ABBOTSBURY STUDIO
Painting, colour and drawing Studio Courses and Holiday Courses / Weekly Workshop Groups and Classes ......... in Abbotsbury, at the heart of the beautiful West Dorset coast
Intensive work in a relaxed atmosphere
Studio courses and workshop classes are centered on nurturing and developing each individual's 'processes of practical work'.
Studio courses are mostly 2 day weekends - Friday & Saturday. Some students and artists wanting to extend their stay by two days may choose to start their visit by also attending the classes on Wednesday and Thursday.
Welcoming artists/students or newcomers, of all ages & stages to focus enthusiasm, concentration and energy, to make significant progress or refresh their individual working processes, even on a short course.
The studio has very good facilities (including an easel, 'A1' board, exam table and tall stool - for each person), so you need only bring drawing materials, paints & brushes. J M will be happy to offer suggestions or advice on materials and can usually fill any gaps in people's kit.
The Gallery at Abbotsbury Studio exhibits the work of artists and students.Twentieth century drawing and painting have been carried from figuration through to abstraction without distortion or reduction by such artists as Mondrian, Soutine, Giacometti, Bomberg, Auerbach and de Kooning. They introduce, through imaginative projection, geometry and gesture, the transmutation of forms and figures into a field of flux. Combining detached analysis and emotionally charged gestural energy, true to the flatness of the canvas, while spatial relationships are held in utmost respect. Among other artists, they show us how we can effect negotiations with transitional states and enjoy the interchangeability of physical form with pure energy.
In the realm of ideas we live in a delightful condition of upheaval and revolution, of transition and opportunity. It looks to many as if the rule book has been thrown away and chaos reigns. However the principles and disciplines involved in the dynamics of drawing, the colours and material of painting are like laws of physics - behind the mechanism, working alchemical magic.
Studio Courses
or for our regular Weekly Workshop Classes, click here
Please book, and pay in advance when booking.
(for booking details, see the box in the right column)Painting & Drawing Workshops
Location - Abbotsbury Studio
X Abbotsbury Studio
Rodden Row, Abbotsbury, Dorset, DT3 4JLtel: 01305-871867
email:
web: www.abbotsburystudio.co.uk
Abbotsbury Studio, a former hall, is centrally situated in Abbotsbury village - spacious, with a high ceiling, large windows and good lighting. The village itself is unique and in a glorious and various landscape at the heart of Dorset's 'World Heritage Site' coast.
Each day starts at 10am and ends at 4.30pm. Bring your own lunch.
Landscape & Seascape
Working outside among idyllic locations and in studio depending on personal preference & the weather
September 12th-13th Two days 10am - 4.30pm
£40
Life Painting & Drawing
Friday same model as Thursday. Saturday different model.
September 26th-27th Two days. 10am - 4.30pm
£40
Abstraction from Observation
Various approaches to big shapes in composition while maintaining the energy of the sketch processes
October 10th-11th Two days 10am - 4.30pm
£40
Mark makings & Volumes, abstraction and the illusion of space.
info. to come...
October 24th-25th Two days
£40
Dynamic Composition
We will study compositional strengths and ideas of Paul Cezanne, Ivon Hitchens and David Bomberg.
November 7th-8th Two days
£40
Watercolours in the Studio
info. to come...
November 21st-22nd Two days
£40
Gestures and scribble disciplines
emphasis on colour mixing, colour harmonies, complementary colours. info. to come...
December 5th-6th Two days
£40
Life and Portrait Paintings
info. to come...
December 19th-20th Two days
£40
Summer Studio 2008
Location - Abbotsbury Studio
X Abbotsbury Studio
Rodden Row, Abbotsbury, Dorset, DT3 4JLtel: 01305-871867
email:
web: www.abbotsburystudio.co.uk
Abbotsbury Studio, a former hall, is centrally situated in Abbotsbury village - spacious, with a high ceiling, large windows and good lighting. The village itself is unique and in a glorious and various landscape at the heart of Dorset's 'World Heritage Site' coast.
Each day starts at 10am. There will be an introductory talk wih projected pictures on day one.
Land and Sea dynamics, Summer Studio.
July 21st-25th 5-day week 10.00 am - 4.30 pm
£225
A working week focusing on colour and composition in the glorious Abbotsbury landscapes and surrounding seascapes as well as working in the studio. Life model on a rainy day.
Weekly Workshop Classes
or for our Studio Courses, click here
You can pay on the day for any class -
£20 for a full day or £12 for a half day
(Full time & 'A' level students: £12 full day, £7 half day)
Newcomers please phone first, otherwise drop in and pay on the day!
(there are limited numbers however, so booking is advisable - for booking details, see the box in the right column)Thursday Evening Life Classes
at Bridport Arts Centre. £8 session. "A" level & full time students £5.
