Art: life drawing & portraiture courses

Classes are held in lovely venues - Windsor Race Course on Thursdays. Classes are fun and friendly, a place to learn and make new friends. There are 3 hour morning and afternoon classes to fit in with student’s schedules. You receive tuition and guidance from our excellent tutors allowing you to produce beautiful art using a variety of mediums over a 14 week period. We start with pencil drawing, setting the building blocks of skills for the course. We then work with charcoal, coloured inks, pastels both soft and oil,...

This is a sketching workshop suitable for all levels as individual support will be given to help you get the most out of the day. Drawing Tai Chi. Spend the morning having a Tai Chi lesson, then the rest of the day watch others learning and performing the beautiful movements of Tai Chi short form, allowing you to sketch each pose. This course is suitable for all levels as individual support will be given to help you get the most out of the day. The day will be made up...

We have now re-opened with 2-metre distancing and smaller groups. Portraiture: A fantastic opportunity to create a portrait of some one special. During this workshop you will explore some different methods of using photographs as source material for portraits, culminating in a final portrait of a loved one or a fellow course member. Any media can be used for your final portrait and expert advice and individual guidance will be given throughout. Catherine MacDiarmid is a local artist who has exhibited widely, including exhibiting in the BP Portrait award for...

Two day pet portrait course. Bring your own photograph to work from on this beginners pastel workshop, tips, techniques and advice. 1. Studying your subject and choosing the right colours 2. Transferring images on to your paper 3. Underpainting and values 4. Detailing eyes and other facial features 5. Skin/Fur/Feather detailing and how to achieve a realistic look 6. Finishing touches I’ll cover different types of pastels painting surfaces and other materials and accessories.

Drawing workshops in which students will learn to draw in charcoal from a selection of plaster casts from masters such as Bernini, Michaelangelo and Donatello. Drawing from casts is a highly recommended starting point when it comes to getting to grips with the traditional ‘sight-size’ technique, enabling the student to render form using light and shadow without the complications of colour or using a live model. Sight-size is not just a method of measurement but a philosophy of seeing used by the old masters that dates back to the 17th...

Painting workshops in which students can study from a selection of plaster casts from masters such as Bernini, Michaelangelo and Donatello. Canvas preparation will be explained as well as the limited colour palette, medium, and mixing colours. The drawing course is highly recommended to do before painting but is not essential. The sight size method will be taught – a technique that has been used by the old masters which dates back to the 17th century. It is a great foundation for artist of all abilities and can be applied...

Sculpting workshops where students will learn to sculpt in clay from a selection of plaster casts from masters such as Bernini, Michaelangelo and Donatello. During the sculpting course, students will get a newfound understanding of the three dimensional form, a skill which is highly useful to anyone interested in creating artwork from life. Like the drawing and painting workshops, I’ll be teaching sight-size – a technique used by the old masters that dates back to the 17th century. It is a great foundation for artist of all abilities and can...

This is a really fun one-day workshop exploring the structure & foibles of the human face. In order to represent the face convincingly in either a literal or exaggerated sense, it is necessary to observe its variations, constants and visual anchors. Suitable for complete beginners and keen enthusiasts I will take you through a series of exercises and experiments examining features and proportions of the human face whilst trying out a number of drawing techniques. You'll use drawing paper, charcoal, pencil, rubbers, rags and your hands. You'll get messy and...

Animal Portrait for Beginners Learn the art of capturing the unique likeness and character of an animal you love at this fantastic beginner’s workshop with the exceptionally talented artist Sarah Watson. The workshop is held in our comfortable, cosy heated barn, that offers inspiring views of the beautiful countryside of one of Nottinghamshire’s finest vineyards. You will spend 3 hours relaxing and enjoy learning a new skill, while Sarah guides you through step by step showing you how to apply soft pastels with expressively identifying marks to capture his or...