Studio Classes

GREATER MANCHESTER VENUES:

St Martin's Church Hall (St Martin's Church Hall, 15 Brabyns Brow, Marple Bridge, Stockport SK6 5DT)

and 

Hawk Green Reading Room (Upper Hibbert Lane, Marple, Upper Hibbert Ln, Marple, Stockport SK6 7HQ)

Please scroll down to see the dates and details of individual sessions

WATERCOLOUR

Have you been mystified by the magic of watercolour and often felt it is too unreachable to be explored on your own? Join one of the DAY and HALF DAY courses and discover your passion for colour, develop truly unique brush marks and enjoy an amazing feeling of painting in this awe-inspiring medium! 

Each session will start from the specially designed exercises to support your learning, leading to independent practical work. There will be ongoing referencing to inspiring practitioners and a discussion of their methods. Reference material and handouts will provided for visual support.

These sessions will be very informative and should benefit painters with little or extensive experience. If you are new to painting, all the materials and equipment will be explained during the first session. 

Full day £45 per class / OR £57 with materials provided

1/2 day £30 per class / OR £40 with materials provided

Free parking. Free teas and coffees through the day, just bring your own lunch for the full day classes.

CANCELLATION POLICY: Cancellations are subject to a one off £20.00 administration charge to cover processing costs, website booking fees, and card payment fees. For cancellations within one week of the course date, no refunds can be given. In the unlikely event of a course being cancelled, moved or rearranged you will be offered a refund of your payment or an alternative course. The organiser will not be held responsible for any extra costs arising out of the cancellation of a course.

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Equipment you will need:

paper for trying the colours/ colour mixing samples, watercolour paper Bockingford 140Ilb (300gsm) A3/ A2 metric size or 11” x 15”/ 22” x 30” Imperial size 350gsm, a board, a range of watercolour brushes, including a mop brush if possible, watercolour paints (Julia will be using St Petersburg White Nights blocks, they are her favourite), palette or big white plate, water pot, kitchen towel, pencil, eraser.  

Equipment you will need:

• drawing board can be provided for free, please let me know if you would like to borrow one.  
• paper for trying the colours and colour mixing samples and 1-2 watercolour paper Bockingford 140Ilb (300gsm) 11” x 15”/ 22” x 30” Imperial size. 

  Both Rough and NOT paper are good (Hot Press - it is very smooth - its better for botanical illustrations), the other two are better for landscapes.

  OR watercolour paper in metric size 350gsm A3/ A2 (for example Art Discount do their own make of paper, which is pretty good too and much more affordable);

• a range of watercolour brushes, including a mop brush if possible (Julia uses Jackson's squirrel mop brush size 11 or larger, other makes will have different sizing), flat and round synthetic watercolour brushes, large wash brush;
• watercolour paints - Julia loves her St Petersburg White Nights blocks, they are her favourite;
• pencil, eraser;
• kitchen towel;
• masking tape;
• water pot;
• plastic palette or big white plate.

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HALF DAY, 11 SEP 2026 (FRIDAY 10-12.30) - Impotence of Tone and creative mark making in WATERCOLOUR, BEGINNERS are also welcome - St Martin's Church Hall Marple

Beginners will get to know some of the watercolour materials and equipment, practice to mix a range of tones and to apply basic washes.

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FULL DAY 18 SEP 2026 (FRIDAY 10-15) - Importance of Tone and Creative mark making in ACRYLIC - Crushing Waves - BEGINNERS are also welcome - Hawk Green Reading Room Marple

This session will be focussed on mixing a range of tones using black and white acrylic. You will recap on how to use opaque and partially transparent layers, explore creative mark making, soft and contrasting boarders, layering light tones to paint white foam of the waves and layering darks to depict depth of the water. 

Beginners will also get to know some of the acrylic materials and equipment, practice to mix a range of tones and to apply basic layers of paint producing a study of crushing waves.

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FULL DAY 2 OCT 2026 (FRIDAY 10-15) - Colour Theory Session 1 in WATERCOLOUR - BEGINNERS are also welcome - Hawk Green Reading Room Marple

You will explore the magic of Primary, Secondary and Family Colour Groups.

Then you will develop a number of small painting studies to put theory into practice.

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FULL DAY 30 OCT 2026 (FRIDAY 10-15) - Colour Theory Session 2 in WATERCOLOUR, BEGINNERS are also welcome - Hawk Green Reading Room Marple

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FULL DAY 13 NOV 2026 (FRIDAY 10-15) - Colour Theory - ACRYLIC. BEGINNERS are also welcome - Hawk Green Reading Room Marple

You will explore the magic of Primary, Secondary and Family Colour Groups.

Then you will develop a number of small painting studies to put theory into practice.

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FULL DAY 27 NOV 2026 (FRIDAY 10-15) - WATERCOLOUR CHRISTMAS THEME - Hawk Green Reading Room Marple

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FULL DAY 11 DEC 2026 (FRIDAY 10-15) - ACRYLIC CHRISTMAS THEME - Hawk Green Reading Room Marple

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