Mixed media landscape

Getting Started with Mixed Media Landscape

Acrylic / Mixed Media / Beginners / Landscape - Materials included

Book Selected Date

Course details

This inspiring course offers exciting new ways to creatively absorb your spectacular St Ives surroundings. With an encouraging and experimental approach, establish a solid foundation in mixed media painting.

Mixed Media Art for Beginners St Ives School of Painting

This course is a concentrated dose of encouraging tuition and individual experimentation, giving you a solid foundation in mixed media landscape. Our spectacular surroundings and relaxed St Ives studios provide an ideal climate for you to feel confident and excited about trying something new. Benefit from generous guidance and inspiring tuition with one-to-one support on how to evolve your paintings and open the door to new techniques with confidence.

Develop your sketches through dynamic experiments that loosen up your mark making. Use a host of materials including oil bars, graphite, cut-outs and pencils with a variety of tools to introduce surprise and expression in your studies. 

Armed with the new tools and techniques you’ve learned, shift your perspective on your source material, approaching them as starting points. Use them to guide you on your journey to discovering rewarding ways to creatively absorb the world around you and create distinct responses with depth and dimension.

expressive mixed media painting of the sea

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

Spend time out in the landscape working freely in a sketchbook to record your personal take on the stunning St Ives surroundings.

Day 2

Expand your work into printmaking in mono printing. In the afternoon we will explore the benefits of using a limited palette working with acrylics. 

Day 3

We will spend time out in the landscape in the morning. Combining ideas from this as well as themes developed in the previous days.  We will look at artists Wilhelmina Barnes-Graham and Ellsworth Kelly. 

Day 4

Back in the studio start to combine collage with painting using painted papers to add dimension and depth in your landscapes.

What will I learn?

  1. Tailored insight into how to develop your ideas  
  2. A creative momentum to see and absorb the world around you a little differently. 
  3. Confidence using techniques and developing ideas that you can use in any creative capacity back at home. 
  4. Permission to wholeheartedly try something new, without judgement or self-criticism. 
  5. A chance to experiment with a lot of different kinds of materials with guidance so you can make some unexpected discoveries of processes that you enjoy and would like to use again. 

Who would this course suit?

This course is for you, whether you’re finally getting around to something that’s been on your mind for a while, shedding some light on some forgotten creative corners or giving yourself the gift of painting for the very first time. It introduces you to techniques and feeds you with a confidence you can take with you wherever your creativity leads you. 

Getting Started with Mixed Media Landscape

Acrylic / Mixed Media / Beginners / Landscape – Materials included

Book Selected Date

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 usually starts at 10 am and finishes at 4.30 pm.

All course days after that start at 9.30 am and finish at 4 pm and there will be an hour for lunch. Occasionally these times may be changed if required by the tutor. There are plenty of nearby places to eat or you are welcome to bring a packed lunch into the studio.

Taught by

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.

Steven
Buckler

View Steven’s Work

My work is about more than the landscape, it’s about the sense of being in it. The atmosphere, the light and the colour. For me it is about drawing and painting these bits of our landscape that are normally edited out of our perception and experience.

What our students say

Everything I wanted and more!

The course adverts really don’t get across the inspirational elements of the experience. It reawakens the artist in everyone.

Liz Grindrod

Fun tutors, lovely studio, space to explore different ideas and approaches, hour long lunch break, going out to observe, fun fellow students.

Grace

There was a great contrast between the two tutors which gave each day something slightly different. All of the tasks and exercises were interesting, creative, educational and fun. As was the contrast between studio and outside working. The students within the group were also great fun to be around. 

Graeme

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.

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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