Painting by Marion Taylor for Blurring Boundaries at The St Ives School of Painting

Blurring the Boundaries

Mixed Media / Oil / Abstract

Book Selected Date

Course details

This dynamic course explores the boundaries between representation and abstraction. Let go of perfection, embrace experimentation, and see what happens when the lines between realism and abstraction begin to blur.

Painting by Marion Taylor for Blurring Boundaries at The St Ives School of Painting

Discover new ways of seeing and making and extend your painting vocabulary through a series of structured exercises, manipulating paint and image in a fun and experimental way. This three-day workshop offers an immersive exploration of painting, scale, and collage, set against the inspiring backdrop of St Ives and taught by two experienced tutors and professional artists in their own right.

Begin the course with an outdoor drawing session with Liz Luckwell, to warm up your drawing skills then move onto hands-on experimentation in the studio, encouraging playful exploration of texture and image. Exercises will include observational drawing and painting, collage using your own photos and found images and scaling up your drawings and paintings.

Then for the latter part of the course with Marion Taylor, the focus will move into exploring manipulation of paint with a variety of tools and expressive mark making and colour. Discover contemporary artists such as Gerhard Richter, an inspirational artist of great diversity whose work ranges from photo-realism to pure abstraction.

Dive into paint manipulation techniques such as paint dragging and oil rubbing and produce a series of small studies to explore your findings using materials such as acrylic and oil paint, oil bars and pastels.

As the course progresses, begin to develop more personal responses, combining favourite elements of workshop demonstrations to work on larger paintings, continuing to refine your mark-making and paint manipulation skills. Through one-to-one conversations, both tutors will support you in finding a direction that suits your individual style and interests.

Painting by Marion Taylor for Blurring Boundaries at The St Ives School of Painting
Painting by Marion Taylor for Blurring Boundaries at The St Ives School of Painting
Painting by Marion Taylor for Blurring Boundaries at The St Ives School of Painting

Day to day plan

This is a rough indication of what to expect over the course. However sometimes the structure of the days may alter depending on the nature of the group, weather and the days each tutor leads.

Day 1 – with Liz Luckwell

AM Warm up your drawing muscles and head out into the St Ives landscape to create a series of small, observational drawings using a limited palette.

PM Back in the studio experiment with collage, black and white paint and rollers.


Day 2 AM – with Liz Luckwell

Experiment with scale, using your own photos and sketches from the first day, enlarge and re-arrange compositions and prepare surfaces ready for further paint application and colour explorations with Marion in the afternoon.


Day 2 PM – with Marion Taylor

Dive into paint manipulation techniques such as paint dragging and oil rubbing and different ways of making images using these techniques and considering colour choices. Make lots of small studies to explore your findings.

Day 3 – with Marion Taylor

AM Select and combine your favourite subjects and techniques to develop into larger studies. Marion will support each student through one to one discussions to find a direction that best suits them.

PM Work on your larger studies, continuing to develop and refine your mark making and paint manipulation skills. Group get together to reflect on the work made over the three days.

What will I learn?

  1. Knowledge of how to manipulate paint in different ways and gain an increased confidence in expressive mark making.
  2. An ability to use playfulness to unlock personal creativity.
  3. A series of structured exercises to use to break out of habits that will make work more dynamic and intuitive.
  4. A deeper understanding of paint and image manipulation techniques that you can utilise in your own painting.

Who would this course suit?

This course would suit you if you have some experience of painting. More important however is an openness to experimentation. It is a particularly exciting course if you enjoy trying new things and have an interest in contemporary painting.  Ideal for artists looking to extend and expand their painting vocabulary, but appropriate for anyone with an open mind and a desire to experiment and develop skills and push their own boundaries.

Blurring the Boundaries

Mixed Media / Oil / Abstract

Book Selected Date

Taught by

Marion
Taylor

View Marion’s Work

I have enjoyed teaching at The School for over 25 years and this has always gone hand in hand with my own practice, as I find sharing ideas and techniques stimulating and rewarding. My approach is to give students the confidence to develop their skills, to think for themselves and so extend their visual language and find their own path.

