Salt spray and skies – art workshop (July)

This course is suitable for all enthusiasts of art and nature, from beginners to more experienced individuals. We will attempt to explore Flat Holm from a ‘bird’s eye’ view, focusing on the skies and water. On day one, we will record the changes that the light, time of day, and weather conditions have on the landscape in terms of colour, form and brush strokes.

We will begin creating impressionistic watercolours made outside, exploring the possibilities of salt, resists and dispersal techniques with an experienced tutor. The workshop hopes to capture some of the atmospheric changes on Flat Holm, ranging from bright stillness with sharp contours and subtle earth colours, to vivid sunsets and dramatic waves.

On our second day, we will start with formalising our observational work on paper, bringing some closer studies into view of features or materials found on the island. From our initial sketches and closer observations, we will select a perspective or colour scheme which we would like to explore in another medium. During the second and final part of the workshop, we will transfer our work into a wax-resist design on paper or as either a cotton or silk scarf or textile hanging.