Collection: Short Courses

Are you new to painting or looking to expand your practice? In this inspiring course you will explore materials and techniques, from gouache and acrylic to collage and oil. Emphasizing play, experimentation, and introducing historical references, you’ll build confidence, develop personal expression, and discover new ways of making paintings beyond representation.

This 8-week course for intermediate to advanced painters explores figure painting through memory, observation, and storytelling. Working in oils or acrylics, you’ll develop skills in proportion, tone, and expressive colour. Through demonstrations, short studies, and a sustained project with individual feedback, you’ll refine technique and strengthen your artistic voice.

Learn to paint expressively with an individual approach while increasing your knowledge and understanding of the importance of colour, composition and form. Using acrylic or oil paint, students will learn how to mix and experiment with colour and will be encouraged to paint quickly and loosely and to develop expressive brushwork.

Have you always wanted to paint but haven’t known where to start? Designed for complete beginners, this course will give you a solid and practical foundation in painting using acrylics and oil paints. Learn simple processes for colour mixing, composition, and perspective, to produce a suite of finished paintings.

Learn to use the potter’s wheel to create simple, elegant ceramic forms in this hands-on eight-week course. Explore the full process from clay to glazed pot through group demonstrations and individual guidance. Suitable for all levels, the course builds confidence, refines technique, and reveals the creative possibilities of throwing and glazing.

Explore a variety of hands-on clay-building techniques such as pinching, coiling, and slab construction, and explore how texture, gesture, and form can transform raw material into expressive, evocative works. Create a series of bold, abstract sculptures across different formats and scales.

This hands-on, practical workshop will cover the basics of ceramic glaze composition, surface development, application techniques, and firing over a range of temperatures. Learn how to test, apply, and fire glazes to suit your own practice.

Learn fundamental welding skills and complete small-scale welded steel sculptures. With demonstrations and techniques for using arc and MIG welders and oxyacetylene to cut, shape and bend steel, as well as ways to grind steel and use surface treatments suited to steel.

Do you love contemporary art? Have you thought about starting a collection but aren’t sure where to begin? The art world can sometimes feel mysterious and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. This 4-week lecture series is designed to make art collecting accessible, exciting, and confidence-building.

This course presents a unique approach to understanding and applying colour developed by David over the last 25 years. It consists of eight beautifully illustrated lectures complemented by optional practical exercises that progress from mastering colour control in paint through to still-life painting studies. The live lectures and discussions can be viewed outside class as video recordings. Students undertake practical exercises outside class and can submit photos for feedback.

This course presents a unique approach to understanding and applying colour developed by David over the last 25 years. It consists of eight beautifully illustrated lectures complemented by optional practical exercises that progress from mastering colour control in paint through to still-life painting studies. The live lectures and discussions can be viewed outside class as video recordings. Students undertake practical exercises outside class and can submit photos for feedback.

Develop your drawing skills and unleash your creativity in structured, live online classes led by Rachel Fairfax. Designed to mimic a studio-style experience, each lesson focuses on a specific theme with practical drawing exercises, demonstrations, and interactive engagement.