Painting the Moment: From Realism to Abstraction

Designed for beginners through to intermediate painters, this practical acrylic painting course will guide you through the traditional genres of still life, landscape, and figure painting, helping you build confidence, develop strong observational skills, and gain a solid understanding of colour and composition.

Each class includes demonstrations, guided instruction, and hands-on exercises. You’ll learn the fundamentals of colour theory, including how to mix clean, vibrant colours and use colour to create form, light, shade, and atmosphere. Through step-by-step teaching, you’ll develop techniques that can be applied across a range of subjects.

Throughout the term, you’ll create paintings based on observation before exploring ways to transform them into more abstract and expressive works. As your confidence grows, you’ll experiment with composition, colour relationships, and personal creative responses while still working from strong foundational principles.

Towards the end of the course, you’ll take part in a guided session with a live model, applying everything you’ve learned about form, light, and colour while developing techniques for mixing natural skin tones.

With teaching and support at every stage, this course provides a welcoming environment to build technical skills, explore creativity, and develop your own painting style.