Small group classes, designed to enable anyone, at any level, receive the individual attention they need to develop their skills.
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We provide quality art course tuition suitable for all levels from complete beginners to those with more experience. Learn from our team of 30 contemporary artists teaching small groups, in our studio overlooking Porthmeor beach in St Ives, where we have been since 1938.
Take a bit of St Ives magic into your home or studio with our online courses. Browse our library for courses to watch now or look out for new courses added every month. From landscape to life, oils to watercolour we’ll help you find the approach that’s right for you.
Studio Courses
online Courses
Enjoy the same quality tuition at home. Watch live or on demand.
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
Find your creative voice with 1-1 mentoring and a curated practical programme over several months
weekenders
Combine a weekend away in St Ives with a chance to develop new skills and explore making art.
St Ives, one of the most stunning locations in the world, has long been attracting artists. For more than 85 years we have been running art classes in Cornwall in Porthmeor studios overlooking the ocean.
Stunning Studios
Step into history and tread the boards where Ben Nicholson walked. Feel inspired in our spacious studios overlooking Porthmeor beach.
Discover
The Health Benefits of Life Drawing
Life drawing has slipped in and out of vogue in recent decades, but as public attention shifts to the importance of mental health and wellbeing, it is enjoying something of a resurgence. A recent study by the BBC and Newcastle University compared memory and cognition in a group of 30 adults: they asked 10 to walk briskly, 10 to do puzzles such as crosswords and sudoku and 10 to attend life drawing classes. The experiment took place over 8 weeks, with a series of tests carried out across the volunteers at the beginning of the study and at the end. The life drawers, it turned out, showed significant improvement in memory and cognitive function following the experiment.
Expressive Painting in the Elements
Mon 29 Apr – Wed 1 May – 3 days
Amy Albright
Explore expressionist painting in the elements with artist Amy Albright as you immerse yourself in the Cornish landscape to sketch and paint with playfulness and emotion.
Victoria Gillow
I am a Cornish painter, based in Falmouth. My practice derives from a lifetime of looking and belonging. My Cornish heritage and love of the land and sea has informed a practice of landscape and coastal paintings, generating work mainly on site. My work is about time spent, from childhood, on the shallow shores of…