This informal and relaxed workshop is a gentle introduction to the delights of drawing from nature. You will spend the morning building confidence while closely observing individual flower petals, leaves and berries and practising watercolour techniques. The afternoon is spent painting flowers and plants from the beautiful gardens here at Higham. Everyone welcome, no experience needed.
Watercolour is a beguiling medium, fast-drying, responsive and versatile. Its transparency lends colour a luminosity that is unmatched by other media. Learn how to use watercolour with confidence over a weekend that will cover all the basics, from how to mix colours to painting flat, graded and variegated washes and what to do if something
Extend your artistic skills using pastels to create expressive seascapes, landscapes and dramatic skies. With demonstrations throughout, gentle guidance for beginners, encouragement for the more experienced and constructive one-to-one critique to support you to confidently handle this subtle yet versatile medium. Eileen Gardner (Fife www.highamhall.com/eileen-gardner) Residential: £390 Non-residential: £270
Learn ancient skills involved in the embellishment of a manuscript with rich colours and pure gold leaf. Working with both traditional and modern materials and techniques (all materials provided) you will create a small-scale design using 23 carat gold leaf and pigments, drawing inspiration from a selection of medieval and contemporary designs and patterns including
Bring your own photographs (animal portraits, birds or landscapes make good subjects) or inanimate objects to work from. Learn about the different ways you can use pen and ink with coloured pencil: layering, blending and removing colour to create images with rich texture and depth. All materials except pencils provided. Bring your own good quality
This course involves more advanced illumination techniques and is therefore NOT suitable for beginners. Those who have already attended the beginner's course (INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT ILLUMINATION, 19-21 April) and have some experience of the craft will be able to progress and expand their repertoire. We will make a perfect manuscript gesso using a traditional
This is a practical course exploring the relationship between abstraction and representation in painting. You will be encouraged to develop your technical skills with your chosen media and to extend your responses to your subject matter whilst exploring the processes of abstraction. Exercises may invite you to work in a particular way, with a specified
Join Frances for a few days in the studio to work on your own paintings with Frances’ guidance and expertise. Frances Winder (S Cumbria www.highamhall.com/frances-winder) Residential: £290 Non-residential: £210
Collage frees you up from the ‘rules’ of representational drawing or painting and allows you to explore a more personal artistic language. It is a compositional technique that combines found images, printed text or textured surfaces – often alongside painted or hand-drawn elements – to create an image that can be abstract, expressive and sometimes