Botanical Pattern Play

Saturday 29th – Sunday 30th April  from 10am  – 4pm each day

Storth Village Hall,   Milnthorpe,   Cumbria,   LA7 7PH

A water based mixed-media expressive drawing and painting workshop inspired by botanical shapes and structures. 

Geometric or painterly, solid or fluid, repetitive or freestyle, this workshop is all about devising and using organic motifs and structures to create intriguing ‘patternful’ paintings.

We will be drawing , recording, feeling, tracing, dripping, printing, slicing and splicing and collaging …  This course is perfect for you if you have some experience but wish to shake things up and try out some alternative approaches to creating your art.

I love to encourage play and invention so this course is the perfect opportunity for you to experiment with different materials and approaches over two full days. We will be working with scale, layering and the repetition of key motifs so you may find yourself inspired to create strong bold designs or to layer up your own observations and drawings to make something more ephemeral or fluid.

Day 1 will be full of guided exercises exploring the concept of pattern while working directly from flowers, plants and supplied imagery. You will be encouraged to work with curiosity and confidence as you draw out that what interests you on the day; drawing, painting and creating collages that abstract and celebrate our botanical theme.

Day 2 will offer you the time and space to develop your ideas. I will be on hand to guide and inspire as you work towards the completion of at least one painting full of patterned elements drawn from your studies.

I will supply the basic drawing materials, boards and cartridge paper so just bring your paints, brushes, palettes and curiosity. You can choose to work with inks, watercolours or acrylics or a combination of all of these.

Booking Terms 2023

• In order to book your place you will need to pay in full when requested on the booking page – you can use a credit or debit card. Alternatively you can pay by BACS by selecting ‘Pay Locally’ and I will then send you the payment details over in a separate email.

• You will receive an email confirming your booking.

• In the unfortunate case that a course you are booked on needs to be cancelled for any reason, I will be in touch before the course start date and refund the course fee in full.

• If you find that you are unable to attend the course for any reason let me know as soon as possible :
  – with 6 weeks or more notice from the course start date I will refund the course fee – less a non-refundable element to cover admin of £25.
  – with less than 6 weeks’ notice I will try to fill your place. If  I am able to fill your place then you’ll receive a refund less the admin charge. However, if I am unable to fill your place unfortunately your payments will be forfeited . You may wish to consider taking out insurance to cover this eventuality.

• You may swap your place with anyone you like but please do let me know in advance.

General Course Information

• My courses start at 10am, though everyone is welcome to arrive a little early in order to set up and be ready for a 10am start. Finishing around 4pm.

• Coffee and tea, biscuits and cakes are included but yoiu do need to provide your own lunch. (There is a Booths supermarket nearby with a good selection of lunch items)

• I will send out a materials list around 6 weeks before the course. Any materials that are included in the fee this will be mentioned on the course page.

• Some of my courses involve time working in the local countryside. This will be made clear in the course details. Please do make sure to bring suitable clothing, footwear and maybe a small bag to carry your kit along with something to sit on!