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Welcome to Bienarté and our friendly team.

Discover the artist within you. In small, inspirational and carefully structured classes.

Every single person has the ability to create art and under the guidance of a skilled and attentive teacher, your talent can flourish.

Master Artist Marcel Desbiens has years of experience teaching students to find their own artistic voice and to gain and strengthen their technical skills. Hear what past and current students say about us.

Learn from award-winning local, interstate and international guest artists who offer courses and workshops for all skill levels in Oil colours, Acrylic, Watercolour, Drawing and Pastels in various specialty subjects. We also offer private lessons for intensive training in any technical area you need.

And all this, in the comfort of our purpose-built air-conditioned art studios.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bienarte is proud to have nurtured the development of over 15,000 new artists,

ENROLMENTS NOW OPEN FOR TERM 2 COURSES FOR ADULTS:

Foundations in Oils with Ai Shah

Oil Painting with Confidence with Marcel Desbiens

Oil Painting Practice in Oils with Bronwyn Searle

Expressive Watercolours for Beginners with Lauren Le Sueur

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Fresh and Loose Landscapes in Acrylics - One Day Workshop | Craig Penny
About this workshop

Immerse yourself in the wonderful medium of acrylic painting in this one day workshop.

Enjoy learning more about this wonderful art form with guidance and teaching through painting landscapes with energy.

Using photographs as his muse, Craig will show you how to achieve a modern, fairly loose and Expressionist painting.

You'll complete 1 painting 76x61cm (30"x24") and a second smaller, painting (no more than 46x61cm (18"x24") within a 1 hour deadline! This will be for fun and just to help you loosen up your style under Craig's guidance.

Please note, you must prime your canvases in a very pale blue in advance of the workshop.

Craig will provide printed photos of the landscapes to work from.

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Who is this workshop suitable for?

Artists with any level of experience, including beginners, are welcome in this workshop.

What do I need to bring?

Canvases:
One 76x61cm (30"x24")
One 46x61cm (18"x24")
Please prime your canvases in a very pale blue in advance of the workshop.

Brushes:
A range of fine to broad brushes

Acrylic Paint:
Suggested Matisse Colours - Prussian Blue, Cadmium Red, Primary Yellow, Sky Blue, Australian Sienna, Titanium White, Olive Green, Permanent Light Violet, Australian Blue gum, Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna

Other:
Acrylic Palettes
Spray Bottle
Something to draw with
Palette knife
Impasto Medium, Gel Medium
Water Bucket
Rags
Drop Sheet

Please bring your lunch and snacks or you can purchase from cafes close by.

What is provided?
- tea, coffee (please bring your own cup)
- a friendly, supportive and encouraging learning environment
- connection to the Bienarté art community
About the Tutor

Craig studied art at Federation University, where painting and graphic design attracted most of his attention. Craig pursued a successful career as an illustrator in the advertising industry and became a member of the Illustrators' Association of Australia.

His career has progressed into a range of mediums. As a result, Craig has also undertaken a successful career in teaching traditional drawing and illustration at both Victoria University and Swinburne University. Throughout this time, Craig never lost his love of using traditional methods and now specialises in watercolour and acrylic painting. This has led to an extremely successful solo career.
Fresh and Loose Seascapes in Acrylics | Craig Penny
About this workshop

Immerse yourself in the wonderful medium of acrylic painting.

Enjoy learning more about this wonderful art form with guidance and teaching through painting seascapes with energy.

Using photographs as his muse, Craig will show you how to achieve a modern, fairly loose and Expressionist painting.

You will be encouraged to complete 2 paintings over the course of the weekend, one per day, both 76x61cm (30"x24"). You will complete a third, smaller, painting (no more than 46x61cm (18"x24") within a 1 hour deadline! This will be for fun and just to help you loosen up your style under Craig's guidance.

Please note, you must prime your canvases in a very pale blue in advance of the workshop.

Craig will provide printed photos to work from.

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Who is this workshop suitable for?

Artists with any level of experience, including beginners, are welcome in this workshop.

What do I need to bring?

Canvases:
Two 76x61cm (30"x24")
One 46x61cm (18"x24")
Please prime your canvases in a very pale blue in advance of the workshop.

