9.30am - 5.00pm
£295 Lunch/ fresh coffee etc included
Material Charges £included

Barn Swallows and Highland Cows- an immersive weekend of expressive techniques with Sarah Stokes

We're delighted to welcome much acclaimed, professional artist Sarah Stokes, to Greystoke for this busy May weekend workshop.

Students will cover a multitude of artistic and specifically watercolour skills which include “wet into wet”, colour mixing, timing, brush strokes, looseness of approach, and pigment control. Sarah will also teach you how to see and depict tone effectively, in both black and white, as well as in colour.

Firstly in the morning of day one, you will get to explore the importance of tone, as we draw a cross section of a highland cow’s face, capturing its soulful gaze. We will use charcoal concentrating on creating convincing fur, eyes and expression.

After a tasty home made lunch - hopefully in the garden - we will finish this characterful and lovable breed, before starting our main watercolour piece painting a pair of beautiful barn swallows perched on a branch. During the session you will learn how to simplify your palette down to just the 3 primary colours to create a myriad of hues and tones. This is an excellent opportunity to learn how to establish the first layer,  “wet into wet” and then to build up the piece with a mixture of brush strokes and techniques 

 On our second day we will finish off and perfect the barn swallows. You will learn how to paint convincing feathers, to paint “white” breasts and to bring life and energy to a piece through energetic brush strokes.

 I will also show you handy ways of correcting a piece if the wrong consistency or colour has been applied or if a piece has become “muddied”.

 We will also discuss what makes a good reference photo and the best places to obtain them.

 On this workshop, you will learn the following skills:

 Better understand the role of shape, tone and brush strokes in creating texture to wildlife, whether it be a bird, a mammal or still life.

• Get to grips with timing and pigment control needed to make the most out of watercolour
• Create any colour of your choice and harness the power of desaturated colours
• Use warm and cool colours to bring interest and harmony to your artwork 
• Find a harmony between loose and tighter brush strokes
• Paint from a series of prepared reference photos
• Create a whole range of colours from primary colours
• Add finishing touches such as splashes, pen and ink and acrylics
• Depict the colour “white”
• Capture a sense of fluidity and spontaneity to your work.

Dates for this course - see the table below to book:  (bookings open early Nov)

Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May  2025

Please bring: This course is suitable for beginners and the more advanced. No experience is necessary and all materials will be provided. This enables Sarah to teach all students using the same materials and therefore techniques.

About the Artist  Sarah is a published professional wildlife artist working from the beautiful Worcestershire countryside, in England. She has  always had a love of nature and is constantly inspired by the birds and animals that live in the woodlands surrounding her Arley home and studio on the banks of the River Severn. She has a real love for teaching art and the joy that it brings to those using watercolour for the first time. As Resident Artist at the Arley Estates in Bewdley, Sarah holds regular classes and retreats at the Studios on the Estate.