colour abstract art course

Looking For Colour

Mixed Media / Abstract

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Course details

Discover a vibrant world of colour in the back streets, gardens and harbour of St Ives. This course will ignite and motivate your passion for finding colour and help you gain confidence to use new colour stories in your own art practice.

In any visual display, colour is arguably the first element we experience, and yet, as artists, we often leave it till last when we plan a work of art. But what happens if we put it first? 

Join us on this inspiring journey to expand your skills and appreciation for the vibrant world of colour. Working directly from observation, we will work outside in the gardens, on the harbour and beaches, and in the back streets of St Ives, looking for colour, expressing and harnessing it however we can, in water based paint, mixed-media and even collage. Camilla will encourage you to put aside the science of colour theory for the duration of the course and to listen to one’s own instinctive response to colour by ‘simply looking’.

In the studio, we will experiment with those colour-findings and combinations to develop more abstracted interpretations, following the direction that feels most appropriate, with colour always being the leading consideration. Have fun with exercises that encourage both chance and choice, see how you respond to different colour juxtapositions using collage and paint, and choose your own outcomes for further exploration. You might create a series of small collages or paintings, or choose to work on larger mixed media pieces.

Throughout the course, draw inspiration from the rich and vibrant colour palettes of artists such as Paul Klee, Georgia O’Keeffe and Barbara Rae amongst others, and focus on nurturing play to discover and develop your own response to colour.

© Paul Klee Castle and Sun 1928
Camilla Dixon, St Ives Memorial Gardens 1, Gouache, oil pastel and wax on paper. £450.
St Ives Memorial Gardens by Camilla Dixon

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

AM: Structured exercises using found materials and collage in the studio, to start immersing ourselves in the quest for colour, help us look for new combinations, and put colour first. 

PM: Looking for colour at low tide, down on the harbour sand, gathering information, returning to the studio to explore findings in paint.

Day 2

AM: Considering colour through memory, in the studio and further afield, indoors and outdoors, depending where our explorations lead us. Taking a colour or two from Day 1, out into new environments, looking for new relationships.

PM: Painting and mixing media, en plein air, in the gardens and among the rocks and sands at low tide and sands.


Day 3

AM: Experimenting with newly found colour, in the studio or outside as student chooses. Individual tutorial chats, if desired.

PM: Consolidating work, group exhibition and chat, slide-show and round-up.

(In the event of bad weather, we will look for colour where and when we can, for example in the Tate, and adapt the schedule as needed. Please wear suitable clothes for painting outdoors in the Cornish Summer! Also do bring images of previous work if you would like to refer to them in a tutorial chat.)

Who is this course for?

Beginners and experienced artists are welcome. This course is suitable for anyone interested in exploring colour, its effects on other colours and the relationships between colours, from an intuitive perspective, rather than academic/theoretical one.

There will be some walking and exploring outside (weather permitting), but not very far, or very steep, within close range of the School of Painting.

What will I learn?

1. Loosen your approach to colour and find new ways of incorporating it into your own practice, regardless of your skill level

2. Gain increased confidence in using colour and responding intuitively to the world around you through colour

3. Develop a deeper interest and awareness of your personal response to colour

4. Stimulate and inspire your journey to record your own unique colour stories through different mediums such as paint and mixed media

5. Explore and learn from other artists who use colour in their work.

Looking For Colour

Mixed Media / Abstract

Book Selected Date

Taught by

Camilla
Dixon

View Camilla’s Work

I find tutoring to be a constantly evolving project. It supports my creative work as it requires that I not only understand my processes but can apply them in a way that is useful to other people in their quest for creative flow. Harnessing a fluid and responsive working method, can address all sorts of practical or emotional obstacles that students face. It can be quite literally life-changing.

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.

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