Upcoming Workshops

This workshop is an opportunity to work experimentally with a wide variety of materials. Sally will commence with a starter exercise as a stimulus for a design which you will then interpret onto canvas or board using mixed media including acrylics and layered, collage papers.

We are excited to welcome Rachel Stowe to Truro Arts as a brand new tutor. Rachel will be leading a screen printing workshop where you will learn every stage of the printing process, beginning with drawing out a design. You will cut your drawing out and transfer it onto a screen to then print it onto your choice of either a tote bag or cushion cover.

All Materials are provided for this workshop.

Look forward to the beautiful colours of autumn in this expressive workshop. You will learn how to mix rich colour washes and experiment with different ways of applying watercolour. Try drawing into wet watercolour washes with Conte sticks, using them the traditional way on their side and sharp edges. Create texture with cling film and apply paint with sticks, feathers and other tools as well as brushes to achieve natural looking trees and branches.

Step by step, Yvette will demonstrate the watercolour and pastel techniques used to create an ‘exciting and dramatic seascape painting’. In the workshop you will learn about cover papers and textures, colour properties, cling film techniques, and then taking care and storing of your mixed media paintings.

Join visiting artist Rebecca as she demonstrates using soft pastels and charcoal to capture life and movement with figures in street scenes, landscapes and on the beach. Following this expert demonstration you will create quick sketches, in charcoal and pastel pencil of the human figure in motion. The final stage is to place these figures in street scenes and landscapes, using colour with soft pastels. Rebecca will be on hand to offer expert one-to-one support while you put new techniques into practice and experiment with all the possibilities of Pastels.

Come and have fun painting a variety of subjects with watercolour artist, Kaye Parmenter, and experiment with many ways to loosen up with your watercolour painting. Subjects may include a selection of subject matters including flowers, animals, landscapes, skies and birds.

Join Judi for this experimental workshop in acrylic ink and watercolour paint. You will produce 2 studies over the course of a day using black or brown ink before adding watercolours. Students can hope to produce at least 2 studies, the first with a constructed approach and the second much looser. You will learn how to use the ink on wet and dry paper, drawing with it using different implements and mark making before watercolour is applied over the top to produce a final result.

This workshop is aimed at artists who would like to build their confidence in watercolour painting. Ashley will guide you through different techniques, encouraging you to develop your own style to produce vibrant and expressive work with a focus on depth and colour.

Join Lee in making a set of unique linocut printed Christmas cards from your own design. You will be able to experiment with colour, and black and white designs, and you won’t need a printing press! Bring a sketch, photograph or just an idea so you can unlock your inner artist and impress your friends with a special hand–made card this Christmas.

The ever-popular Andrew Barrowman is joining us for another winter-themed oil painting workshop. He will begin with a short demo, introducing his distinctive style and techniques. The group will then commence with painting a scene, using their chosen sketches or photographs as reference. Andrew will circulate, giving one-to-one advice during the session.

Would you like to create a unique, gorgeous Christmas wreath for your front door this year? Truro Arts will once again be running popular wreath-making workshops. You will use fresh foliage and learn how to create your own festive wreath using traditional techniques.

All materials are provided.

Would you like to create a unique, gorgeous Christmas wreath for your front door this year? Truro Arts will once again be running popular wreath-making workshops. You will use fresh foliage and learn how to create your own festive wreath using traditional techniques.

All materials are provided.

This is a workshop for all level of illustrators or budding storytellers. It will predominantly be using the professional sketching process called thumbnails, to sketch out a storyline of choice, or one provided. There will be a brief introduction, explaining the format of the day, followed by some pointers and technical insights into book publishing and self-initiated work. You will explore how to initiate a story idea, then deal with character development and thumbnailing narrative.

This practical painting workshop will enable you to develop an understanding of colour contrast. It is based on the visual experience of seeing and making colour and will provide a complete introduction to the use of the colour wheel followed by a practical painting workshop. Your work will be done at a small scale using gouache paint on paper, before being developed into final collages. Mary will share her wealth of experience and knowledge to ensure you go away with a deeper understanding of colour that allows you to paint with confidence.

