Art Workshops and Art Holidays

For the last two years, I’ve had to cut down and adapt my teaching schedule due to Covid measures, so there have been no open group workshops at all. Instead I’ve offered private morning workshops for summer visitors – mostly on a 1-1 basis, on demand. These project-based, morning or afternoon art sessions are great if you’re on holiday and just fancy a one-off creative boost during your stay. Also, some people spend a morning or afternoon with me in the studio each time they visit the area and we work on a new project or technique each time. These sessions vary from two to four hours in duration, depending on what the participants want to do.

Another approach is to book an actual Art Holiday of either three or five days. During April, the first week-long private art holiday since the start of the pandemic took place, with a lovely couple who had initially enquired just before it all began!

We had a great time – working in the studio with acrylic mixed media and outside drawing and painting ‘on location’. These photos give you a bit of an idea of what can be achieved in five days of arting (during a seven night stay). This couple were very keen to explore new techniques and ideas, as well as to go out and about with a watercolour sketchbook. They both had previous art experience, and could obviously already draw, although that’s not essential for having an enjoyable art holiday!

Of the studio-based work during this particular art week we covered: acrylic transfer techniques; monoprinting on the Geli plate; line monoprinting on a perspex plate; seascape painting with credit cards; using collage and gesso in sketchbooks; creating a layered painting on a vintage postcard; accordian sketchbooks; blind contour drawing; left handed drawing; transfer print over collage and sketchbook design, layout and lettering. That was quite a lot – other people may choose to do less or choose to focus on other things – that’s the beauty of a tailored, private workshop.

During this particular art week, one of the things we focused on was getting lots of observational drawing and watercolour sketching practice in these small sketchbooks. By the end of the week the sketchbooks were pretty much full as they did lots of ‘homework’ during free time in the afternoons and evenings.

If you’re interested in either a morning/afternoon one-off workshop or a week-long Art Holiday, do get in touch for more information.