Contact & Visit Us

01736 797180

info@schoolofpainting.co.uk

How to Find Us

We look out over Porthmeor Beach, near the Tate gallery, close to the main shopping centre. St Ives is very compact, probably no more than a 20 min walk from end to end, so wherever you are staying you should be able to walk to the studio easily.

Directions by car

Follow the A30 all the way down to the Hayle Bypass until you reach St Erth roundabout. Take the 2nd exit onto Nut Lane/A3074, ignore brown signs for day visitors to St Ives. Take the third exit from the next roundabout onto A3074 towards Lelant. Carry on through Lelant onto St Ives road, over the Tesco roundabout and straight past the Harbour Hotel into St Ives town. Continue straight down Tregenna Hill and then turn right onto Lifeboat Hill/Market Strand. Follow the road round to the left onto the Harbour, until you pass the Sloop Inn on your left. There, turn left up Fish Street and then left again onto Back Road West – you’ll soon see St Ives School of Painting on your right.

Note: as you will be in a one-way system once you enter St Ives town, it’s best to think about whether you’d rather park further out of town and walk in. If you’d like to park in town – make the following changes to the directions above to arrive at any of these car parks:

Sloop Car Park (2 mins walk from School – SHORT STAY ONLY – Max 3 hours)

Follow the directions all the way to the Harbour and make a left before the Sloop when you see the sign for parking.

Island Car Park (5 mins walk from School – Long Stay)

Follow the directions all the way up Fish Street and turn right at the top onto Back Road East. Turn left at the Art House Gallery onto Island Road, you’ll see the Island Car Park at the end of the road.

Porthmeor Beach Car Park (10 mins walk from School – SHORT STAY ONLY – Max 3 hours)

Follow the directions up until you begin to drop down Tregenna Hill. Turn left onto North Terrace, just before The Hain Line (Wetherspoons). At the roundabout, turn right up the hill. Turn right at the T Junction at the top and follow the road round to the left toward the beach, you’ll see Porthmeor Beach Car Park on your left.

Barnoon Car Park (Long stay – 10 mins walk from School)

Follow the directions up until you begin to drop down Tregenna Hill. Turn left onto North Terrace, just before The Hain Line (Wetherspoons). At the roundabout, turn right up the hill. Turn right at the T Junction at the top. As the road curves round to the left towards the sea, bear right onto Alexandra Road and you’ll come to Barnoon Car Park on your left.

Park Avenue Car Park (Long Stay – 15 mins walk from School)

Follow the directions up until you begin to drop down Tregenna Hill. Turn left onto North Terrace, just before The Hain Line (Wetherspoons). At the roundabout turn left up the hill onto Park Avenue and the car park is on your right.

Parking

Nearby car parks: The Island, Porthmeor Beach and the Sloop. For a map of car parks please click here

Directions by train

Travelling by train can be the most relaxing option, especially in the Summer months when parking is limited. The mainline train arrives at St Erth a 15 min taxi ride away.

What to bring

All art materials are provided but you might like to bring a favourite set of brushes if you have them.

Remember to wear old clothes and think about comfortable shoes and warm outerwear if your course involves working outside.

Access to the School

What facilities do you have?

The School studios can be accessed by a lift from the ground floor. There is a disabled toilet on the lower floor accessed by the lift. If the front door is locked there is a bell on the bottom of the steps to let us know in the studio that you need access.

I would like to come on a course but I can’t walk far.

If you give us a ring in the office we can talk you through the different kinds of courses we have. Some of our landscape ones stay nearby the studio so might be suitable. Students in the past have hired a mobility scooter that helps them get around the town more easily. HSC Mobility (01736 755927) can drop a mobility scooter off for you in St Ives and collect at the end of your stay.

We also run many studio based courses covering still life and figure.

I’m sensitive to solvents, what do you use at the School.

Many of our courses are water based so these are ideal if you are sensitive to solvents. However if you would like to use oils we do use low odour spirit and we keep its use to a minimum. If you let us know about your sensitivity ahead of time we have an alterative non solvent product called Zest It that can be used.

I’m hard of hearing or deaf, will this be a problem?

We have had many students who are hard of hearing or deaf enjoying our courses. Some of the smaller courses with only eight students are ideal as there is lots of time for one to ones. We also have volunteers who can come in and scribe for students. This can be useful to follow group discussions and demonstrations more easily. Let us know beforehand if you think this would be useful for you.

Discover more…

St Ives School of Painting
Porthmeor Studios, St Ives,
Cornwall, UK , TR26 1NG