Brushes:
A range of fine to broad brushes

Acrylic Paint:
Suggested Matisse Colours - Prussian Blue, Cadmium Red, Primary Yellow, Sky Blue, Australian Sienna, Titanium White, Olive Green, Permanent Light Violet, Australian Blue gum, Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna

Other:
Acrylic Palettes
Spray Bottle
Something to draw with
Palette knife
Impasto Medium, Gel Medium
Water Bucket
Rags
Drop Sheet

Please bring your lunch and snacks or you can purchase from cafes close by.

What is provided?
- tea, coffee (please bring your own cup)
- a friendly, supportive and encouraging learning environment
- connection to the Bienarté art community
About the Tutor

Craig studied art at Federation University, where painting and graphic design attracted most of his attention. Craig pursued a successful career as an illustrator in the advertising industry and became a member of the Illustrators' Association of Australia.

His career has progressed into a range of mediums. As a result, Craig has also undertaken a successful career in teaching traditional drawing and illustration at both Victoria University and Swinburne University. Throughout this time, Craig never lost his love of using traditional methods and now specialises in watercolour and acrylic painting. This has led to an extremely successful solo career.
Painting Practice - Casual | Bronwyn Searle
Do you find it hard to devote time to your painting practice?
Do you get stuck with a painting and don’t know where to take it next?
Do you have technical questions about your painting?
Are you looking for a group of likeminded artists to paint with?

The Studio Painting Practice casual courses provide:
- uninterrupted time to focus on your own work in a studio setting
- an expert tutor to help you extend your skills
- a small group of passionate likeminded artists
What will I learn?

Everything you need to know to complete your own painting project.

Who is this course suitable for?

Those who have completed Foundation in Oils and ‘Gain Confidence in Oils’ courses, or who have the equivalent skills and experience.

You could start a painting in this class, or bring one you're already working on.

Casual classes give you the opportunity to attend the ones that fit with your schedule without commiting to the Term

What do I need to bring?

Bring your painting materials with you. Limited art supplies are available for purchase at the studio if you need a top up.

Please bring odourless solvent only and avoid any strong smelling mediums.

Bring somehting, like an old towel or sheet, to cover the table

What is provided?
- easels
- backing boards
- chairs
- tables
- tea and coffee (please bring your own mug)
- a friendly and supportive environment
- connection to the Bienarte art community.
Watercolour for Beginners | James McKay
About the workshop

Designed for beginners, this two-day workshop will introduce students to watercolour, with a focus on landscape and seascape painting. Students will complete multiple paintings while being guided by James's hands on teaching method, with plenty of demonstrations, explanations and discussions along the way.

What will I learn?
- Understand colour mixing.
- How to create the effect of light with use of colour play.
- Most of the exercises will be centred around producing small landscape paintings. You will also produce some larger landscape/seascape paintings.
Who is this workshop suitable for?

This workshop is suited to those who have had little or no experience with watercolour or would like a good grounding and understanding of the basics.

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What do I need to bring?

Use of all painting materials will be available.

Please bring your lunch and snacks or you can purchase from cafes close by.

What is provided?
- Tea and coffee (please bring your own cup)
- A friendly, supportive and encouraging learning environment
- Connection to the Bienarté art community
About the Tutor

James was born and spent most of his life on a farm in Africa where he started to paint scenes from the farm and African life. Some 20 years ago he moved to make Australia his home, and fell in love with the Australian landscape, particularly old farms, the warm soft colours and the light. This inspired him to paint more seriously.

He has been painting in watercolour for over 25 years and has been exhibiting in galleries throughout Australia and Southern Africa for the 10 years. He has won a number of awards in and around South East Queensland and has also been teaching and holding workshops for a number of years.

There is something about the Australia rural landscape that he finds particularly captivating – “I find the play of light on old fences, gum trees, old sheds and livestock quite irresistible”.

He paints loosely in watercolour using wet into wet techniques “the faster I work, the more feeling the painting has”. He does a lot of his work on site and is passionate about painting in the great outdoors.

He loves to share his joy of painting with others and has always started and run painting groups wherever he has spent any time.