Art Class Bookings & Events
Watercolour Studio – Painting and Place with Gail @ Pitzhanger Manor’s Garden Room
Course Overview for 6 Mornings or afternoon 10am- 12.30pm or 1pm-3.30pm
Wednesday Feb 25th /Wednesday Mar 4th /Tuesday 10th - 31st March 2026
Full course - £125 or £25 per individually booked sessions
During this 6-week term, we will be looking at European paintings from the last 150 years, starting with French painter Georges Seurat at the Courtauld gallery, followed by British artists, John Piper and finishing with David Hockney. The focus of all these exhibitions hinge around an artist’s relationship to place and how they choose to represent it in paint.
Wk 1 & 2 Wednesday 25th Feb & Wednesday 4th Mar
Wk. 3 & 4 Tuesday 10th & 17th March.
Wk 5 & 6 Tuesday 24th & 31st March
Seurat and the Sea b1859 – 1891 Courtauld Gallery starts 13th February
Wk 1 (Wednesday) Seurat spent 5 summers on the northern coast of France. He sought to refresh his pallet and senses with the sights and sounds of the seaside.
We will look at his sketches and compositional techniques in preparing for paintings
Wk 2 (Wednesday) Seurat made pioneering leaps of faith with his unusual colour techniques. We will look at the science behind pointillism and explore it’s potential for us as contemporary painters, leading to personal painting of our own expeditions to the coast.
John Piper in the South Country b1903 – 1992 Wiltshire Museum 7th March
Wk. 3 This major exhibition explores how this 20th century British artist responded to the landscape. These paintings not only map his travels in and around the south of England but also track his interest in the changing styles and techniques that take us through modernism.
Wk. 4 We will focus on his return to nature and a range of techniques he favoured to describe the nuances of places and architectural features
David Hockney a Year in Normandie b1937 Serpentine North 12th March
Wk. 5 (Rick Yard room not garden room) Moving forward to one of my contemporary favourites who most certainly is influenced by both Seurat and Piper. In this new London exhibition we will see his yearlong frieze documenting the seasonal changes in and around his Normandie studio. We will focus on a place we can see on a daily basis, like our gardens, parks or streets. Deciding on times of day, composition, focus etc.
Wk. 6 We will follow on with a connecting painting in a frieze style for a place that we know and love. I will also introduce you to the digital app that Hockney has developed called Sketches with Apple that he used to make these images. You may wish to use the app sketch for your preliminary inspiration for your watercolour.
Materials to bring:
Supplied:
Drawing boards
Paper
Waterpots
Masking tape
What you need to bring:
Watercolours
Brushes
Courses take place at:
Soane’s Garden Room,
Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery,
Ealing Green,
London,
W5 5EQ
For information on previous classes click here
FAQs
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I have space for up to 18 students at each session. Let me know if you want to be informed about openings from cancellations.
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Yes if you contact me beforehand to ensure availability and pay on the door. However, availability is often not guaranteed so booking in advance is recommended.
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Yes so long as you have made an arrangement to ensure there is space available. To guarantee your spot I would recommend booking prior to all classes.
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We must use water based materials due to the nature of the venue facilities used. Oils and other materials will not be allowed on the premises.
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Yes, there will be the opportunity to feedback about the facilities to fine tune things for the autumn term. If you have any recommendations in the meantime please post them below.
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Cancellations for drop-in bookings made 7 days or more in advance are eligible for a 50% refund.
Cancellations with less than 7 days’ notice are non-refundable, as it’s unlikely we can fill your spot on short notice.
If you're cancelling your full course up to 14 days before the first session a full refund is available or you may wish to carry it to the next turn, please reach out so we can discuss the best way forward.
Thank you.