Exclusive to Bienarté, this 3-day workshop is for those who want to loosen up their painting style, embrace bold marks and learn to trust their intuition and decision making.  

What will I learn?

The first day will be a full day of learning about colour, composition and drawing, followed by 2 full days of painting.

Skye will teach you how to switch on the creative side of your brain, embrace paint, and trust your intuition. Working from still life set-ups and imagery, you will be guided through traditional techniques with a fast, loose, abstract approach.

You will be creating your own colour library alongside many sketches and paintings.

This will be a fun, energetic workshop with an emphasis on trusting your intuition, embracing loose gestural marks and not over-working your pieces.

{image name:"LS1" width:"380px" height:"237px"}

Who is this workshop suitable for?

This workshop is suitable for people with some experience of their chosen medium. It will cater to early learners through to advanced.

While Skye usually works in oil colours, you are welcome to work in acrylic. For those who would prefer to work in oil, please use a fast-drying medium and acrylics to paint the backgrounds.

What do I need to bring?

Drawing Materials:

Visual Diary
Pencil
Eraser
Thick paper/card - to make colour swatches
Large clip seal bag - to keep colour swatches in
Paper - Pad of art paper
Willow Charcoal or pencils
Coloured pastels or conte pastels
Fixative spray
Scissors
Pen/marker

Surfaces:
You can choose any surface to paint on, from cardboard to ply to canvas - 76 x 91cm (30”x36”) - You can pre-purchase canvases from Bienarté or from most good art supply stores.

Brushes:
A range of sizes from small to large.
Sea sponge/ artist sponge
rag 

Acrylic or Oil colours:
Titanium White
Black
Quinacridone Magenta
Yellow Ochre
Burnt Sienna
Raw Umber
Cadmium Red
Ultramarine Blue
Cadmium Yellow
Phthalo Green/Blue

We have recently added a few new colours for you to bring:

Alizarin (cool red)
Lemon Yellow (cool yellow)
Phthalo green/blue or phthalo blue (cool blue)
Glow Pink (by Permaplastik) https://musgraveart.com.au/product/permaplastik-glow-pink-2/

**Other colours if you prefer

Medium:
Oil painters - A fast-drying medium, for example ‘Liquin’ or ‘Odourless Lean by Archival’

Acrylic painters - Not necessary, but you may choose to play around with acrylic mediums if you prefer to.

Other materials:
Jars
Rags
Scissors
Pen/ marker
Large sized palette/s
Large clip seal bag (for colour swatches)
Palette knife
Water Spray (for Acrylic painters)
Odourless Solvent (for Oil painters)
Drop Sheet/ Bath towel

*Smart Phone or tablet

Optional:
Sea/artist sponge

What is provided 

• Tea and coffee (please bring your own cup)
• Easels
• A friendly, supportive and encouraging learning environment
• Connection to the Bienarté art community

Useful Information

For Visitors FAQs

If you’re looking for a weekend workshop to spark your creativity for the first time or looking to re-engage with your creativity then this is the art workshop for you! 

About this workshop

Running over two days this course is broken into two parts:

The first day is learning drawing techniques and warm up techniques (a fast track way for getting in the creative zone) and having fun with mixed media such as watercolour, acrylic, gouache, inks plus and paint markers + learning collage techniques. Students will create small artworks on heavy watercolour paper.

The second day will be creating two medium to large scale collages on board, using patterned papers that Beth has made herself with paint, mixed media, charcoal, fabric etc.

What will I learn?

Students will learn how to get into the creative zone, plus:

• How to draw what you see
• How to use mixed media such as paint markers, paint mediums, ink, gouache and acrylic paint 
• Learn collage techniques from an expert

Who is this workshop suitable for?

This is suitable for all levels of experience including absolute beginners.

 {image name:"bk_3"}

What do I need to bring?

• Patterned papers and fabrics that you like to incorporate into your collage artworks 
• Snacks and lunch (there are cafes nearby too) 
• A mug
• A visual diary for notes (optional)

What is provided?

