Art Courses
Oil Painting – A Direct Method
Date: Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th March
Tutor: Andrew Pitt Cost: £195
This course is suitable for both beginners and more experienced painters who have been disappointed with their pictures in the past. It is suitable for three types of students: complete beginners, students who have used other mediums and would like to move on to oils but are confused about the technical aspects and more experienced painters looking for a fresh, direct approach to this versatile medium. Teaching will be by demonstration.
All aspects of oil painting will be covered from priming a suitable board to the final varnishing of the finished painting. Direct oil painting means completing a painting in one sitting, sometimes called the alla prima method. The main purpose of the course is to take the mystery out of oil painting and demonstrate how a straight forward method can produce a lively, fresh painting in a single session.
Portraits
Adults & Children
Date: Wednesday 9th & Thursday 10th March
Tutor: Carole Massey Cost: £195
Working in a medium of your choice: watercolours or soft pastels and pastel pencils.
Portraiture is often perceived as a challenging subject, but it can be great fun and most rewarding once you’ve learnt a few tricks to help improve your drawing accuracy and observational skills. In this 2 day course, aimed at all abilities, Carole will guide you through techniques to achieve a likeness for both adults and children using, watercolours or soft pastels and pastel pencils. We will be working from photographs.
On Wednesday, we will start by doing a series of drawing exercises aimed at improving your drawing skills, studying the features, facial proportions, shading techniques and composition. For the rest of the day, you can work on your own choice of portrait, continuing on Thursday, or start on a second portrait. Carole will give both group and individual tuition through the course.
Please bring your own good quality references (preferable with no teeth showing!), or work from Carole’s “library” of photos.
An Aldeburgh Sketchbook
Pen & Wash and Watercolours
Date: Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th May
Tutor: Carole Massey Cost: £195
The course will include sketching buildings, boats, beach scenes and people using pen & wash and /or watercolours. Weather permitting, we will be sketching outside in the Red House gardens and in Aldeburgh on the beach or in and around the town. If it’s too cold or wet, we will work in the studio. Carole will teach and demonstrate on both a group and individual basis throughout the course.
On Saturday: We will start in the studio looking at sketching techniques in pen & wash and watercolours, and Carole will give you tips for working ”en plein air” if you are not used to working outside. The Red House itself and the surrounding gardens present exciting possibilities for studying buildings, trees, and flowers.
On Sunday we plan to work in Aldeburgh with its pretty and eclectic array of houses, fishing boats and the beach as well as trying some quick studies of people, thus building on all the skills required to fill a sketchbook, and the perfect way to improve your drawing.
Wire Sculpture
Birds in Wire
Date: Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd May
Tutor: Caro Burberry Cost: £195
A two-day sculpture course for all levels of ability where you will have fun, learn new skills and play with creative possibilities. An ideal introduction to 3-D work using easily accessible tools and materials. Over the 2 days you will learn how to design and construct a wire bird of your choosing suitable for display in your home or garden. Learn the fundamentals of bird form, achieve a realistic pose and build your figure using a variety of wires.
A Fresh Approach to Watercolour
Date: Monday 27th, Tuesday 28th & Wednesday 29th June
Tutor: Andrew Pitt Cost: £295
Andrew Pitt has tutored for Art in Aldeburgh for many years and has a strong following for all that love watercolour.
This three day course is for anyone who has tried watercolour but has been disappointed with their results. It will be suitable for beginners and more experienced painters who have got bogged down in ‘rules’. Andrew aims by demonstration and individual tuition to show how the elusive properties of watercolour, transparency and freshness can be achieved. The course will include plenty of practical work including how to analyse and simplify a subject in a visual way.
The aim of the course is to stimulate, encourage and show that painting attractive, lively watercolours is achievable by all, using a straight forward no-nonsense approach. Hopefully the weather will be fine and we will be able to work outside.