This is an opportunity to be taught is a one day workshop that will show you how to draw wildlife portraits with coloured pencils. Using photographs supplied by your tutor you will be shown how to draw fur, eyes, noses, ears, other techniques such as layering, blending, texturing and colour mixing and how to work on a coloured background. This is an ideal introduction for students who would like to explore the varied skills and techniques associated with coloured pencils. By the end of the day you will have completed a number of exercises and at least one drawing. Ideal for beginners and students with some knowledge of the medium.

This is a one day workshop that will show you how to produce quick, lively sketches of buildings and landscapes using ink pen and watercolour wash. Using photographs supplied by your tutor, you will be shown how to sketch trees, skies, buildings in the landscape and architectural features and details. Techniques shown will include how to use the pen both before and after the wash, colour mixing, texture, shadows, painting with a limited palette and how to sketch quick and loosely with the pen. By the end of the day you will have produced a few pieces. Ideal for beginners and students with some knowledge of the medium.

Use small natural objects to focus in on detail and learn the steps to create a small but perfectly formed piece of botanical art. Laura will explain just how and why botanical illustration has been so important historically in documenting plants, and why it remains such a vibrant art form today. This workshop aims to introduce you to techniques you can use or adapt in your own work and is suitable for beginners, improvers looking to ‘tighten up’ or those wishing to try a new technique.

The workshop will introduce you to Cold Wax Medium and how it can be combined with oil paint to create wonderfully rich paintings full of texture, colour and depth. You will explore methods of building up imagery in multiple layers, before using a variety of tools and techniques to scrape back into the painting to create a fascinating history of surface. Leave this day-long workshop with an understanding of a new medium that offers a range of progression routes.

This workshop will cover composition, colour, brushwork and depth, with special emphasis on movement and atmosphere. Learn how to construct a painting in order to best tell the visual story, how to begin it and methodically work through to a successful conclusion. The day begins with an initial half hour colour demo, using Daler Rowney acrylics. Students will then paint a small tonal study in black and white. It’s a great warm-up to the day! This will focus on brushwork and the variation of tone to achieve a credible sense of water and atmosphere in a painting. The rest of the time will be spent on larger colour painting(s). You will look at the structure and reflective nature of waves, still water and foam, and how to achieve the illusion of moving water and light through paint.

Extend the expressive power of your watercolours by adding ink line to your composition to create an attractively illustrative painting. Your personable tutor Catherine will explain the benefits of this technique, looking closely at shape and considering boundaries within compositions. You will drip loose wet-in-wet colour over an under-drawing and bring it all together with strategies of reviewing your work. *Some experience of watercolour painting Is required for this workshop.

This workshop with talented visiting artist Yana Trevail will cover A Tonal Approach to Painting, a method that uses simple still life and self-portrait exercises to develop a clear understanding of tone, by deconstructing what you see into a basic visual grammar of form and colour, dark and light. Using acrylic or oil, students engage with the technique through monochrome exercises painted from direct observation. It’s a process that accommodates the needs and interests of the individual and can be applied to landscape, still life or portraits, and abstract work, according to the preference of the student. The method is really all about how to see without preconceptions and how to efficiently translate the 3D world onto a 2D surface.

This is a workshop suitable for beginners and more advanced students. Everyone will achieve a good outcome and have great fun in the process. Encaustic wax is one of the oldest forms of art, having been practised by Greek artists as far back as the 5th century BC. Wax or encaustic painting is a unique method of painting that involves working with pigmented heated wax. It is the most sculptural method of painting, creating organic abstract florals.

John will demonstrate, in watercolour, how to create realistic paintings of animals and birds. Working from photographs he will describe the techniques required to depict both fur and feather, and to produce a successful animal portrait. Students will produce a head study in pencil, then aim to complete two paintings including a head study of a dog and a bird study. John will provide one-to-one instruction on ho to achieve a realistic result.

