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How to Draw' with Lyn Evans

Thur 19 Feb ~  Thur 26 Feb  ~  Thur 5 March 2026
 

Three Thursday mornings from mid Feb 26

Drawing is a skill that can be taught to anyone. You need very little to begin — just a few simple tools, a comfortable place to sit, and a time and opportunity to properly focus.

Material Charges : n/a

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 'Signs of Spring' . . . Simple Watercolours for Beginners' with Carla Gebhard 

Join this delightful artist and illustrator,  Carla Gebhard for a lovely, relaxing watercolour workshop, perfect for beginners and anyone looking to unwind through creativity.

Inspired by the signs of spring in nature, think wild daffodils, bluebells, bird eggs, and little buzzing bees. Carla’s workshop invites you to slow down, loosen up, and explore the joyful, unpredictable beauty of watercolour painting.

She encourages you to embrace the 'happy accidents’ and to let go perfectionism. This mindful, freeing way of painting helps you relax, express yourself, and let your creativity blossom.

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Join Claire for this friendly and relaxed Calligraphy workshop and learn how to write using this wonderful style of modern Calligraphy to create your own gorgeous cards, gift tags and more!  This By Moon & Tide workshops is perfect for absolute beginners as well as those with a little Calligraphy experience - all are welcome!

10.00am-12.30pm  OR  1.30pm to 4.00pm
£55 inc fresh coffee/tea/home made biscuits
Material Charges : included , and to take home  

The Joys of Painterly Print Making' - with Helen Sadowski

The session will begin with a short demonstration to explain the painterly process.

You will then choose a favourite image from a range of landscapes, seascapes, flowers and still life. This image is then put under a sheet of plastic and the ink is then painted onto it; you'll have a lot of fun creating and mixing each colour you wish to use, from the range of supplied inks!

This class is suitable for beginners and beyond.
9.30am-12.30pm  or 1.30pm-4.30pm

£45 inc fresh coffee / biscuits
Material Charges: £15

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Spend a lovely day with Lyn, who will combine this most popular medium with the depiction of some of our lovely local buildings, whether nestled on a hillside in a wider landscape, in a townscape or amongst its own garden or setting.

10am – 4pm
£85 Lunch included
Material Charges : n/a

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We're very excited to have chanced upon this talented local artist who not only 'lives, eats and breathes' the Cumbrian fells by running across them at everyone opportunity, but also manages to represent them on paper in many surprising and beautiful ways!
This particular course with Tim is exploring the contours and character of the unfolding Landscape using Tim's own handmade Ink ~ using the very Oak Galls he has gathered on his travels!

10am - 4.00pm
£85 Lunch etc included
Material Charges: £12

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'Expansive Landscapes in Acrylics' with Tim Watson    Beginners and intermediates.

We're thrilled to introduce this talented local artist who spends much of his time running across the Cumbrian fells, bringing a great knowledge of this local landscape - and then depicts all on paper in many surprising and beautiful ways!

10am - 4.00pm
£85 Lunch etc included
Material Charges: £12

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This medium can also be known as 'Watercolour & Ink'.  This day will touch on colour mixing and using watercolours and it combines the subtle variable nature of the watercolour wash with finer detail picked out in black ink pen, allowing the artist different effects in shading and textures. 

9.30am – 4pm
£80 Lunch included
Material Charges up to £5 for specialist paper and pens.

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Spring in Bloom: First Steps in Watercolour ~ Snowdrops'  with Lis Bramwell ” 

....  an idea for Mothers' Day.

 Come and join lovely local artist tutor Lis Bramwell for a fun, relaxed half day workshop and take your first steps with Watercolours painting some of our loveliest Spring blooms.

We will be painting a clump of welcome Spring Snowdrops in the morning session, followed by tulips in the afternoon session or choose to stay for the full day and we will include a tasty home made lunch.

10.00am-1.00pm  Snowdrops    2.00pm-5.00pm Tulips   

£45 inc fresh coffee/ home made biscuits

£10 optional materials available
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Spring in Bloom: First Steps in Watercolour ~ Tulips'  with Lis Bramwell ” 

....  an idea for Mothers' Day.

 Come and join lovely local artist tutor Lis Bramwell for a fun, relaxed half day workshop and take your first steps with Watercolours painting some of our loveliest Spring blooms.

We will be painting a clump of welcome Spring Snowdrops in the morning session, followed by tulips in the afternoon session or choose to stay for the full day and we will include a tasty home made lunch.

  2.00pm-5.00pm Tulips   

£45 inc fresh coffee/ home made biscuits

£10 optional materials available
More information and booking

Join Lis on this informal, fun and relaxed day where you will gradually build up your botanical skills and techniques as the day progresses. A perfect course for those with a love of flowers and plants who are keen to learn how to represent them using watercolour paints

10.00am – 4.00pm
£85 Lunch included
Material Charges £10 optional

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'Short Cut to Nature Journalling'  half days with Steve Pardue 

Have you wanted to create a nature journal but don’t know where to start or how to do it?

