Absolute Beginners is a series of six short courses taught in chronological order. Students can pick and mix from the series or decide to study all six. We start off with an Introduction to Drawing, then move on to Colour Theory, Acrylics, Watercolour, Oil Painting and Mixed Media.

Each subject is taught two hours a week for five weeks and is designed for those who have never even picked up a pencil before, but who would love to learn to draw and paint.  All materials are provided so all you need to bring is yourself. See below for further details on each short course.

AUTUMN TERM MODULES.Introduction to Drawing with Grant WatersFriday afternoons, 1pm-3pm, 18th, 25th September and 2nd, 9th and 16th October 2026.

This 5-week course looks at giving you a basic knowledge of drawing materials, what they do, and how to use them. You will learn the difference between 2B and a 6B pencil, what a graphite stick does and the difference between a conte crayon and willow charcoal. Drawing from observation, you can learn about line tone and form to produce some great first drawings.

Introduction to Colour Theory with Jane StrotherFriday afternoons, 1pm-3pm, 23rd October, 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th November 2026. (Half Term 26th October)

Over the 5 weeks you will learn about the colour wheel, how it works, and how to colour mix using a wide range of hues from the basic primaries. At the same time you will have the chance to mix colours using a different medium each week, looking at how to mix dry colours as well as wet. The basic principles remain the same but the handling of your tools and medium will be different. 

SPRING TERM MODULES.Introduction to Acrylics with Jane StrotherFriday afternoons, 1pm-3pm, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th January, 5th February 2027.

The colour mixing skills aquired in the previous module will be revised and extended for acrylic painting. You will experiment with different brushes, palette knives and other implements while discovering the versatility of the paint. This will include beginning a painting, overlaying colour, mark-making (such as dry brushing or sgraffito) and the use of translucent and opaque colour. The sessions will take the form of simple exercises before application to a subject such as a still-life, or something from your own imagination.

Introduction to Watercolour. Tutor TBCFriday afternoons, 1pm-3pm, 12th, 26th February, 5th, 12th, 19th March 2027.

Over these 5 weeks you can study fundamental techniques in painting with watercolour. Students follow clear instructions in step-by-step paint-along sessions and all questions regarding materials, equipment and technique are answered. The result is understanding, exploiting, directing and controlling the medium in a sensitive and informed manner. 

SUMMER TERM MODULES.Introduction to Oils with Laura Degenhardt.Friday afternoons, 1pm-3pm, 23rd, 30th April, 7th, 14th, 21st May 2027.

Each of these sessions will have a technical focus to build knowledge about the way that oil paint works, and confidence in using oil paint in an individual way. We will use still-life as the subject, allowing for experimentation with colour, tone, composition, and mark making to build a finished painting. 

Introduction to Mixed Media with Emma Williams.Friday afternoons, 1pm-3pm, 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th June, 2nd July 2027.

During this course, anything goes! You will be mixing your media from collage to thread, wool, paints, inks, prints, prepared papers and anything else that can go into composing an image. A great chance to understand how to manage different media together within the same work.