Elizabeth Blackadder

Painting Spring: Buds & Blooms

Drawing / Mixed Media / Painting / Still Life - Materials included

We haven’t scheduled this course yet. Please email us to register your interest for future availability.

Register Interest

Course details

Re-imagine your drawing and painting practice through a fresh approach, inspired by the forms and colours of Cornish spring flowers.

Under the guidance of Liz Luckwell and Hilary Jean Gibson, you’ll discover creative ways to capture the buds and blooms of a Cornish spring, moving between the strength of monochrome and the energy of rich, vibrant colour.

The course begins with a series of guided exercises designed to help loosen your approach to materials and encourage experimentation. Over the following days, you’ll explore a range of techniques and materials while working from a variety of plant forms—both fresh and dried—brought into the studio. Weather permitting, a few hours will be spent drawing the native flora found around St. Ives, offering a chance to observe and respond directly to plants growing in their natural habitat.

Continue to develop the full range of studies produced throughout the course—refining and expanding them through a more fluid and expressive approach on large sheets of paper. You’ll gain confidence and learn to work in a looser, more experimental and versatile way using inks and resists, collage, oil pastels and water based paints. This course opens the door to a fresh understanding of floral drawing—revealing how dynamic, immediate, and creatively rich it can be.

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 and weather.

Day 1

Begin the day with Liz Luckwell, who will introduce you to a series of guided exercises that aim to loosen your approach to a wide range of materials by exploring various drawing and mark-making techniques.

Compose arrangements of plants and flowers with an aerial view looking down and experiment with viewfinders to help to select parts of the compositions so you can zoom in and focus.

Day 2

Weather permitting, venture out on the coastal path with Hilary Jean Gibson, to observe and respond to the local flora in a sketchbook. Back in the studio, develop your sketches, to create drawings and studies using pencil, coloured inks and water-soluble pencils to capture both delicacy and energy.

Day 3

Liz will support you in developing the sketches and observations gathered during the first two days, encouraging you to consider scale as you translate your ideas onto larger sheets. You’ll explore the fluid, experimental qualities of inks and resists, alongside collage and painting, to expand and enrich your work.

What will I learn?

  1. An approach to simplifying floral drawing so you capture the essence.
  2. A more intuitive approach to still-life drawing and painting.
  3. Approaches to help you successfully scale up your work.
  4. Encouragement to look more closely at the world around you.
  5. Inspiration for working with botanical drawing in experimental ways.

Painting Spring: Buds & Blooms

Drawing / Mixed Media / Painting / Still Life – Materials included

We haven’t scheduled this course yet. Please email us to register your interest for future availability.

Register Interest

Who would this course suit?

This course is ideal for nature lovers and artists – whether beginner or experienced—who want to explore a fresh, dynamic approach to drawing flowers. Whether you are used to working in a more controlled, detailed style or are eager to loosen up your technique, this course offers a chance to reconnect with nature working both outdoors and in the studio to capture the vibrant flora of Cornwall in spring.

Taught by

Hilary
Jean
Gibson

View Hilary Jean Gibson’s Work

In 1995 I became a tutor at the St Ives School of Painting. Offering inspiration through my passion for drawing, water-based media and art history, I strive to liberate a creative vision by teaching skills and techniques through direct observation and en plein air.

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.

What our students say

Very well structured with excellent tuition and overall a wide, diverse, and interesting course.

Robert M

Explored a range of techniques in a safe creative environment nurtured by the school itself and Liz’s deft personal guidance.

Liz is a great teacher. We explored lots of different mediums and were encouraged to develop our own style. A fabulous 3 days.

Paula

FAQs

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