• 2 x light weight boards per student to create collages 
• Hand painted papers that Beth has painted
• Charcoal
• Mediums (binder, spreader, gloss)
• Acrylic colours 
• Inks
• Paint markers 
• Acrylic gouache 
• White gouache
• Good quality watercolour paper 
• Easels, tables, chairs
• Tea and coffee (please bring your own cup)
• A friendly, supportive and encouraging learning environment
• Connection with the Bienarté art community

About Beth Kennedy

Beth Kennedy lives and works in Brisbane and has a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the Australian National University. She has held seven solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions. Beth is represented by Anthea Polson Art GC, The Artling (Singapore) and Adaro Art (Florida).  Beth's work has appeared in Australian House & Garden, Belle magazine and The Age’s Melbourne Magazine and she has collaborated with Endota Spa for their Mothers' Day 2023 range.
The essence of Beth’s paintings is the dynamics of patterning. Even at their most colourful, there is a quiet and enigmatic beauty to her work.
Pattern, colour and composition all work together to present a snippet of an emotional narrative in the floating worlds she creates. She works intuitively with colour, at times allowing it to flow across the canvas in washes, and at others using it in bold opaque area. Amongst this, wavering patterns move in and out of focus, eventually finding their place and adding depth and beauty to the paintings.
Each of Beth's paintings is the result of a sustained process of transcription: from sketches, to watercolour, to paint on canvas.

Useful Information

For Visitors FAQs

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.

About this workshop

After setting up our own still-life in the studio, we will analyse the methods of UK artist Shirley Trevena and emulate her painting approach. https://shirleytrevena.com/  This will give you a greater appreciation for her unique style and introduce some other ways of painting in watercolour. We will start with a small project to try out her brushwork style and then work from still-life scenes to create our own unique interpretations. Bring a camera, iPad, tablet or mobile phone to photograph the set-up.

{image name:"JL18"}

Who is this workshop suitable for?

This workshop is designed for those who have learnt at least some basic watercolour techniques previously.

What do I need to bring?

Paints:
Bring a range of transparent & opaque professional quality watercolours in your preferred brand. Include a black.

Paper:
You will require 300gsm Cold Pressed watercolour paper in Medium or Rough. My recommendation is to buy a watercolour block as the paper is already stretched. ¼ or ½ sheet size is fine. Quality brands are Arches, Saunders Waterford or Baohong. Student quality paper just doesn’t work well, so please make sure the paper is 100% Cotton.

Brushes:
Bring whatever watercolour brushes you already own, but include at least two ‘rounds’ with a sharp point (one small and one larger), plus a larger ‘mop’ brush for backgrounds. There are so many good brushes on the market I won’t specify any particular brand, but just make sure they are designated watercolour brushes and not acrylic brushes with long handles.

Palette:
The large plastic palettes with lots of wells and a lid are my recommendation. Make sure it has a large enough mixing area.

Board:
Larger than your paper and something to prop up under one end for working at an angle.

Other:
Drawing equipment - pencils, eraser, ruler etc, plus pen and paper for taking notes
1 sheet of graphite transfer paper (not carbon paper. Jan will bring some for $3 per sheet)
some paper for sketching
an old towel or hand towel
tissues
2 plastic containers for water
masking tape. 

A medicine dropper or plastic pipette for squirting small amounts of water would also be handy. 
Don’t forget a photography device!

{image name:"JL19"}
 
Jan will supply some still-life objects and background patterns for this workshop, but you are welcome to bring any favourite objects and/or fabrics for a still-life.

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

Jan Lawnikanis has been teaching art classes consistently for nearly 30 years and tutored over 200 workshops in a variety of media. Students have praised Jan for her teaching skills and preparation which has gained her an excellent reputation with all ages.

Jan has been the featured artist in Australian Artist Magazine, with 5 full-length articles on using coloured pencils. Other publications include the Paradise Magazine-GC Bulletin, Art Newsflash, the International Watercolour Institute catalogue, the Coloured Pencil Magazine, the Australian Coloured Pencil Network, Art Edit magazine and Artwise textbook for the Australian Curriculum.

Her award-winning artworks hang in many private and corporate collections. Jan’s watercolours have also been selected over the last few years to represent Australia for an international watercolour festival in Fabriano, Italy.

Useful Information

For Visitors FAQs