relate these elements together in compositions. This course aims to foster self-confidence and enjoyment of painting in a stimulating environment. Working through a series of exercises you will gain experience and skills in working from a life model, from still life as well as exploring a more creative approach to painting helping you establish your own style and identity. This course is a fun and relaxing experience that offers a high level of tutor contact time.

This two-day course covers both portrait and clothed figure painting. Students  will  concentrate on different aspects of painting the figure. One-to-one tuition will be provided throughout by the experienced tutor and every part of the process will be explained and demonstrated. Different approaches to painting will be discussed, in particular how to abstract the perceived image into shape and colour. Day one focuses on the face, day two on the torso and head. James Bland is a member of the New English Art Club and 1st prize winner in the 2013 Winsor & Newton Oil Painters Awards. He has work in public collections, including the Borchard Collection of Self-Portraits, and he exhibits regularly in London and elsewhere, most recently in his solo exhibition at the Lilford Gallery, Canterbury. A popular tutor, he regularly teaches portraiture at the Art Academy. He also teaches figure and narrative painting at the New School of Art and Landscape painting at various international venues, including La Borie Grande. This is an intermediate level course and previous painting experience is required.

This two day portrait course will offer an opportunity for intensive study under the tuition of Anastasia Pollard. The course will allow students the freedom to work from two models, both a male and female. Starting with preliminary sketches we will aim to produce a more 'finished' painting of either of the models over the two days. Under Anastasia's guidance students will concentrate on tonal painting allowing the emphasis to be on the form, during the course of the painting there will be an in-depth look at colour mixing. The tutor will also be working alongside the students demonstrating a 'wet in wet' technique. This exciting course is an intensive two days that offers a high level of tutor contact time

A great opportunity to explore abstract drawing and to build your confidence and gain a practical understanding of fundamental concepts, such as colour, tone, mark-making and composition in a fun and well structured course. Under the tutor´s guidance you will explore making abstract drawings by combining quick exercises with the exploration of concepts like chance, geometry and gestural expression. We will discuss and investigate different approaches to making abstract drawings and will open discussions around relevant artists’ work and their techniques. This course is suitable for beginners ready to explore drawing in an experimental way, as well as more experienced students who would like to develop their understanding of abstraction.

This is a fun, relaxed course offering a structured introduction to abstract painting. You'll be guided through a number of different approaches, including abstracting images, using geometry, exploring process-based painting and playing with expressive gestural marks. The tutor will lead you through hands-on demonstrations, group discussions of relevant artists' work, and there will also be plenty of individual guidance. You'll build your confidence and gain a practical understanding of the fundamentals of painting, including colour, tone, mark-making and composition. You'll then have the opportunity to complete a larger abstract painting inspired by an artist of your choice. This course is suitable for beginners who have completed an introductory painting course already and are keen to explore painting in an experimental way, as well as more experienced students who would like to develop their understanding of abstraction.

This life drawing course is designed to help you gain a deeper understanding of the human figure from an anatomical perspective. The course will cover basic drawing principles, exploring the structure of the skeleton first and then analysing the muscles that define the surface appearance of the body. The aim is to create a series of studies looking at each section of the body to then understand how each component fits as a whole. You will learn how to draw from the inside out, integrating musculoskeletal knowledge and observational skills to produce accurate drawings of the human figure.

This is a well-structured and systematic course for those who have never painted before or would like to reassess their approach to painting. Students learn to see colour, shape and tone, and to relate these elements together in compositions. This course aims to foster self-confidence and enjoyment of painting in a stimulating environment. Working through a series of exercises you will gain experience and skills in working from a life model, from still life as well as exploring a more creative approach to painting helping you establish your own style and identity. This course is a fun and relaxing experience that offers a high level of tutor contact time.

This two-day course covers both portrait and clothed figure painting. Students  will  concentrate on different aspects of painting the figure. One-to-one tuition will be provided throughout by the experienced tutor and every part of the process will be explained and demonstrated. Different approaches to painting will be discussed, in particular how to abstract the perceived image into shape and colour. Day one focuses on the face, day two on the torso and head. James Bland is a member of the New English Art Club and 1st prize winner in the 2013 Winsor & Newton Oil Painters Awards. He has work in public collections, including the Borchard Collection of Self-Portraits, and he exhibits regularly in London and elsewhere, most recently in his solo exhibition at the Lilford Gallery, Canterbury. A popular tutor, he regularly teaches portraiture at the Art Academy. He also teaches figure and narrative painting at the New School of Art and Landscape painting at various international venues, including La Borie Grande. This is an intermediate level course and previous painting experience is required.

