Oil Painting Courses - May to September 2026
Oil painting is easier than it looks
If you've always wanted to try oil painting but haven't known where to start, this course is for you. It consists of 5 friendly, monthly workshops which will show you everything need to get confident with oil painting. There's home study with feedback, too. You can do the whole 5 workshops or just pick the ones you fancy.
Gentle guidance, step by step
Copying is a great way to learn and in each workshop we'll copy a work by a master artist, step by step. I'm on hand throughout to guide and demonstrate. Don't worry about remembering everything — I'll provide printouts with full instructions.
A result to be proud of in just a few hours
You'll soon have a painting to be proud of, just like these students in the last workshop! More importantly you'll have skills you can practise at home. Additionally you'll have had a fun afternoon with fellow beginners enjoying a simple lunch and refreshments (the cookies are delicious!).
Course Details
Venue: Kelso Community Centre, Abbey Row, Kelso, TD5 7BJ
Cost: One session £95 or book five sessions for £450
All workshops are on Saturdays from 11am to 4pm
Workshop 1 - Getting to grips with the basics - May 23rd
Workshop 2 - Understanding and using colour - June 20th
Workshop 3 - Glazing and translucence with Turner - July 25th
Workshop 4 - Painting in the impressionist style - August 22nd
Workshop 5 - Bringing it all together - September 19th
BOOK YOUR PLACE
We start with the basic about paints, brushes, non-toxic solvents and quick drying boards, so you're off to a confident start. You'll learn about tone by copying this lovely painting by Edward Seago.
We dive deeper into colour, learning why some colours harmonise, and how to make colours really vivid in your paintings. This time we'll be copying this evocative painting by Joaquin Sorolla, of his garden.
This month we explore glazing which is how Turner created such dreamy, luminous paintings. We'll copy Turner's Norham Castle, and paint an ethereally beautiful piece.
Here we learn from the impressionists by copying White Roses by Monet. This style is called direct painting and you'll use skills learned in earlier sessions to recreate these exquisite blooms from Monet's garden.
The final session will be great fun. You'll bring together what you've learned thus far but we'll introduce decorative elements to help you find your signature style. This time we'll copy Tom Thomson's Maple Saplings.
You can book all five workshops for a discount. Don't worry if you can't manage all the workshops if life gets in the way. I'll be recording videos so you can catch up.
“Thank you so much for your patient tutelage. I didn’t think I could do it but as you promised some sort of magic happened and I’m so chuffed”
