Collection: Daytime Courses

Would you like to take a line for a walk with experimental contour drawing? How about tapping into your creativity and becoming one with ink while drawing? Experience the art of using your whole being when you draw, and see your drawing expand beyond its current horizon.

This course explores techniques and mediums of acrylic painting, composition, colour, representation, collage and the use of text in art. Experiment with abstracting from reality including landscape elements, still life, space or the figure.

Capturing the subtle details of the face requires strong observational and drawing skills, and learning to draw portraits becomes achievable when broken down into key components. By understanding these foundational principles, you’ll enhance your portraits and enrich your sketchbook with greater confidence.

Are you interested in the history of drawing and would like to refine your skills? Learn the classical drawing techniques of silverpoint on prepared paper, red and black chalk on tinted paper and ink drawing with reed pen, quill and brush. With demonstrations and practical methods to inspire your contemporary drawing practice.  

This hands-on workshop will strengthen your drawing practice and introduce you to the magic of analogue animation methods. You’ll explore dynamic mark-making, gestural drawing, and develop strategies for capturing movement and complete a short animation.

Learn to draw forms and structures of the human head, facial features, body dynamics and discover the connection between the ‘character’ and the ‘face’. Using pencil, charcoal, ink, wash and collage, to make quick sketches and sustained drawings from plaster casts, live models and a self-portrait.

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.

Explore the varied processes of screenprinting starting with basic stencils and moving into photographic techniques. Learn how to create original prints from drawings, photographs and existing images, as well as how to use the darkroom and the computer for photographic processes with image separations and colour mixing. 

In this hands-on two-day workshop, you’ll create exquisite porcelain objects embellished with hand-painted colours. Learn how to work with fine white porcelain clay, make your own watercolour underglazes and model and paint your own unique forms, whether figurative or vessel based.

Immerse yourself in the luminous world of watercolour and explore the expressive potential of the medium, working across landscapes, still life, and the human figure. With demonstrations, hands-on exercises, and discussions, this course encourages you to refine your technique while embracing spontaneity.

Join acclaimed Australian artist Juz Kitson’s two-day porcelain clay masterclass and delve deeply into the making process, exploring new ways of manipulating and pushing porcelain to create challenging and innovative objects.   

Expand your still life painting skills in an immersive weekend with renowned artist Jude Rae, who shares her insights into the genre within a cultural frame that supports both the traditions of realist painting and Abstraction. Through personalised instruction you’ll develop a personal visual language to create dynamic, engaging paintings. 

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.

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.

Reignite your curiosity in this engaging course designed for beginners or those returning to the sketchbook. Explore observational foundations—line, tone, and perspective—while gaining confidence in creating drawings from life. Each week you’ll develop skills through expressive use of charcoal, Conté, ink and pastel, working from images and objects, inspired by the vibrant NAS campus.

Learn the fine art of copper plate etching, a medium both steeped in tradition and one that allows for exciting approaches to contemporary art making. In this 2-day workshop discover various methods to create a small edition of prints in the beautiful NAS etching studios.  

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.