Collection: Painting

Explore contemporary landscape painting through a balance of outdoor drawing and indoor painting practice. On location you’ll make sketches that capture shifting light, colour, and atmosphere. In the NAS studio, you’ll experiment, reflect, and transform these studies into painted works, developing confidence through spontaneous observation and thoughtful refinement. 

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. 

Explore a personal approach to landscape painting with Annabel. Inspired by a visit to the Sidney Nolan survey at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, discover ways of working from memory, imagination and personal experience. Develop new approaches to expressing atmosphere, emotion and a sense of place through paint.

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.

Learn to see beyond the complexity of your subject and identify the colour information needed to begin a painting with confidence. Develop a practical understanding of colour that will help you mix the colours you want accurately and directly. Suitable for all levels, from complete beginners to experienced painters.

Learn to see beyond the bewildering details of your subject to gather the colour information you need to get your painting off to a great start! 

Discover how to think of colour in a way that enables you to mix the exact colour that you want confidently and directly, every time. The course assumes no prior knowledge and has given great results with students from beginner to advanced levels.

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.

This beginner-friendly painting intensive explores colour, value and brushwork through still life and plein air studies, guided by historical and contemporary references. You'll build a foundation in observational drawing, focusing on line, measurement and value to help translate what you see into paint. Through experimentation and play, you'll develop core painting skills and begin to discover your own painting language.

This beginner course introduces the essentials of oil and acrylic painting through direct observation. Explore light, colour, and form in still life, landscapes, and portraits while learning composition, proportion, perspective, colour theory, and technique. Progress from monochrome studies to full colour works, building confidence and foundational painting skills.  

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

Learn the fundamental principles of abstract painting and discover how colours change and move in a picture plane. Tonee Messiah introduces painting techniques from modernist abstraction to the present day and shows how painters approach the translation of subject matter using colour as a powerful expressive tool and emotive agent. 

How do artists portray identity and character today? Explore contemporary and historical approaches to portraiture with Kim Spooner. Working from live models and photographs, learn techniques for capturing likeness and expression in oils or acrylics, and develop confidence in your own portrait painting practice. 

This 5-day intensive painting workshop offers students the opportunity to develop a visual language through a contemporary approach to still life. Using a limited palette and a small selection of objects, students will explore composition, juxtaposition, narrative, and the expressive potential of everyday materials.