Your Monthly Roundup: October 2026
Each month we share a roundup of the latest news and events, exhibitions and blogs to keep you up to date with all of the latest ‘goings on’.
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October Features
More new courses in 2027
Our 2027 programme launched last month, with more than 80 courses available.
Since then, we’ve added courses led by artists joining us for the first time, as well as new courses from familiar tutors. Explore the latest additions, from landscape and seascape to still life and the figure..
Last chance to join our yearlong course
If you’ve been thinking of applying to the Porthmeor Programme Online, you don’t need a fully formed practice or a portfolio of finished work – just curiosity and the commitment to explore your work over ten months.
Ready to experiment and reflect on your practice? Tell us why this feels like the right time and what you hope to get from the programme. Apply today.
Meet our new artists for 2027
Get to know three of our tutors through their practices, inspirations and approaches to teaching:
Hester Berry
We speak to new tutor Hester Berry about observation, artistic influence and helping students find a painting language of their own.
Read More
Alison Orchard
Alison first attended the School at 14, and now she returns to teach her gestural painting course: Layered Landscapes – From Sketch to Studio.
Read More
Louise Rainbow
Louise talks about her practice across painting, printmaking and ceramics, and the joy of helping students find an artistic voice of their own.
Read More
A Year in the Making
Ever wondered how a programme of more than 90 courses across 12 months comes together?
Let us introduce you to our colour-coding, copywriting, calendar-managing Queen: Programme Manager, Suzie.
We asked Suzie how she pieces together this enormous creative jigsaw across the studio and online, and how being an artist herself helps her understand what other artists need from a course.
Exhibitions & Events
Young Penwith Artists Exhibition Opportunity: Summer 2027: Penwith Gallery, St Ives
Following the success of the 2026 Young Penwith Artist, Flora Forshall, our neighbours at Penwith Gallery are now
inviting applications from Cornwall-based artists aged 35 and under for a month-long solo or joint exhibition in their Studio Gallery during Summer 2027, mentored and supported by the Penwith Society of Arts.
The application deadline is Tuesday 12 January – find more details via the link below. Good luck!
Today’s Watch
Join us for a journey through the ups and downs of St Ives School of Painting in our short film, The Turning Point.
This Month’s Read
We won’t mention the ‘C’ word just yet, but…
If you like to get ahead of the shopping rush, we’ve rounded up a few gift ideas for the art lovers in your life.
From a good quality sketchbook to a weekend spent making art in St Ives, there’s something to inspire their next creative adventure.
Happy gifting!
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28/10/2026
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