Special Ticketed Events for Members and their guests: We run several extra social events during the year, which are ticketed and charged at a subsidised rate. This year we have had a BBQ and a lecture about putting on an exhibition and a Christmas Lunch in December.

13th February Monthly Demonstration

Log on at 6.50pm for 7pm start

Zoom only Brian Smith RI: Watercolour

A link will be sent out to members a week before this event.

A Busy Atmospheric Street Scene in Watercolour 

Brian will demonstrate a scene with of lots of figures, buildings, street life etc. The painting will be created without reference with continuous spoken information as it’s created. Time permitting he will produce one or two other paintings to explain different processes and techniques.

 Kathryn Wickson: Watercolour Flowers  Workshop

At The Memorial Hall Art Studio, Hathaway Lane, Shottery, CV37 9BL

Saturday 25th January 10am-4pm

Cost £40

Learn to paint a beautiful sunflower in watercolour – techniques we will cover will be using salt to create texture, painting wet in wet, wet on dry, and negative painting. (There won’t be time to use clingfilm on this painting due to the drying time involved, but I can show you how to use this and you can experiment on a spare piece of paper, rather than on the actual painting.)

We will use good quality watercolour paper, which will be provided.

I paint mostly in watercolours and my paintings are inspired by nature. My favourite subject is flowers, but in recent years, I have been also painting landscapes, animals and birds. After taking some Botanical Flower Painting lessons, I started to try to develop a looser style and explore creating more abstract backgrounds, using clingfilm and salt to add texture and interest to my paintings. I have been doing demonstrations and workshops for local art groups for a number of years now.

For more information email the team on workshops@stratforduponavonartsociety.co.uk

Estelle Robinson: coloured pencil and pastel on drafting film

At The Memorial Hall Art Studio, Hathaway Lane, Shottery, CV37 9BL

Saturday 15th February 10am-4pm

Cost £50

We are very pleased to be able to offer another workshop this year with Estelle Robinson who specialises in pastel, coloured pencil and graphite. The workshop will focus on a marine theme.

We will be working with coloured pencils and pastels on drafting film, a smooth opaque support which is perfect for creating perspective with great effect. We will use the pencils to layer up a sharp, detailed foreground whilst by contrast, pastel sticks afford a quick and atmospheric watery background. All materials will be provided.

Further details about further equipment needed will be provided nearer the workshop date.

The course is limited to 12 participants.

Refreshments will be provided but please bring your own lunch and mug.

Workshops are for members only. Non-members can join through this store.

Further enquiries: workshops@stratforduponavonartsociety.co.uk

Clare Henley Acrylics and Collage Workshop

At The Memorial Hall Art Studio, Hathaway Lane, Shottery, CV37 9BL

Saturday 15th March, 10am-4pm

Members Only £40

Claire will be working from a photograph to demonstrate some of the layering techniques she uses in her work. As well as painting, this will include collage, cutting, gluing tearing, scratching, spattering etc. She will bring some samples of her work for a ‘show and tell’ before we start.

You will need to bring your own acrylic paints, brushes and canvas or board. Some materials will be provided. For full details email workshops@stratforduponavonartsociety.co.uk

Refreshments will be provided but please bring your own mug. 

Claire has had a varied career as a professional artist and illustrator. After studying graphic design at college in London, she worked as a designer for a textile company in the Midlands. After becoming freelance, Claire began designing in a variety of fields such as stationery, giftware and toy manufacture before becoming a children’s book illustrator and writer.

In 2010 she began her move into the field of fine art by producing a series of paintings inspired by her love of the landscape and coastal areas of Britain, as well as her favourite urban scenes.

Claire exhibits in galleries from the West Country to Scotland, as well as in her home county of Warwickshire, where she paints in her Stratford studio. Her work is currently licensed by several companies and can be found on home furnishings, gifts, wall art and paper products.

Keith Billington Acrylics: Towards Abstraction, Painting in Heavy-Body Acrylics

At The Memorial Hall Art Studio, Hathaway Lane, Shottery, CV37 9BL

Saturday 5th April, 10am-4pm

Members Only £41

Keith is a professional artist well known to Members for providing guidance and assistance at Studio sessions as well as teaching his own weekly art classes.

This workshop provides an introduction to Impasto & Sgraffito techniques – applying and cutting back through thick acrylic paint. There will be demonstrations throughout the day, a look at the choice of art materials available to produce acrylic impasto paintings and choosing a suitable picture and how to modify it digitally to create a more dramatic, non-figurative or abstract image. Two works will be created during the workshop - a simple abstract harbour scene with a limited colour range and one from a chosen photo. A list of materials needed will be provided nearer the workshop date. Some acrylic paints will be provided but you are welcome to bring your own.

Workshop limited to 12 attendees.

Refreshments will be provided but bring your own lunch.

Workshops are for members only. Non-members can join through this store.

Skill level - appropriate for any skill level.

Further enquiries: workshops@stratforduponavonartsociety.co.uk

Saturday 12th April Workshop 10am-4pm

Andrew Geeson: Loose Watercolour

At The Memorial Hall Art Studio, Hathaway Lane, Shottery, CV37 9BL

Cost £38

Andrew will lead us in a relaxed and productive day, showing us how to liven up our watercolour painting by using a loose technique. He will carry out several mini demonstrations and support us in producing several fresh watercolour paintings.This workshop is suitable for any level of painting.

You will need to bring your own paints, brushes and paper. More details will be sent to members who sign up.

Andrew started his career as a botanical illustrator, producing very fine detailed work for publishers throughout the world. He also delved in to the exciting and fun world of children’s book illustration, working for several years with Enid Blyton’s daughter on her mother’s creation Noddy.

It was only fairly recently that Andrew looked for a new journey to undertake, and discovered the beauty and inspiration of loose watercolours. It wasn’t an easy transition, having painted in such a tight manner for so long, but he took up the challenge of this fantastic and rewarding style of painting, learning from the very beginning whilst having to throw off his old style of painting.