Intuitive Painting Day Retreat: Awakening with Spring

Description

As winter lifts join artist Christina Sadler for a calming day of intuitive painting inspired by the slow return of light, colour, and energy in the natural world. This day-long retreat offers a chance to gently reconnect with your creativity in a supportive and peaceful setting. Through guided mark making exercises, seasonal colour exploration and open ended abstract painting, you will respond to the rhythms and forms found in nature, creating expressive work that reflects both the outer season and your inner landscape. Expect a nurturing, low pressure environment with time to slow down, observe and make art freely. No artistic experience is needed, just a willingness to explore and respond to what emerges. At a glance: - Explore growth, renewal, and movement through intuitive painting. - Outdoor observation, mark-making, and colour inspiration. - Experiment with expressive layering, textures, and spring palettes. - Supportive, nurturing environment for creativity and reflection. - Two-course lunch and refreshments provided. What you will gain: - Skills in intuitive, expressive painting and mark-making techniques. - Personal spring-inspired colour palettes and abstract studies. - Awareness of how observation and mindfulness can enhance creativity. - Tools and inspiration to continue intuitive painting at home. More about Intuitive Painting Day Retreat: - Awakening with Spring. This one-day retreat invites you to immerse yourself fully in Hawkwood’s landscape and the energy of early spring. The day is designed to help you observe, feel, and respond to the subtle rhythms of the season, from buds emerging and sunlight shifting, to the textures and movement of the natural world and to translate these experiences into intuitive, expressive painting. We begin with outdoor exploration, allowing the sights, sounds, and textures of the surroundings to invigorate and inspire your creativity. Quick sketches, mark-making exercises, and observational studies help you tune into patterns of growth, movement, and renewal, capturing the season’s energy before moving back indoors to develop your work. If the weather is wet or overcast, we’ll use reflections, rain patterns, and muted tones as inspiration, learning to find beauty and rhythm in every seasonal moment. A major focus of the day is colour and its connection to spring. Participants will explore, mix, and experiment with palettes inspired by the landscape: emerging greens, soft pastels, earthy tones, and shifting light. This allows you to create paintings that not only reflect the external world but also your personal, intuitive response to it. The afternoon is dedicated to developing expressive works informed by your observations, mark making, and colour studies. Through this process, you’ll explore growth, renewal, and the feeling of being in rhythm with the season, leaving the retreat with a set of paintings that capture both the outer environment of Hawkwood and your inner creative landscape. This retreat is suitable for all levels whether you are new to painting or have previous experience with intuitive or abstract work. No artistic background is required. The focus is on exploration, observation, and personal expression, not technical perfection.

What's included in the price?

- All art materials are provided, including paints, brushes, and mixed media tools. Fresh, delicious home-cooked lunch and all refreshments.

Cancellation policy

Medium - Cancellation and a full refund can be obtained up to 4 weeks before the course starts

Maker

Hawkwood CFT

with Craft Courses since 2019

Message the tutor

Hawkwood is an arts and educational charity providing courses, facilitating training and offering venue hire, set in a stunning location in the Cotswolds. Hawkwood is a beautiful, sustainably run estate. As a charity, we bring together people and organisations from many backgrounds in support of creative endeavour, a flourishing community, and a sustainable environment. We provide a specially curated programme of courses covering leadership, music, arts & crafts and well-being, as well as hosting artistic residencies and events. Many people return to Hawkwood year after year because of our ethos, our fantastic team, and our delicious food.