This workshop will - hopefully - fix that. I will take you through the process I follow for creating my journals which are really an expression of the joy I feel when out and about in the woods or the river. I will be using my own journals of nature captured over the last 5 years and show how you can create a body of work by simply recording in your own way the things you see every day

9.45am – 12.45pm or 1.45pm to 4.45pm   depending on day
£40 inc. inc a fresh coffee , home made biscuits.
Material Charges: £12

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This full day workshop will provide you with all the skills and tools to create a beautiful concertina nature journal. We will begin the day by taking a short nature ramble in and around the gardens at Quirky Workshops - chatting to the hens and exploring the compost heap. We will follow this up with a guided drawing session in the Swallow Barn.

10.00am to 4.00pm
£85 inc a tasty lunch, fresh coffee, home made biscuits and cream tea.
Material Charges: £10 plus optional £15 for leather pouch

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Try your hand at “line and wash” – the creation of a pen and ink sketch tinted with a wash of coloured ink or watercolour – with landscape artist John Harrison.

10.00am to 4.00pm
£90 Lunch included
Material Charges: please bring your own.

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We are delighted to welcome back much acclaimed, professional wildlife artist Sarah Stokes, joining us for a fascinating long weekend in October 2026 of charcoal study and painting.

Sarah's visit will begin on Friday 9th with a day course focussed on drawing this beauitful Hare portrait in Charcoal.

Part of a Long Weekend of Watercolours and Charcoal. 
9.30am - 5.00pm
£145 Lunch/ fresh coffee etc included
Material Charges £included

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Girls’ Night In' ~  A Two-Day Watercolour Workshop with Sarah Stokes - all abilities.

This cheerful two-day workshop focuses on painting a trio of hens in watercolour — full of character and charm, and all achieved with just three colours and black. All materials will be provided.

Part of a Long Weekend of Watercolours and Charcoal.

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

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This short course is your rapid introduction to loose and bold oil painting. 

Spend a fun and exhilarating 2.5-hour oil painting session with Roy, where you'll discover the power of fast, expressive brushwork and walk away with two completed, engaging works of art. Using a simple, limited palette and a selected set of brushes, you'll focus on speed and intuition to create vibrant, painterly still life studies.

10.00am – 12.30  or 1.30pm - 4.00pm  Apples, Pears & Cherrie

£45 inc fresh coffee, home made biscuits
Material Charges: £10 on the day - all materials supplied.

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The French impressionists changed art, just about everyone agrees on that. What interests me is how they worked in colour to create those memorable paintings. In your resource pack will be a number of reproductions of impressionist paintings. We will discuss them, and find ways to use the effects and colour designs in our own work.

10.00am – 4.00pm
£80 Lunch included
Material Charges: £8

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On this course, we will be working in a fast, fun and intuitive way and will move through this exciting step by step technique to producing a really effective piece of art.

10.00am – 4.00pm
£80 Lunch included
Material Charges: £8

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This one day course is for anyone who wants to discover their own natural way of painting. We will be using acrylics.
I tend to paint in a very intuitive way, and believe that with guidance you can learn to 'let go' of the limiting beliefs that prevent your own way of painting coming through. If you are completely new to painting – Great! You have the advantage of the 'beginners mind' without trying! If you do paint already, be prepared to adopt that beginners mind to liberate your own style

10.00am – 4.00pm
£80 Lunch included
Material Charges: £8

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First Steps in Watercolour paints looks in depth at colours, colours mixing techniques washes shading and brush techniques. It is the most useful place to start for those wishing to learn the basics in an enjoyable, thorough day of discovering the world of watercolours.

9.30am – 4pm
£80 Lunch included
Material Charges: possible small fee for extra paper

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Lyn likes to paint her watercolours largely from life, choosing blooms which will stay open for a couple of days. She likes interesting shapes so Iris, Lilies and Tulips feature largely in her work.

10am – 4pm
£85 Lunch included
Material Charges : n/a

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An exciting one day course from Lyn Evans combinng these two favourite mediums.  Bring along your own favourite reference photos of your favourite fells and dramatic landscapes and Lyn will show you how to create  very loose and flowing landscapes using two Acrylic inks and a few watercolours - or apply this same process to create loose botanical pieces. 

10am – 4pm
£85 Lunch included
Material Charges : n/a

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10.00am to 4.00pm
£85 Lunch included
Material Charges: approx.

My work is based upon the abstracts around me ~ rivers, fells and coast.  I use a free and partly abstracted approach, sometime more abstract, sometimes more representational. Colour mood and atmosphere inspire me to play with texture and paint surfaces. I have recently exhibited 'Waterways' a theme exploring coasts and rivers'.

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Summer Meadows in Mixed Media ~  Frances Winder 

An exciting workshop with this popular tutor, well known for her landscapes and depicting reflections on water, here we are anticipating the warmth of summer meadows to come!

This course would develop tonal contrast, composition, and add elements of drama to your paintings of Summer Meadows. We explore colour banding to give you a feeling of distance and space, as well as placing strong foreground elements in both plant types and colour emphasis.

10.00am to 4.00pm
£85 Lunch included
Material Charges: approx.

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Frances will be dealing with colour theories, adjacent and opposite colour designs, and the drama of tonal changes. Light and shade emphasis and how to add that wow factor to your work. Demonstrating in watercolour techniques, the flow and excitement of wet in wet methods, and in acrylic paint the value of texture and richness of overlaying colour. The techniques can be reversed and used to add intensity and drama to each medium.

10.00am to 4.00pm
£85 Lunch included
Material Charges: approx.

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