The energy and freshness of initial exploratory drawings can be hard to maintain when moving into paint. This in-depth course aims to enable you to find ‘ways in’ to achieving an equivalent quality in your painting. ‘Ways in’ or strategies will be discussed and demonstrated to help you begin and move on especially at those sticking points when binning it seems the only option.

The content will include demonstrations, exercises, activities and briefs, aiming to develop your use of composition and colour more confidently and with a more abstracted approach. Importantly you will be supported to apply your learning to personal work.

Please bring your own materials. Demonstrations will be in acrylics but oils, acrylics and mixed media are all suitable. During the term you’ll need a range of ‘tonal’ and coloured paper for collage, glue, scissors, as well as drawing paper, paints, pencils, charcoal, fixative etc. This is available from the school shop.

For the first session you will need large drawing paper A2 or larger, masking tape, both willow and compressed charcoal, a rubber, fixative, white chalk or conte.

This is an 8 week course.