Inspiration can come from objects you live with everyday, and setting up a Still Life to work from can be a brilliant way to practise your skills of composition, drawing and painting. In this two-part workshop first Laura shows how to create a consistent environment for your arrangement, and shares tips and ideas for objects you might choose and how to place them.  

In the second part Linda encourages you to try a ‘back to front’ approach of painting first, drawing second, using a combination of oil pastel, watercolour and soluble pencils. It’s great fun, and a fast and free way to record what you see – perfect for getting to know your still life subject.

Many manufacturers of watercolour paints also make a range of mediums to extend the possibilities of their product. Join Linda to discover how she’s been experimenting with watercolour ground to allow her to paint on a box canvas surface.

Take a look at some of the highlights from the Portrait Artist of the Year exhibition at Compton Verney.

Take a look at some paintings from the British Portraits room at Compton Verney and explore how the artists represent the garments of the sitters with a particular focus on embroidery.

We love making rubbings, they’re a great way to draw without really drawing. But have you ever considered how you can make transfers from your rubbings? In this video workshop Laura shows you how.

Try drawing with glue in your sketchbook and mixed media paintings. It’s a fantastic way to add line and texture to your work and the perfect base for flooding on washes of rich watercolour or acrylic. 

Let’s have a look at Indian ink, one of the oldest media in the artist’s toolkit and see how it can be used for a fantastic resist painting technique.

Join Laura as she works on her mixed media landscape paintings. She’s using a base of collage and experimenting with using white to make a photographic collage more painterly. See how she uses different media, including digital painting to achieve the effects she’s after.

For the final stages of her collage panels, Laura uses acrylic glazing to build up colour. Watch how she adds tints of colour to modify and add richness to the base collage using acrylic paint and glaze medium.

Create your own handprinted collage papers, perfect for sketchbook and mixed media painting. Then explore how you can expand your collage and have fun playing with scale.

Join Linda to paint a leaf in watercolour and discover how she creates organic, special effects and finally lifts out fine details. Linda’s leaf shows the first signs of autumn colour and decay – she shows exactly how to achieve that appearance with very simple techniques.

Inspired by collected leaves, Linda’s working in her sketchbook with easy to achieve painterly effects with watercolour and acrylic inks.