Art Class Bookings & Events

A new 6-week art course with artist Gail Astbury on Colour and Form

starting on September 9th at Pitzhanger Manor Garden Room, Ealing

Course Overview 6 x Tuesday mornings or afternoons from Tuesday 9th of September 2025 until 14th October , 10am - 12.30pm or 1pm - 3.30pm

Course Fees - Full course - £125 or £25 per individually booked session.

9th of September 2025

Wk. 1 How to create a composition inspired by a garden

In honour of our new location in the Soanes Garden Room, I wanted to start with the theme of the garden. This topic also follows on well from our exploration into the Japanese printing techniques of last term. We will go outside to make some compositional and colour sketches .

16th of September 2025

Wk. 2 Continuing to take inspiration from the National Galleries collection. You can choose one painting to focus on from any period or subject currently on display at the new rehang.

I love this portrait by Henri Rousseau now on show in room 45 or a gorgeous painting titled ‘Summers Day’ by Berthe Morisot currently in Room 41.

There will be lots of example for you to choose from or search their extensive online collection if you don’t get chance to have a visit. 

23rd of September 2025

RA - Kiefer / Van Gogh 28th June – 29th Oct

Tues- sun 10am- 6pm Ticketed exhibition

Wk. 3 This exhibition explores how both artists have approached common themes – nature, literature, transience, and the universe through visual means. Whilst Vincent used only tradition art materials, Kiefer has included unusual elements to his paintings such as seed, straw and metals. We will compare their colour uses in terms of symbolism versus naturalism. You may also like to consider incorporating collaged elements.

30th of September 2025

Wk. 4 Looking at and comparing their use of perspective, viewpoint, and scale and what different effects those create.

7th of October 2025

Howard Hodgkin: In a Public Garden opens on the 1st October and I will lead a guided tour on the 5th October from 10.30am – you can book a ticket with Ealing residents discounts or get 50% reduction with an Art pass.

Wk. 5 This landmark show will feature around 60 vibrant, prints that span five decades of Hodgkin’s career, from 1966 to 2016. All works are on paper, and many have been hand finished so great examples for us as watercolourists.

Working from memory and imagination, Hodgkin created images of transience, in which ambiguous, dissolving forms are the pictorial equivalent of an autobiographical sensation or perception. We will use the garden for colour and formal keys to inspire us to create some experimental washes and glazes

14th of October 2025

Wk. 6 Thinking about his themes such as water or places like Venice and investigating how he translates visual sensations and memories into paint.

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

 

FAQs

  • I have space for up to 18 students at each session. Let me know if you want to be informed about openings from cancellations.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

    • 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.

Any other questions? - Let me know below!

Previous classes:

‘Introduction to the work of Alison Watt and Hiroshige’

A 4-week art course with artist Gail Astbury

at Pitzhanger Manor Garden Room, Ealing

Course Overview 4 x Tuesdays from Tuesday 10th of June 2025 until July 1st, 10am - 12.30pm

or 4 x Wednesday mornings from Wed 11th of June 2025 until July 2nd, 10am - 12.30pm

Gail Astbury is launching a new, 4-week watercolour art class in Ealing beginning in June 2025.

In weeks 1 and 2 we will be taking our ideas and inspiration from The Pitzhanger Manor Gallery’s current exhibition by painter Alison Watt which you can visit until June 15th. Check their website for opening hours and prices as they have some scheduled closures as well as discounts for residents. https://www.pitzhanger.org.uk/whatson/alison-watt/

In weeks 3 and 4 we will take a lyrical journey through the open roads of Edo Japan, with master printmaker Hiroshige. Here we will uncover some of the hidden meanings behind the symbolism, and explore new watercolour techniques to describe the natural beauty of nature, landscape, and urban living. https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/introduction-hiroshige-artist-open-road

Pitzhanger address at bottom of the page.

Alison Watt (born 1965 - ) Into the Light

Alison’s paintings are an act of intense looking to extract an essence or reveal a thing’s uniqueness and history. Her still lives become as inquiring as her portraits

 

Week 1: How to position natural forms for still life painting

Week 2: How to create harmony through unified values. We will explore the higher “key” that Alison employs with her use of light tones.

If the weather is kind, we will be able to work ‘en plein air’ in the garden or gather cuttings.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858) Artist of the open road

Utagawa is one of Japan’s most celebrated artists and a technically gifted woodblock painter.

 

Week 3: Exploring the symbolism and storytelling in Hiroshige’s dynamic compositions. We will also examine the use high vantage points and the omitting of unnecessary detail in his editing process.

Starting with some pencil sketches and colour studies

Week 4: Revising how to make graded washes in watercolour to imitate Hiroshige’s bokashi style - subtle colour shifts. These will be applied to the previous week’s sketches.