In this workshop John will show how to depict a street scene and a harbour scene, using a quick and loose watercolour technique. He will talk a little about linear and aerial perspective and how to create a good composition. Each student will receive some one-to-one tuition during the day and those who paint at a faster speed can practice new brush techniques and exercises. By the end of the workshop you will have created both a street and harbour painting.

Back again due to popular demand, Stephie will show you in this workshop how to paint wildlife in watercolour full of colour with an impressionistic feel, making your works unique. The workshop will focus on the face of the animal and how to portray feelings and emotions in your subject. There will be a mixture of ongoing demonstrating and one-to-one attention that will focus on the face and how to portray feelings and emotion in a subject. You will be encouraged to develop your own style, to learn how to paint with instinct alongside technique, to simplify drawings prior to painting to enable a looser style, to paint with colour that deviates away from the norm. Most of all, you’ll have fun and come away inspired to paint more!

Back again due to popular demand, and this time for a 2 day workshop! Stephie will show you in this workshop how to paint portraits in watercolour that are full of colour with an impressionistic feel, making your works unique. There will be a mixture of ongoing demonstrating and one-to-one attention that will focus on the face and how to portray feelings and emotion in a subject. You will be encouraged to develop your own style, to learn how to paint with instinct alongside technique, to simplify drawings prior to painting to enable a looser style, to paint with colour that deviates away from the norm. Most of all, you’ll have fun and come away inspired to paint more!

We are very pleased to announce our first two day workshop at Truro Arts, giving students the time and opportunity to really develop their ideas and skills. This studio-based workshop will be an introduction to painting with watercolour in a loose, impressionistic and bold style. Subjects covered will include coastal scenery, skies, trees, foliage, and more. You will look at how light, composition and simplification are key in achieving atmosphere and a sense of place. Core techniques of watercolour will be covered, including the use of hard & soft edges, tonal control and variation in brushwork, to create paintings that have energy and impact.

Joe uses a palette knife and incorporates loose flowing strokes of vibrant colour to create his distinctive impasto paintings on canvas. He will commence the workshop with a demonstration where you will get a feel for his technique; you will then be led through the various stages of creating a painting in his style. Joe will encourage you to open up and become comfortable creating your piece using a palette knife and a range of striking, vibrant colours.

Lin will start the workshop with a short introduction on how differences in quality of pastels achieve varying results. An initial class demonstration will introduce students to basic blending, then Lin will move on to ways in which techniques change the dynamics of an image. There will be plenty of one on one tuition given, punctuated with further demos, followed by a critique at the end if time allows. Lin feels that being a self-taught artist means that learning and progressing comes by way of playing and experimenting, and she is determined to infect her students with the fun and sense of achievement that can come from using pastels.

This workshop is a fun, right-brain stimulating exploration of the style and techniques of Vincent van Gogh and is open to all levels of artist from professional to complete beginner. You will look at some reproductions of van Gogh’s works and Sarah will demonstrate some of his techniques before you either create your own version of his painting or use his style to paint an image of your own. You may like to bring a reference photo to work from if you would prefer to create an original painting.

This workshop is aimed at all abilities, demonstrating the essentials of linocut printmaking. You will have the opportunity to create a two colour original print from your own design, based on a sketch, photo or idea that you bring to the workshop. You will learn a low-tech way of printing which does not involve a press, so you can carry on at home afterwards.

Back again after a hugely popular workshop last year, John Hoar is the master of fast flowing washes and impressionistic watercolour landscapes. Using pen and wash, and a limited palette, John will show you how to create an exciting painting that crackles with energy – painted in his own inimitable style. He will reveal how to distil an often complex scene into a simplified watercolour masterpiece. The workshop will be about making free and competent watercolours, using lots of water and understanding the importance of tone. You will complete three paintings, one of which will be with pen and ink and wash.