14 weeks - September 11th to December 12th
Location - Bridport Arts Centre
Dates - every Thursday. Including September 11. 18. 25. October 2. 9. 16. 23. 30. November 6. 13. 20. 27. December 4. 11.
Autumn Term - Wednesdays & Thursdays
All welcome ....artists, students, beginners.
16 weeks - September 3rd to December 18th
Location - Abbotsbury Studio
X Abbotsbury Studio
Rodden Row, Abbotsbury, Dorset, DT3 4JLtel: 01305-871867
email:
web: www.abbotsburystudio.co.uk
Abbotsbury Studio, a former hall, is centrally situated in Abbotsbury village - spacious, with a high ceiling, large windows and good lighting. The village itself is unique and in a glorious and various landscape at the heart of Dorset's 'World Heritage Site' coast.
16 full days: £260, or 16 half days: £132
(Full time & 'A' level students: £132 for full days, £91 for half days)
Pay by the term or pay by the day, on the day. £20 all day £12 half day. Concessions for full time students: £12 all day, £7 half day.
Autumn Term Colour Studio Group
Choose your day, drop in, and pay for that day on the day. £20 the day. £12 half day.16 Wednesdays
Sep 3rd, Sep 10th, Sep 17th, Sep 24th, Oct 1st, Oct 8th, Oct 15th, Oct 22nd, Oct 29th, Nov 5th, Nov 12th, Nov 19th, Nov 26th, Dec 3rd, Dec 10th, Dec 17th
A general painting class for all comers with challenges for artists, students & beginners. Emphasizing each individual's practical work. Personal projects - abstract or figurative. Colour and tonal studies, compositional dynamics, landscape and still life. Interesting objects, fruit and flowers always in the studio.
Autumn Term Life Painting and Drawing
Choose your day, drop in, and pay for that day on the day. £20 the day. £12 half day.16 Thursdays
Sep 4th, Sep 11th, Sep 18th, Sep 25th, Oct 2nd, Oct 9th, Oct 16th, Oct 23rd, Oct 30th, Nov 6th, Nov 13th, Nov 20th, Nov 27th, Dec 4th, Dec 11th, Dec 18th
We start the day with short poses for one hour; usually these short poses are for about 10 minutes each, followed by perhaps six 2 minute poses. All these short poses in the first session are more likely to have some twists and stretches. After a coffee break we set up one long pose to last for the rest of the day. Although the long pose is necessarily less demanding on the model we are always careful to make sure it is interesting from all points of view. So considering the model's welfare we still aim for the long pose to have some subtle classical "contra-position" or dynamic offset.
Two day pose LIfe Painting
Thursday & Friday once a month - two days £40.16 Fridays
Please note it is four sessions, not sixteen: September 25 - 26. October 30 - 31. November 13 - 14. December 18 - 19.
The tutor
John Meaker
is a prolific artist continuously drawing and working in several different painting mediums with figures, abstraction and landscape.
He has 25 years experience as teacher & mentor facilitating progress and change to the work of students & artists of all ages and stages, from beginners to accomplished artists.
He studied at Goldsmiths College and The Royal Academy Schools and in his own work reconciles their contradictory traditions:
- on one side: awareness of modernity of form, comparative to the history of Art, while enjoying the art of ideas and abstraction;
- on the other side: drawing skills, observational disciplines, concern with natural form, colour and light, traditional figurative painting, colour traditions and techniques.
Amongst some uniquely sensitive artists including Peter Greenham and Norman Blamey, J M was fortunate to have tutors who were themselves taught by Sickert, Tonks, Coldstream, Uglow and Bomberg; all British artists, expert in colour relationships, who play key roles in the major strands of 20th century drawing and painting.
For more than 25 years J M has tutored residential courses in painting and drawing at Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire; this year he will be there at the residential Summer School for three weeks. J M is also tutoring courses at West Dean College, near Chichester in West Sussex, Autumn 2008 and Spring 2009.
Workshops at Abbotsbury Studio are at home to a wide variety of forms and styles of art, classical & modern, all dynamic.
Click here to see images of students' & artists' work made at Abbotsbury Studio.
Click here to see images of John Meaker's work.
Booking information
To take part in one or more of the courses, please click here to print out the form, fill it in and then send, enclosing a cheque for the total course fee(s) to:
John Meaker
White Hall Farm
Leigh, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 6JG.
Enquiries welcome.
Once booking has been confirmed, fees cannot be transferred or refunded. It is advisable to insure against losses of fees due to illness or other mishap.
For local accommodation we can advise, or see the Abbotsbury Village website.
Contact details
JM - 01935-872461
mobile - 07816-850107
studio - 01305-871867
email:
Abbotsbury Studio
Rodden Row
Abbotsbury
Dorset
DT3 4JL
tel: 01305-871867 mobile: 07816-850107 email:
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