Course details
Enjoy creating experimental and abstract compositions inspired by your everyday surroundings in this recording.
Join Cornwall based artist Kitty Hillier in taking inspiration from her daily wanderings around the Cornish coastline for this morning webinar. Benefit from Kitty’s contemporary take on landscape and nature. An approach that has been attracting attention both locally and nationally.
The aim of the workshop is to seek inspiration from your everyday environment through a process of close observation, slow drawing and playful mark-making. Using all of your senses, Kitty will show you how to pay attention to the seasonal transitions, forgotten spaces and discarded objects. You will explore how universal shapes connect the natural and manmade environment around us, and how one informs the other.
Looking at the work of various artists who took inspiration from the Cornish landscape including Eileen Agar, Wilhelmina Barns Graham, Barbara Hepworth and Sandra Blow, Kitty will explain how these artists distilled natural shapes and forms into their creative practice, and how you can use these artists’ works to inspire your own creative journey.
Kitty will then guide you, from our studio in St Ives, through a series of simple, intuitive mark-making exercises. Armed with a handful of sketches, you will then learn to distil your observations into abstract compositions by adding colour and texture to your drawings. Taking linear marks and finding abstract forms through ‘drawing’ with scissors, Kitty will help you to create intuitive and expressive abstract images inspired by the objects and landscape around you.
This workshop will help you to find your own personal palette and visual vocabulary, encouraging you to experiment and loosen your approach to image making. Prior to watching the online class, you will be asked to collect objects from your immediate environment – be that city or countryside, woodland or coast – the aim of the exercise is to look at natural and manmade forms afresh.
Who is this course for?
This course is suitable for both absolute beginner and those with more experience looking to build confidence in new ways of working. Aimed to help you step out of your comfort zone and loosen your approach to drawing, painting and collage.
There is a pre-course task, asking you to do some walking and gathering of materials and found things from your local environment. This will be listed in your account in the online course content.
What will I learn?
1. How to find inspiration from your everyday environment.
2.How to ‘draw’ in collage using scissors.
3. How to transform drawings into abstract compositions.
4. How to find your own colour palette using just three primary colours.
5. How to loosen your approach to mark-making.
How does an online session work?
Once you have booked you will be able to watch on demand immediately.
You can pause, rewind and watch again as often as you like until the session expires 60 days after purchase
You will need access to the internet and ideally a PC, laptop or a tablet with audio. Phones are not suitable but you can cast to a Smart TV.
Taught by
What our students say
It was delivered in a calming, easy to understand way. Kitty was supportive and encouraging, and pushed us out of comfort zones enough to get the best out of every student.
I find Kitty’s approach very freeing. It helps me to loosen up and just have fun with line, shape and color. The session was well organised and well paced.
FAQs
Art Courses
Do you have to be experienced to come to the School?
No prior experience is required to join most of our art courses. The School of Painting is a friendly and welcoming environment for all ages and abilities, including complete beginners.
Our drop-in life drawing classes and short workshops are perfect if you’re trying painting for the first time. Many of our longer courses are also suitable for beginners, as our tutors are experienced in supporting mixed ability groups. If a course requires previous experience, this will be clearly stated on the course page.
Online Art Courses
Do I need a webcam/any equipment?
For our webinar sessions which are broadcast on the internet and no webcam or microphone is needed as you just need to be able to see/hear hosts and you can communicate using the chat function. You can watch using a PC, Smart TV or tablet. A phone isn’t ideal as you will struggle to see enough unless you can miracast to a screen or smart TV.
For the longer online courses on Zoom you will need a laptop or tablet with audio and camera enabled so you can have a screen near where you are working. If you have a PC without camera or speakers, you can purchase a plug and play webcam for approx £25 which connects to a usb port. You will also need reasonable broadband connection and speed.
All the art materials and equipment needed to participate in the course will be listed in full on the online learning platform, for live webinars this will be a minimum of two weeks before the session starts.
I have registered for the webinar but I can't find my joining link
You can access all the resources and joining link for your webinar via our online learning platform. You will need to have set up an account on our online learning platform in advance. You can do this during the checkout process when purchasing your webinar. If you are having trouble accessing your online account, please contact [email protected]. You can use a PC or tablet or even cast from your phone to watch on your Smart TV.
I paid for the session but missed it, how can I watch?
Currently all our online sessions are recorded and you can access the recording on our online learning platform until it expires. Usually 60 days for a webinar, 90 – 180 days for multipart webinars or online courses.
Studio Courses
Can I bring my dog?
The studios are busy places with lots of equipment and not suitable for bringing a pet dog. We can accommodate assistance dogs with prior notice so we can make suitable adjustments. If you wish to bring an assistance dog please call 01736 797180 or email [email protected]
Can you help me choose the right course?
Yes, our friendly and knowledgeable team are always happy to help you choose the best course for your needs, whether you’re a beginner or looking to develop specific skills.
Please call us on 01736 797180 to discuss your options.
How do I get my work home?
Tutors have special techniques for transporting oil paintings and for our 3 day courses we will give you a plastic folder with a handle. These are also available to purchase for £3.50 or do bring a portfolio.
Please note: For the course Bigger, Bolder, Braver with Boo Mallinson, we will provide a large A1 size plastic folder for your work but please consider how you will be able to transport the larger canvases home safely before signing up for the course as we will not be able to store large paintings in the studio. On this course you will be painting on a 50cms x 50cms and a 1m x 1m canvas alongside smaller pieces.
For international students we are happy to arrange transportation of your work back home, postal costs will be borne by you.
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.
Short workshops start at 10am in the Summer and 9.30am/ 1.30pm during September festival
Booking a Course
How do I reserve a place on a course?
You can book your place online or by calling us on 01736 797180.
If you need time to arrange accommodation, we can hold a provisional booking for 24 hours. To secure your place, a £100 deposit is required, with the remaining balance due 12 weeks before the course start date.
About St Ives
Where can I park near the School?
The nearest long-stay car parks are:
Island Car Park
Barnoon Long Stay Car Park
Both are approximately a 5-minute walk from the School.
During the busy summer months, you may find it easier to park at Trenwith Car Park near the leisure centre and walk into town. A shuttle bus often runs back up the hill from near Tate St Ives.
How do I get to the School of Painting in St Ives?
By train:
The nearest mainline station is St Erth, which is approximately a 15-minute taxi journey away. From there, you can also take the St Ives Bay Line, which runs every 30 minutes. The School is a 10-minute walk from St Ives station.
By car:
Take the M5 to Exeter, then follow the A30 into Cornwall. After passing Hayle, exit at the St Erth roundabout towards St Ives. Continue through Lelant and Carbis Bay into St Ives..
Where can I stay in St Ives?
St Ives offers a wide range of accommodation, including hotels, guest houses, and self-catering options. You can explore options on our website, or contact us directly on 01736 797180 if you’d like personalised recommendations.
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