This is a fun, relaxed course offering a structured introduction to abstract painting. You'll be guided through a number of different approaches, including abstracting images, using geometry, exploring process-based painting and playing with expressive gestural marks. The tutor will lead you through hands-on demonstrations, group discussions of relevant artists' work, and there will also be plenty of individual guidance. You'll build your confidence and gain a practical understanding of the fundamentals of painting, including colour, tone, mark-making and composition. You'll then have the opportunity to complete a larger abstract painting inspired by an artist of your choice. This course is suitable for beginners who have completed an introductory painting course already and are keen to explore painting in an experimental way, as well as more experienced students who would like to develop their understanding of abstraction.

In this exciting weekend course, under the tuition of Charlie Pickard, students will tackle the most challenging and important academic subject to master: the human figure. Students will have the opportunity to study a model from life for a 2-day pose, allowing enough time to thoroughly observe the nuances of form and colour, by painting the model for a total of six hours per day. Critiques will be focused on achieving a high level of academic accuracy, building a strong foundation that will aid in all further artwork. Charlie Pickard will also demonstrate a painting alongside students, using a direct painting method. This is an intermediate/ advanced level course and previous painting experience is required.

This is a well-structured and systematic course for those who have never painted before or would like to reassess their approach to painting. Students learn to see colour, shape and tone, and to relate these elements together in compositions. This course aims to foster self-confidence and enjoyment of painting in a stimulating environment. Working through a series of exercises you will gain experience and skills in working from a life model, from still life as well as exploring a more creative approach to painting helping you establish your own style and identity. This course is a fun and relaxing experience that offers a high level of tutor contact time.

This is a fun course that offers the fantastic opportunity to paint in and around London's urban landscape. The Art Academy is just a short stroll from the river in the historic area of London Bridge, which will feature as the main focus of this course. Working with quick sketches in oil or acrylic, students will practice how to efficiently and accurately capture tone and colour outside. Creating loose and vigorous paintings, we will look at how to capture a sense of light and atmosphere at different times of day. Looking at the works of other artists we will discuss different ways of composing a painting in an urban setting. Painting outside of the studio is always an exciting experience and students of all levels are sure to enjoy the challenge.

This course is designed to help you further develop your portait painting skills, focusing on both creating a likeness and increasing the expressive aspects of your portrait skills. These two elements will be explored together over this three-day masterclass; you'll first make several charcoal studies, followed by a brief oil sketch and finally, a fully developed portrait in oil. You'll focus on accuracy of observation and measurement, while also making a fresh, energised and expressive response to the model. By the end of the masterclass, you will have developed your existing skills and knowledge of structure, tone, colour, composition and express use of paint and charcoal, and you will have completed one portrait painting and a number of briefer sketches and studies. The class has the benefit of 1:8 model to student ratio, as well as tuition from a talented professional artist. Throughout this masterclass, you'll receive regular one-to-one guidance from Andy James. A self taught artist, Andy has been painting for over 25 years, capturing incredible likeness and energy of his subjects through his sumptuous, rigorous and painterly approach. Andy has worked on many prestigious commissions of well-known public figures. He was the winner of the Carroll Foundation Award, the Changing Faces Award and of BBC’s Star Portraits, and served as the Vice President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters from 2008 to 2014.

For some artists the portrait can be about purely formal aspects, with no relevance placed on the character of the sitter. Under the tuition of Andy Pankhurst you will be encouraged to explore and discover what you personally want to "paint about", working from a sustained portrait model pose for the whole weekend. Starting with preliminary drawings and studies during the first morning you will be introduced to the concepts of measurement and proportion, form, tone, space, composition and pictorial structure. The focus will then be on producing a larger-scale portrait painting. This exciting course is an intensive two days that offers a high level of tutor contact time.

This two day portrait course will offer an opportunity for intensive study under the tuition of Charlie Schaffer. There will be an emphasis on learning to understand the construction of the head and its features and using these skills to create more intense, expressive portraits. Working with oil paints students will develop a series of artworks, from short expressive painting sketches to longer more detailed pieces. The students will also be encouraged to work intuitively and expressively in tandem with an emphasis on accuracy of observation. The class has the benefit of 1:8 model to student ratio, as well as tuition from a talented professional artist, Charlie Schaffer. Students will receive one-to-one guidance throughout the course, and Charlie will be on hand to give regular feedback and constructive advice. He will also be demonstrating and painting alongside the students. This exciting course is an intensive two days for advanced painters, offering a high level of tutor contact time.