Paul Holmes

Paul is a talented full-time artist working in a range of media. He is renowned for his animal portraits, regularly working to commission, and his work has been exhibited widely in the UK and Europe. He is also a qualified adult education tutor, passionate about passing on his skills and knowledge to others. At Higham, he teaches courses in both soft and oil pastels (sometimes mixing pastels with other media), 'Brusho,' inks and coloured pencil.

Student feedback, Brusho, pencil and inks January 2026:

I was a novice in Brusho and watercolours. The guidance given has been first-rate. The staged intro was intro was invaluable - the introduction to wetting the paper, what to expect with the sprinkling, manipulation of the pigment...The generous supply of all the tools needed was vital - we hade no worries about not having all we needed. Paul explained everything thoroughly and in lay terms - great.

'One of the best workshops I've attended here - magnificent organisation of materials, excellent demonstrations and very helpful supportive individual guidance.

Excellent workshop. Helpful advice when I needed it. My main interest was to use Brusho more effectively and thank you Paul I have achieved that. Thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable workshop.