Art Courses in Cheltenham

The Cheltenham School of Drawing & Painting, Gloucester:
The Cheltenham School of Drawing & Painting is a small independently run school located just a five minute walk from Montpellier in the Lansdown area of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, southwest England, just 9 km from Gloucester. The Cheltenham School of Drawing & Painting offers day, evening and weekend courses in Fine Art including drawing, painting watercolour, life drawing and sculpture. We also offer Saturday workshops in life drawing or painting, clay portraiture and etching. Whatever your experience in the arts, we have something here for you. Our classes cater to all levels and beginners are very welcome.

We offer:
- Fine Art Classes
- Drawing Course
- Watercolour Course
- Oil and Acrylic Course
- Life Drawing Class
- Sculpture and Casting Class
- Workshops in life drawing, painting, clay portraiture and etching
- Portrait Drawing or Painting
- Open Studio/Community Painting
- Experimental Drawing
- Drawing Course for students and professionals
- Drawing Course for beginners
- Day, evening and weekend courses
- Group and Private lessons
- All levels welcome from beginner to advanced, experienced to professional artists

Painting:
Our paintings courses are varied for our mix of students and artists. Using oils, acrylics or watercolour, you will explore the freedom of creating form through colour. We reference both historical and contemporary painting practices and artists to encourage an understanding of each individuals position within the practice of painting.

For many courses, a set project concept or project options will help guide you through the process, for the more experienced painter, independent projects will set your course and we will support you through the development of your project.

Painting for Beginners:
For the complete beginner, we offer a Monday night ‘introductory course’ which will take you through the basic techniques to equip you with the confidence to explore your preferred medium in a followup term or studio session. Wednesday morning is another opportunity for this exploration with a beginners to improvers course, with free work time in the afternoons. Friday afternoons, our watercolour course with Kate Sanger-Davies welcomes you into the wonderful world of this exciting and accessible medium.

Painting for Intermediate students:
Intermediate or improvers will find an excellent environment in the Tuesday morning painting as this group provides a supportive and encouraging place to work through your ideas, discuss your frustrations and receive feedback from like-minded individuals. Truly a mixed level and mixed interest group, this has something for everyone.

Experienced and professional artists:
Experienced or professional artists will benefit from the Thursday evening ‘open studio’ sessions, an opportunity to paint in a group studio environment and to come and go as you please. Further those keen to further their practice a little more conceptually, Thursday morning ’studio painting’ allows a small number of students the space and support to work deeply on an individual project on a larger scale.

This evening sessions is also great for those who are working full time and want to join a community of others working in the same medium. It is possible to do on a drop-in basis and one-on-one instruction is available as and when requested.

Drawing:
Drawing is one of the most basic forms of human expression. As Tania Kovats outlines in her introduction to The Drawing Book, we draw all the time. Some even argue that thinking is drawing.

We want to engage artists (and people) generally in drawing as it naturally comes to them: their natural voice. We encourage all students to find their way with the materials and methods we present, so they can tackle projects and ideas outside the school, with confidence in their abilities.

Using traditional methods and experimental techniques, we work with students of all levels to better understand the subject of drawing. We offer life drawing courses, portraiture and drawing classes with exploration in mind to draw the drawing out of each student.

Drawing for Beginners:
For beginners, we offer an introductory course on Monday evening which also covers basic painting. Any level can benefit from our Tuesday life drawing course and from beginners to advanced artists, Life Drawing with Rory Morrell (Tuesday evening) will help you to develop an expressive style that is very much your own.

Our popular portraiture class is also suited to any level and welcomes both drawing and painting. We consider expression as well as structure and anatomy of the head and face.

Drawing for advanced students:
For the courageous, we have an experimental drawing course which works through a variety of materials and hopes to broaden your ideas about drawing. All of these courses include opportunities for personal projects.

For the student or professional artist, we offer a late night life session at a reduced rate (without instruction) to improve your portfolio and experience.

Portrait Drawing or Painting:
The study of the head and face through anatomy, expression and concepts of ‘portraiture’. Painting or drawing is possible on this course.

Open Studio Painting:
This is an open studio time for those wanting to work in a community environment in oil, acrylic or watercolour. You come when you like and leave when you’re ready to go. Instruction is provided on an individual basis. Come with a specific project in mind or just with the idea in mind to return to painting with a renewed energy.

Sculpture and Casting:
We also offer Courses in sculpture and casting for all levels beginner to advanced.

Weekend Workshops:
We also offer Saturday workshops in life drawing or painting, clay portraiture and etching. These classes suit any level.

Private Lessons:
Students are welcome to book private lessons.