Celebrated artist JMW Turner drew great inspiration from Petworth House and Park as a frequent guest. On this course you will visit the estate and be taken on a tour of the new Turner exhibition at Petworth House where you will see the landscape paintings he made when he was at this wonderful National Trust property.
The course will begin with a series of experiments that will form a reference library in the form of a mini sketchbook of techniques. You will learn about the properties of ink and how it behaves using a range of methods and tools to encourage a variety of effects and a language of mark-making outcomes. Ink is a fluid drawing medium and bridges the gap between drawing and painting. You will be working with black and white ink to discover and identify how the ink behaves.
Once you have experimented with the ink, you will go outside into the grounds of Petworth House, and in the steps of Turner, you will sketch the landscape. You will start small scale, progressing to a larger scale (A2), gradually gaining confidence with the expressive nature of the medium and the variety of marks you can make. You will look at tone, line, form and composition and how to make a suggestion of the landscape you see through the marks you make.
At the end of the course, you will have produced a mini sketchbook of techniques and transferred these skills with direct observational drawings from the landscape at Petworth House and the inspiration of the Turner exhibition. You will have learnt about the joy of ink, its fluidity and unpredictability that leads to surprising results. You will have worked outdoors and embraced scale, through starting small and advancing to a larger more expressive piece of work.
Included
The College will supply most materials required for the course including some 300gsm cartridge paper, 300gsm watercolour paper, blotting paper, 1.5-inch brush, ½ inch brush, glue spreader, pipettes and a pot of black Indian ink per student. Also, black writing ink, white ink and masking tape to share amongst the group.
What students need to bring
- Small water spritzer
- Mark-making materials such as lace, feathers, leaves, sticks, string, sponges, toothbrush, old credit card
- 3 small plastic pots with lids
Please wear clothes you do not mind getting ink on and layers suitable for going outside for the season.
Optional: Brushes of a variety of sizes including a large soft decorators brush if you have them. (Two flat brushes will be provided)
There is a £4 parking charge at the Petworth House Car park or free parking if you have a National Trust membership card.
Additional information
You will be working outdoors for some of the time. Please bring layers of clothing appropriate to the weather, including sunscreen/sunhat. You will be provided with a folding lightweight chair and a drawing board for use outdoors on the course as well as time in the studio at tables.
Please be aware that in the event of extreme weather forecast, such as high winds, the site at Petworth may be closed. We will inform you the day before if a cancellation becomes necessary and refund the cost of the course in full.
This course runs at Petworth House
Please meet at Petworth House reception from 10am for a 10.15am start. The course will finish at 4.45pm.
It is a 10 minute walk from the main visitor car park to the studio at Petworth. There is a mobility vehicle for those who might find this walk difficult.
