Capture the Cornish landscape in simplified shapes, lines and motifs in this Victor Pasmore inspired recording. See how this seminal artist pioneered a new way of working with abstraction.

Follow in Pasmore’s footsteps and take inspiration from the ripples and waves of Porthmeor Beach. Let artist Hilary Jean Gibson guide you through Pasmore and his peers’ work to inspire your own abstracted landscape.  

This new series of online classes, ‘Postcards from …’ will use the places in and around St Ives that inspired an international roster of artists including Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis, Bryan Wynter and Patrick Heron.  

Focusing in particular on sites which captured these artists’ imagination, Postcards from… will take you on a creative journey to the famous spots around St Ives including its harbour, Porthmeor Beach and its cobbled, winding streets, lined with stone fishermen’s houses. Using films of these familiar landscapes, led by one of our experienced tutors, this series will transport you to these inspiring St Ives locations, wherever you are in the world. 

During a brief stay in St Ives in the summer of 1950, Pasmore made a number of drawings of Porthmeor Beach. Visiting on the the invitation of artist Ben Nicholson, Pasmore integrated himself into the quickly growing hub of modern artists in the town and exhibited his work at the newly founded Penwith Society of Arts. These drawings, according to his friend William Townsend, consisted of a ‘extremely simple designs for houses, rocks, cliffs and spiralling shapes of water’ and a number were made into lithographs.

Pasmore was a key figure in the Postwar British art movement. His radical approach to painting and art education led art historian Herbert Read describing Pasmore’s new style as ‘the most revolutionary event in post war art’. Pasmore described a painting as an ‘independent object in its own right, not a representation of another object.’

Following from Pasmore’s pioneering approach to art and practice, join Hilary live from our studio above Porthmeor Beach where she will explore his methods and materials. Explore the Cornish landscape in reduced forms while Hilary shows you how this unique artist shaped abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s.

You will be working from the same recorded video as Hilary so you will see both Hilary at work and the video on screen

What will I learn?

1. Learn to work more freely and intuitively.
2. Enjoy playing with form, shape and colour.
3. Learn new ways of capturing the landscape around you, wherever you are in the world!

Who would this course suit?

Beginners and those with more experience are both welcome to join. If you are looking to learn new ways to expand your drawing and painting practice, or just inspiration by looking to other artists, this course is for you.

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 also be invited to join our Facebook Alumni group so you can share your discoveries with our community of fellow students from around the world.

You will need access to the internet and ideally a Smart TV, PC or laptop or a tablet with audio. Phones are not suitable unless cast to a smart TV.