Small group classes, designed to enable anyone, at any level, receive the individual attention they need to develop their skills.
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We provide quality art course tuition suitable for all levels from complete beginners to those with more experience. Learn from our team of 30 contemporary artists teaching small groups, in our studio overlooking Porthmeor beach in St Ives, where we have been since 1938.
Take a bit of St Ives magic into your home or studio with our online courses. Browse our library for courses to watch now or look out for new courses added every month. From landscape to life, oils to watercolour we’ll help you find the approach that’s right for you.
Studio Courses
online Courses
Enjoy the same quality tuition at home. Watch live or on demand.
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
Find your creative voice with 1-1 mentoring and a curated practical programme over several months
weekenders
Combine a weekend away in St Ives with a chance to develop new skills and explore making art.
St Ives, one of the most stunning locations in the world, has long been attracting artists. For more than 85 years we have been running art classes in Cornwall in Porthmeor studios overlooking the ocean.
Stunning Studios
Step into history and tread the boards where Ben Nicholson walked. Feel inspired in our spacious studios overlooking Porthmeor beach.
Discover
The Health Benefits of Life Drawing
Life drawing has slipped in and out of vogue in recent decades, but as public attention shifts to the importance of mental health and wellbeing, it is enjoying something of a resurgence. A recent study by the BBC and Newcastle University compared memory and cognition in a group of 30 adults: they asked 10 to walk briskly, 10 to do puzzles such as crosswords and sudoku and 10 to attend life drawing classes. The experiment took place over 8 weeks, with a series of tests carried out across the volunteers at the beginning of the study and at the end. The life drawers, it turned out, showed significant improvement in memory and cognitive function following the experiment.
Love Drawing Landscape
Fri 3 – Sun 5 May – 3 days
Liz Luckwell
Energising and experimental tuition both in the studio and out in the landscape will fire up your drawing confidence and open up a whole new way of looking at the world.
Kitty Hillier
It’s always great to hear that after trying some of these quick mark-making and drawing exercises, people are keen to repeat them at home regularly as a way to relax or reset. My approach encourages play, experimentation and trust in our gut intuition. Based in Cornwall, Kitty lives and works at Islington Boatyard, Penryn. Her work is rooted in what’s above…