Short Courses

Course Dates: October 28 -30 2019 (Monday - Wednesday)

This 3 day practical painting course will explore combining the dramatic potential of the photographic image with the expressive qualities of paint. It’s hard to draw a falling body directly but since Muybridge and his ground breaking photographic studies of the body in motion artists have made use of still and moving image photography to push the boundaries of figure painting.  The course will cover image selection, cropping, editing and composition, gestural drawing, physical paint handling and the expressive potential of colour.   Students will be able to explore a broad range of ideas and approaches, and to produce a large body of experimental painting, which will provide an exciting resource for personal development.

4th - 8th November 2019 (Monday - Friday)

The price includes entrance to Sheffield Park.

Sheffield Park near Uckfield will be our inspiration for paintings. Famous for its beautiful Autumn colour; with its Acers, Nyssa, Taxodiums and Ginko trees. The reflections in the large lake double the impact and make the experience all the more magical. The course will start with 2 days working on location in the gardens making rich and exciting studies of the colour, textures and spaces; capturing all that is wonderful about working on location. The final 3 days will be back at the studio in Partridge Green making paintings from these studies.

 Course dates: November 18th -20th 2019 (Monday - Wednesday)

This course will explore the possibilities of changing light, colour and mark making. As you work Gary discusses the importance of direction, movement, surface and the function of specific bodily energies. The qualities of what makes a painting will be explored. It should have what Gary refers to as ‘an area of flexibility, to be alive and interactive with the spectator, without formula’. You will work on a large scale and develop drawings and paintings over the three days (mediums paper and canvas provided).

Includes large primed canvas and paper.

Course Dates January 13th -16th 2020 (Monday - Thursday)

The overall aim of this courses is to help you to be confident, playful and intuitive with colour, using oil paints and mediums. To get to this point we will explore four areas: the primary colours and how to mix them; transparency and opacity in paint; tonal values and their relationship to mood and light; and finally, colours and their connection to our sensory experience of the world.

Course Dates: 10-14 February 2020 (Monday - Friday)

A 5-day intensive and experimental drawing course with 3 tutors, who specialise in charcoal drawing, film and animation. Emily and Katie share their love of drawing as a process, whilst Lydia brings her amazing ideas and technical expertise.

This exciting course is a wonderful and unique opportunity for artists to work from the Moving Figure using multi media and large scle installations that the figures to move through. Over the five days students will create drawings and animations of both the figures and the drawings, with each day building on the next, allowing students to create a body of work. There may well be finished work as well as lots of material from which paintings can be made in the future.   A truly immersive and horizon-broadening experience!  

Course dates: February 17 - 19  (Monday - Wednesday)

Differentiating tree species, finding order in complexity, spotting the tiger in the long grass or simply gaining optical delight from rhythmical repetition – recognising pattern and getting pleasure from that recognition is something we have, for good reason, evolved to do. This 3 day practical course will explore how pattern, rhythm and repetition can be used in conjunction with colour, paint and it’s manipulation as an exciting and vibrant component in painting. It will also explore the fertile relationship between painting and textiles. We will be looking at a range of patterned textiles for inspiration as well as slideshows each morning looking at the work of historical and contemporary painters.

This is a stand alone course but can be done in conjunction with Painting and Pattern 2.

Dates - February 24 -26, 2020 (Monday - Wednesday)

Cost includes includes some specialist materials

A course designed to discover some of the wonderful possibilities of the painted surface through processes and materials. The course will involve working on a number of different grounds while exploring exciting contemporary painting techniques using specially designed brushes, syringes, squeegees, combs and mark making tools.

Course dates: March 16-18th, 2020 (Monday - Wednesday)

Date - 24 March 2020 (Tuesday)

Using a variation of scales including very large cartridge and watercolour paper we will be exploring the wonderful qualities of paper with both water based paint and drawing materials. This 1-day course will start with a talk on the importance of processes in modern painting and be designed to quickly explore the act of painting through some of these different techniques.

 Course dates: 21 - 24 April  2020 (Tuesday - Friday)

Spring is a magic time of year that moves all too fast as nature wakes up and blooms. Embrace the energy of spring with four days exploring ways of courageously handling luscious paint to create paintings that go beyond safe, traditional flower paintings. The subject is full of colour, texture and sculptural form......a gift for painting. The course will be packed with demonstrations, exercises and finished paintings to take away with you.