This week we're using pen and watercolour in the style of urban sketching, to recreate some familiar local pubs. With loose lines, relaxed washes and a little artistic licence, we've discovered that things don't have to be perfectly straight or precise to make a lovely picture! It's all about capturing the atmosphere and personality of a place!

Autumn 2026 - Lesson 6 - Watercolour

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A little moonlight, a lot of oil pastel.! This week we’re experimenting with blending and silhouettes to capture the atmosphere of a moonlit scene.

Autumn 2026 - Lesson 5 - Oil Pastel

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Moving on to oil pastels this week, we’re taking a walk on the wild side. Our first project with this vibrant medium is to design a countryside Christmas card, starting with everyone choosing a British wildlife favourite to feature. There’s plenty of discussion in class as our designs get underway! 😁🎄

Autumn 2026 - Lesson 4 - Oil Pastel

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This week we’ve been getting our hands dirty 👋🏿 working with charcoal to create an authentic chimney sweep. Using burnt wood to draw people who spent their lives covered in soot… somehow it just feels right!

Autumn 2026 - Lesson 3 - Drawing

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It’s Lowry week!,, and we’ve been looking at how L.S. Lowry created his busy industrial scenes. Those famous factories and tall smoky chimneys and his wonderful cast of characters going about their day. 🚶🏻‍♀️‍➡️🚶🏻👨🏻‍🦯‍➡️

Autumn 2026 - Lesson 2 - Drawing

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Autumn has started!. it’s great to be back! We begin by working together on a collaborative group project, creating our very own Grand Hotel. Each artist designed a different room, bringing their individual ideas, style and creativity to the space. 

Autumn 2026 - Lesson 1 - Drawing

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We have a whole variety of subjects ahead, from glowing moonlight to rich autumn landscapes. Then as we head towards Christmas, we have a bit of wintery inspiration with a beautifully wrapped present and our ‘winter worlds’ project. All incorporating different media and an assortment of styles and techniques along the way. It’s going to be another fabulous 14 weeks of fun, simply creating more wonderful drawings and paintings together!👩🏻‍🎨

Autumn 2026 - starts Tuesday 8th September

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We had around 300 wonderful paintings and drawings on show, all displayed together to create a diverse, colourful exhibition… a very well deserved CONGRATULATIONS to everyone. You should all be incredibly proud of what you have achieved! 👏

The People's Choice Award proved to be a popular event once again. All of our students picked an artwork they’ve created this season to display, and everybody at the exhibition voted for their favourite two. Big round of applause for our top five, and a super well done to our winners Gill and Jackie! 👏🏆🌟

We had beautiful weather too!.. it made the garden a perfect spot for everyone to relax, enjoy the buffet, and cool down with an ice cream🍦😎 And we have to give a special mention and HUGE thank you to the fabulous Tom Powell who did an absolutely wonderful job entertaining us all - Tom created such a happy, sociable atmosphere and his amazing voice completely made the afternoon 🎶 👏👏✨

And the final thank you goes to all of you who came along… our students, family and friends. It was wonderful to see everybody simply enjoying the event and being happy together.  A totally fabulous afternoon! 

Summer 2026 - Exhibition Day!

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Exhibition prep is underway! This week we looked back at all our paintings and drawings from the past 12 weeks and picked out our favourites. They’re now beautifully mounted and ready to display next Thursday. Then we still had time for coffee and cake, plus a fun quiz, a few prizes and plenty of laughs! The perfect way to finish our classroom sessions before exhibition day! 

Summer 2026 - Lesson 13 - Exhibition Prep

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Ahoy there! ⚓ This week, we’re creating charming little boats and all things nestled "in the bay". There’s been plenty of concentration in the room, but just enough chatter (and Jammie Dodgers!) to keep everyone afloat.

Summer 2026 - Lesson 12 - Acrylic

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Licence to Create! This week our group stepped into the glamorous world of 007, with classic cars, Mediterranean villas, and a touch of Bond-style sophistication.

Summer 2026 - Lesson 11 - Acrylic

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Who let the dogs out?... WE DID!! 😂  🐕 🐕‍🦺 🐩 🦮  They've all gone barking mad!.. swimming in the river, splashing on the beach, bounding through the grass, and simply doing what dogs do best – living their absolute best lives! 

Summer 2026 - Lesson 10 - Acrylic

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