In this workshop students will work on how to look objectively at the face, removing barriers of presumption and foreknowledge. You will draw from a model, starting with simple shapes to build up the form of the face, drawing on the use of construction lines. Hester will show you how to use devices that aid measuring distances and angles, and work to get an accurate structure. Students will then learn about tone, which will add volume and life to the work.

Make your watercolours sing and get the best results using simple and effective techniques and applications. Something to suit every watercolourist, from beginner to professional. Make the light the main focus in your paintings. There is nothing more beautiful than a painting filled with light and colour. Trevor demonstrates ways of reaching this goal in your work…it’s fun and easier than you think!

Design and make your own silver band ring. With full tuition from a BA qualified Silversmith you will learn the techniques to measure, form and texture your very own silver band ring. Perfect for beginners and anyone interested in having a go at the hugely enjoyable craft of jewellery making. Anna's 2019 workshop sold out, we recommend booking ASAP to avoid disappointment!

Amanda is a master of the sketchbook and uses her notes and sketches as a starting point for her painting. In this workshop she will show you how to use a sketchbook to inspire and inform your own work, using her own journals as examples in her demonstrations. She will encourage you to push the boundaries of your painting and experiment with mixed media, oils and pastels. Amanda has many years’ experience as a professional artist and tutor who has also published several magazine articles and books. Her work is known and loved throughout Cornwall and can be found in galleries across the Duchy.

This is an inspiring 2 day course for all abilities to try a portrait for the first time or improve on your existing portrait painting skills. Mark will demonstrate and guide you through his well-structured approach to painting a portrait, breaking it down into easy to follow steps. He will cover everything from his choice of materials and colour palette, and setting up, to colour-mixing, and how tone and colour temperature can be used to describe structure, shape and form.

Gouache is the most versatile of all paint media yet relatively unknown and consequently under-used. Gouache is water-based, being like thick opaque watercolour enabling artists to paint in any style. No previous experience is needed for this workshop which will include using gouache as watercolour initially, then thicker applications for over-painting. Any mistakes can easily be rectified due to the high covering strength of gouache. Following a step-by-step format, Jeremy will demonstrate each stage of painting before you do it yourself. Students will learn to mix the correct colours and deal with any associated problems before moving onto the next stage. There will be plenty of opportunity for questions and answers as Jeremy guides you through the creative process.

This workshop covers many well-known watercolour techniques and some unusual ones which help to create an appealing atmosphere within a painting. Using a limited palette of colours Jeremy will guide you in easy stages step-by-step, demonstrating each process of painting before you do it yourself. We build each stage, including mixing the correct colours, dealing with any associated problems before moving onto the next stage. There will be plenty of opportunity for questions and answers as Jeremy guides you through the creative process.

Through expressive brushstrokes and strong colour, you will learn how to get the best out of the medium of acrylics. Practical demonstrations will provide helpful hints and tips, followed by one to one tuition throughout the day. This workshop is ideal for those who are looking to loosen up their painting style as well as those who are new to acrylics. Photographic reference will be provided on the day but feel free to bring your own personal photos.

This is an informative acrylic painting workshop, for those who are interested in colours and mark-making. Learn how to use large brushes and develop a bold approach to painting. You will paint a variety of subjects with less emphasis on obsessive drawing. Demonstrations and one to one guidance will be provided, and the course is suitable for anyone with an open mind. Photographic reference will be provided on the day but feel free to bring your own photos. There will…

Paint bold, loose watercolours using fabulous colour and expressive brush strokes. Jake will use his expertise to guide you through painting two pictures painting. You will learn mark making techniques such as wet in wet, dry brush.

What makes a portrait “speak” to us and how can we apply the unique properties of watercolour to this fascinating painting genre? Learn about the joys of controlling loose, running watercolour to our advantage and apply it to create your own personal portrait of a family member or friend from a photo. You will start the day looking at images and discussing questions on composition, focal points and the way light falls. Understand how to get the most from your materials, try out flesh tones and colour mixing to create your own unique portrait while developing your painting style.