This two day portrait course will offer an opportunity for intensive study under the tuition of Anastasia Pollard. The course will allow students the freedom to work from two models, both a male and female. Starting with preliminary sketches we will aim to produce a more 'finished' painting of either of the models over the two days. Under Anastasia's guidance students will concentrate on tonal painting allowing the emphasis to be on the form, during the course of the painting there will be an in-depth look at colour mixing. The tutor will also be working alongside the students demonstrating a 'wet in wet' technique. This exciting course is an intensive two days that offers a high level of tutor contact time

This course is designed to help you further develop your portait painting skills, focusing on both creating a likeness and increasing the expressive aspects of your portrait skills. These two elements will be explored together over this three-day masterclass; you'll first make several charcoal studies, followed by a brief oil sketch and finally, a fully developed portrait in oil. You'll focus on accuracy of observation and measurement, while also making a fresh, energised and expressive response to the model. By the end of the masterclass, you will have developed your existing skills and knowledge of structure, tone, colour, composition and express use of paint and charcoal, and you will have completed one portrait painting and a number of briefer sketches and studies. The class has the benefit of 1:8 model to student ratio, as well as tuition from a talented professional artist. Throughout this masterclass, you'll receive regular one-to-one guidance from Andy James. A self taught artist, Andy has been painting for over 25 years, capturing incredible likeness and energy of his subjects through his sumptuous, rigorous and painterly approach. Andy has worked on many prestigious commissions of well-known public figures. He was the winner of the Carroll Foundation Award, the Changing Faces Award and of BBC’s Star Portraits, and served as the Vice President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters from 2008 to 2014.

This two day portrait course will offer an opportunity for intensive study under the tuition of Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco. The course will allow students the freedom to work from two models. Under Ilaria’s guidance students will work on composition and colour mixture. Each student will be encouraged to work in their own individual way: together you will find strategies and techniques to make progresses. The tutor will also be working alongside the students demonstrating her technique. The class has the benefit of 1:6 model to student ratio, as well as tuition from a talented professional artist. This exciting course is an intensive two days that offers a high level of tutor contact time. Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco was born in Italy, from a family of Florentine Renaissance painters. She studied illustration and painting in Italy and in London, where she has lived since 1999. Her work has been selected for the BP Portrait Award and the Threadneedle Prize, as well as the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Competition. She shows regularly in UK and Italy and her paintings are also in private collections in US, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands.

This course is an accessible, creative and relaxing introduction to the basic skills of drawing. Each session will focus on a different theme, providing a wide range of techniques to raise confidence and enhance visual awareness. Through various drawing approaches including still life, life drawing and portraiture, you will learn to explore and understand line, tone, measurement, texture and composition. There will be a life model in some sessions and students are encouraged to express themselves freely with guidance from the tutor.  

This 5 week course is a wonderfully relaxing way to start the weekend and develop drawing and creative skills both for beginners and advanced drawers. The course is suitable for all skill levels and is designed to enable students to express a creative response to either museum artworks, or outdoor environment. The tutor will meet each student at their unique individual level. The course locations may vary nearer the time in response to the current situation. We will draw in indoor locations such as cafes and undercover markets where possible. Students will learn fundamental observational skills such structural drawing, measuring, tone and basic perspective. As well as develop an understanding of how artworks are put together to create particular impressions upon the viewer.

The “Open Life Class” is a relaxed and enjoyable life drawing & painting course with a life model for various poses lasting between one and four weeks at a time. Students will be able to approach the human figure in any way they please and do as many drawings or paintings as they care to pursue with as much or as little instruction as they like. Your experienced tutors will happily guide both beginners and the more experienced painters. Students should feel free to use whichever materials that they enjoy the most, whether that is drawing in charcoal or ink or painting in oils or acrylics. All paper is provided for the course but please bring your own drawing/painting materials. You can also attend this class as a drop-in and pay £30 per session via our Eventbrite page.

This course focuses on developing each student’s style of painting, both through pushing creative expression and refining technical ability. By working from the model, and by developing with a creative project, students will explore multiple ways of using paint to convey a certain message or feeling. In the first part of the course students will be working from the figure, developing core painting skills whilst also reflecting on their use of paint. Working with oil and/or acrylic paints students will develop a series of artworks, from quick sketches to longer more developed pieces. Focus will be on developing expressive paintings that through their specific use of colour, composition and brushwork, have something to say about the human figure. This will be informed by looking at different ways other artists have used paint to achieve a certain result. In the second part of the course students will work on a personal creative project. Students will be guided step by step through the process of developing an idea, collecting source material and references, experimenting with different techniques and approaches, before the final execution. By looking at contemporary and historical artists, and through dialogue with the group, students will develop their creative and critical awareness. This course would be a great follow on from the Intermediate Painting or Figure and Portrait Painting.

This is a well structured course giving students opportunity to understand how to paint a portrait. The emphasis will be on learning to see form and colour accurately and using these skills to better create loose, expressive portraits. Working with oil paints students will develop a series of artworks, from short expressive painting sketches, to longer more detailed pieces. The class has the benefit of 1:8 model to student ratio, as well as tuition from a talented professional artist.

A well-structured and systematic course for those who have never painted or drawn before. Students learn to see colour, shape and tone and relate all these elements together in various compositions. This course aims to foster self-confidence and enjoyment of drawing and painting in a stimulating environment. There will be an opportunity to work from a life model as well as working from still life. It is an ideal course for beginners as there is plenty of guidance from the tutor.