Flexible & Exciting Monoprinting Techniques
Date: Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd July
Tutor: Karenza Jackson Cost: £195
This is a course suitable for beginners and those with some experience.
Provided the weather is fine, participants will have the opportunity to sketch out in the lovely gardens at The Red House where they will have a wealth of interesting subject matter from which to draw.
Participants will use their sketches as a starting point for two different methods of monoprinting. The processes include mark making and creating different textures, and also the use of stencils and masking out areas and printing back into them. Karenza will reveal how to do this by demonstration
and discussion. Participants can make their choice of how they wish to monoprint by using either of these processes or combining the two. Karenza will bring examples of what can be achieved by working in this way. This course will enable participants to simplify the image, investigate composition and free up their way of working and come away with some interesting and unique images of The Red House Garden.
Suffolk Landscape in Acrylics
Date: Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th July
Tutor: Paul Vausden Cost: £195
The class is suitable for all levels of experience and will help develop and refine your approach to landscape painting in acrylic.
We will look at techniques to help you create form and light in all aspects of a landscape. Time will be spent in looking at traditional composition and form to help make your picture more compelling. Colour management and paint texture will also be covered to show how these can influence the emotional element in the work.
These techniques will be applied to Suffolk landscapes and this will provide the opportunity to discuss what balance of these elements uniquely define Suffolk.
It is expected that each day will see you complete a picture, and it may be possible to work outdoors in the environment around the Red House.
Bring the picture alive with people
Date: Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th September Tutor: Paul Vausden Cost: £195
We will look at techniques to help you create form and light in all aspects of a street scene. This course is suitable for all levels of experience including beginners and will help you to develop and refine your approach to figure painting. We shall look at simple techniques for sketching and observing figures in Aldeburgh and then take our work back to the studio to paint up. As well as discovering tools and techniques for rapid figure drawing you will also be able to study and apply shorthand to the principles of body language and human interaction that will bring figures to life in your work, whether they are part of a landscape or cityscape or a feature figure study. This course is not intended to be a rigorous activity, but a flexible and enjoyable use of your observational and interpretive abilities to create a picture working in a medium of your choice – acrylics, watercolours, water soluble pens and pencils or pen and ink. At the end of the weekend all participants will be able to take away a completed picture.
Collage & Mixed Media
Date: Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September
Tutor: Ake Arnerdal Cost: £195
Ake will examine historical and contemporary collage and mixed media. In this fun and supportive class, a series of themes and subjects will be explored while giving you the opportunity to investigate your personal interests.
Ake will show how to incorporate shape, colour and texture using a wide range of materials including ready-made and painted elements, photos and fabric combined with traditional painting and drawing to create the artwork. This two day course is suitable for all levels of experience including beginners.
Loosen Up Your Watercolours
Date: Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th October
Tutor: Andrew Pitt Cost: £195
One of the most frequently asked questions painting tutors get asked is, “How can I loosen up?” The aim of this two-day watercolour workshop is to address this age-old problem in a practical way that students can carry out and see some immediate differences in their work. The answer is both simple and strangely paradoxical. Andrew will also debunk many of the myths surrounding loose style painting by demonstrating how he puts his ideas into practice. Arty language will not feature of this course.
There will be time for students to paint and if the weather is fine there will be an opportunity to paint outdoors after Andrew has completed a plein air demonstration.
How to Extend your Knowledge about Photography
Date: Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd October
Tutor: Stan Hill Cost: £195
This is a two day photography course, ideal for beginners, for those who have had more experience but want to improve their photography and for painters who use photography to aid their work. The course will be tailored around the needs of the people attending the course. Stan will help those who want to discover and improve their digital skills. He will show how different cameras and lenses work, how to download and how to use the computer programs ‘Photoshop/Lightroom’.
The Aldeburgh landscape has many opportunities for taking photos and Stan will help those to capture the best composition. Back to the studio, he will show you how they can be treated in Photoshop. Finally the images will be discussed and critiqued with a view to helping improve the images by editing.
