Art Courses
Courses are suitable for all abilities including beginners
For the last two seasons we have used the Red House for our courses in order to have allowed social distancing during the pandemic.
This year with Covid on the wane and us all having been vaccinated, we are returning to our studio in Victoria Road, Aldeburgh which is adjacent to Aldeburgh Church Car Park. The size of the studio limits the number of participants on each course to six.
However, we are just a few minutes’ walk from the sea front and a similar distance from our new venue, the well known Lighthouse Restaurant.
These changes have not been easy to make. The Red House with their beautiful gardens have given us extra space when we were still concerned about Covid and the Regatta Restaurant’s meals have been enjoyed by many of us, but both venues have caused us to restrict dates when we wanted to run our courses. Using our own studio and the Lighthouse Restaurant allows us the freedom to run the courses when we want so to do. I am beginning now to take bookings and am asking for £50 deposit to secure a place. Please use the booking form provided.
Watercolour – A Short Refresher Course
Date: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th March
Tutor: Andrew Pitt Cost: £195
Students attending this course will be introduced to a simple, straightforward method of painting in watercolour which is easy to understand, feels natural, and above all, enjoyable. By following a few basic principles, rather than arty techniques, Andrew will show by way of practical demonstrations, how to keep watercolours looking fresh and lively. The course is suitable for both beginners and painters who have tried watercolour and become disappointed with their work. Beginners will get a sound introduction to a medium which has an undeserved reputation for being difficult and more experienced painters will get a review of some fundamental principles which it is all too easy to forget. All aspects of watercolour painting will be covered. There will be plenty of opportunities for practical work and the weather in spring should be good enough to work outside.
Portraits – Adults & Children: Watercolours,
Soft Pastels & Pastel Pencils
Date: Monday 25th & Tuesday 26th March
Tutor: Carole Massey Cost: £195
This course is suitable for beginners & improvers. Portraits are a fascinating and challenging subject but one which is thoroughly enjoyable. Carole will demystify the process of capturing a likeness by leading you through several exercises using pencil and charcoal aiming to improve accuracy, whilst studying the features, looking at facial proportions, the form of the head and comparing adults and children’s faces.Demonstrations of how to mix flesh tones, add shading, and clothing and paint a background. Throughout the course we will be working from photographs. If you are using your own reference, please use as good a quality photo as possible, and one not showing a broad grin that exposes the teeth!
Freshen Up Your Watercolours
Date: Friday 17th, Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th May
Tutor: Andrew Pitt Cost: £295
This three-day course is for beginners, who want a sound introduction to watercolour painting, and for painters with more experience, who have become disillusioned with their work in this medium. Teaching will mainly be by demonstration; individual guidance will be given according to experience. Andrew will aim to show students how to paint a fresh, lively – what is often referred to as a “loose” – watercolour by concentrating on a few basic principles. Fancy techniques and tricks will not be a feature of this course. Instead, the focus will be on seeing clearly, applying the paint in a simple, unfussy and enjoyable way, in order to retain the elusive characteristics of watercolour, transparency and spontaneity. The course will also include plenty of practical work to stimulate and encourage students to continue in this endlessly fascinating, and occasionally frustrating, medium. Hopefully the weather will be fine so we have the opportunity to work outside.
An Aldeburgh Sketchbook – Watercolours & Pen & Wash
Date: Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th June
Tutor: Carole Massey Cost: £195
This course is suitable for beginners & improvers. It will include sketching buildings, boats and beach scenes as well as quick people studies and a “how to” on perspective – all the skills required to improve your observation and drawing technique and the perfect way to fill your sketchbook. We will mostly be working outdoors, weather permitting, using pencil, waterproof and water-soluble pens with watercolours, with Carole tutoring on an individual basis. On Saturday: We will start in the studio, practising 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. For the rest of the weekend we will be out and about in Aldeburgh, centred around a chosen location, so you can select your own inspiring scene to sketch. If it rains, there are places we can shelter and work. Chairs, water pots, drawing boards, and easels (if required), are supplied.
Aldeburgh Scenes & Landscapes in Mixed Media
Date: Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st July
Tutor: Karenza Jackson Cost: £195
This course is about pushing the boundaries and experimenting with mixed media. It is about combining different combinations of media that you might not have tried before. Provided the weather is fine, you will have the opportunity to sketch outside in and around Aldeburgh to make the most of your surroundings. These sketches will be the ‘starting point’ for your work back in the studio. Karenza will demonstrate how to incorporate shape, line, colour and texture using a wide range of materials including collage, ready made and painted elements, together with a variety of different tools for mark making to create a unique and exciting piece of work. This course is suitable for all levels of experience including beginners.
Dragonfly Wire Sculpture
Date: Wednesday 7th & Thursday 8th August
Tutor: Caro Burberry Cost: £195
This is 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 dragonfly sculpture of your choosing suitable for display in your home or garden. You will learn the fundamentals of dragonfly form and achieve realistic detailing using a variety of wires and embellishments.
The Landscape Towards Abstraction
Date: Monday 12th & Tuesday 13th August
Tutor: Ake Arnerdal Cost: £195
The landscape provides endless opportunities to express a variety of feelings and moods. For this work- shop, we will look at the wide area between the representational and the nonfigurative. You will explore different ways to abstract a motif from the landscape. We will see how the use of dark and light, and warm and cold colours affect the painting. We will have an opportunity to explore collage/mixed media as a means towards abstraction. This workshop will work for both beginners and more experienced students.
Flowers with Impact in Monoprint & Collage
Date: Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th September
Tutor: Karenza Jackson Cost: £195
This course is about ‘playfulness’ and experimentation, combining collage with monoprinting to create a vibrant and exciting piece of work and will enable you to ‘simplify the image’ and free up your way of working. If the weather is fine, you will have the opportunity to sketch any flowers and plants in and around Aldeburgh, making simple outline drawings which will be used and combined with the flowers in the studio as the basis of your work. Karenza will demonstrate how to do the monoprinting process and combine it with some collage. The collage will be made from your own prepared papers on the first day of the course. This course is suitable for all levels of experience including beginners.
Acrylics – Seascapes & Landscapes
Date: Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th September
Tutor: Carole Massey Cost: £195
Suitable for beginners and improvers
This course is suitable for beginners & improvers. Acrylics are one of the most versatile of painting mediums, ideally suited for catching the light sparkling on the sea, the texture of pebbles or sand, or the more subtle effects of skies, clouds & aerial perspective in landscapes. They can be used thinly, like watercolours, brushed straight on from the tube, or applied thickly with a palette knife; gels & mediums can also be added to achieve different textures and effects. On Saturday, after a general introduction to acrylics, palettes, brushes & supports, Carole will lead you through a series of short exercises painting skies, clouds, trees, waves & water to practice a range of techniques exploring many ways to use this adaptable medium. On Sunday, you will be able to work on a landscape or seascape of your choice from your own reference or one of Carole’s.
Oil Painting – A Direct Approach
Date: Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th September
Tutor: Andrew Pitt Cost: £195
The 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.