Liz
Luckwell

View Liz’s Work

Liz Luckwell’s artistic practice is deeply rooted in the act of drawing, which underpins her method of working with materials, allowing images to emerge from the process itself. Starting from realistic beginnings—often sketching her immediate environment—Luckwell’s work evolves through a gradual process of simplification, distilling forms into more abstracted, emotive expressions. Her creative journey is infused with early memories of helping her mother craft wreaths and bouquets on the kitchen table, a tactile experience that still informs her approach. Working from her home, the Gardener’s Cottage, she often reflects on her family’s deep connection to gardening, a theme that permeates pieces like her oil pastel on board Summer Weeds, where natural forms are transformed through a nuanced, intimate exploration of colour and texture.

What to Bring

Our studios are fully equipped and we provide you with all the materials you need for your course. However, if you have a favourite set of brushes or any specialist materials that you would prefer to use, please bring them with you.

Timings and Breaks

The first day starts at 10am and finishes at 4.30pm, please aim to arrive ten to fifteen minutes before the start time.

All course days after that start at 9.30am and finish at 4pm and there will be an hour for lunch. There are plenty of nearby places to eat and we will serve tea and coffee at break times during the day.

FAQs

Studio Courses

How can I get help in choosing a course?

Our friendly expert staff are always happy to discuss your needs and our courses in more detail to help you with your decision. Please call us on 01736 797180

How do I get my work home?

Tutors have special techniques for transporting oil paintings and the school has plastic folders available in our shop for £3.50 or do bring a portfolio.

For international students we are happy to arrange transportation of your work back home.

What do I need to bring?

Absolutely nothing! All materials and aprons are provided although some people do like to bring their own set of brushes.

What do I do for lunch?

Courses allow an hour’s break for lunch and there are numerous places nearby or you are welcome to bring a packed lunch into the studio.

What times do courses run?

Most of our courses start at 10am and end at 4.30pm on the first day. Subsequent days we start at 9.30am ending at 4pm.

Weekend Courses run 10am – 4pm on the first day but the final day starts at 9.30 and ends at 3.30 with a short lunch break to enable people to get home that evening.


Do you have to be experienced to come to the School?

The School is a very friendly and welcoming place for all ages and experience. Our drop-in life classes and August half-day workshops are ideal for those wanting to have a go for the first time. Most of our longer courses are also fine for novices.

If any of the courses do need a bit of experience we flag this up in the brochure and on the website.

Booking a Course

How can I reserve a place?

We will hold a provisional reservation for 24 hours if you give us a call whilst you find accommodation. Otherwise please book online or by telephone 01736 797180.

You can reserve a place with a £100 deposit; balance is due 12 weeks before course start date.

About St Ives

Where do I park?

The nearest long stay public car parks are the Island and Barnoon Long Stay Car Park, both a 5 minute walk away. In the peak summer months it may be easier to park at Trenwith Car Park by the leisure centre and walk down into town. If you don’t fancy the walk up the hill at the end of the day there is a shuttle bus which runs from outside the cinema.

How do I get there?

Public Transport: If you are coming from further afield the main train line runs into St Erth which is a 15 min taxi ride away or you can take the St Ives Bay Line which runs approx. every 30 minutes. The School is a 10 minute walk from St Ives station.

Driving: M5 will take you to Exeter where we recommend that you take the A30 across Bodmin Moor and into Cornwall. After passing Hayle, leave the A30 at St Erth roundabout for St Ives. Turn right at the second roundabout. This road will take you through Lelant and Carbis Bay into St Ives.

Where can I stay?

St Ives has a huge selection of hotels, guest houses and self catering accommodation to choose from. Please browse the art holidays St Ives section on our website and give us a call if you would like any help.

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