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Weekend art courses

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Weekend art courses

Weekend courses for all experience levels to help you grow and develop as aspiring artists

Choose from a wide range of weekend art courses and workshops – all with outstanding teaching and lots of 1:1 support.

Our monthly morning or afternoon weekend art classes are a fab treat every month. Our 1-day workshops are great if you are looking for a quick burst of inspiration. Our 2-day courses offer you a wide range of learning across different styles, themes and techniques from urban sketching, still life and abstract art.

Our  3-day extended courses enable you to fully immerse yourself in learning a variety of essential foundational skills and techniques.

Weekend Art Class

Saturday morning or afternoon

Weekend Art Class

Saturday morning or afternoon

Be inspired with a new tutor-led art project every class exploring a variety of materials + techniques


Weekend Art Class

Saturday morning or afternoon

Be inspired with a new tutor-led art project every class exploring a variety of materials + techniques


1 day workshops

Sat or Sun

Explore multi-layered mark-making, surfaces and textures

Book individually or together over a single weekend

Experimental drawing

1-day workshop, Saturday or Sunday

Explore drawing in its purest form to help expand your gesture and mark-making skills


Mixed-media textures

1-day workshop, Saturday or Sunday

Create tactile mixed-media textures using acrylics and a variety of materials and techniques


Experience the thrill of charcoal drawing and pen + ink wash mixed media

Book individually or together over a single weekend

Charcoal drawing

1-day workshop, Saturday or Sunday

Discover the freedom of gestural drawing with willow, and the drama of compressed charcoal


Pen + ink wash drawing

1-day workshop, Saturday or Sunday

Embrace the freedom of drawing with black Indian ink and colourful drawing ink using dip pens, natural sticks and brushes.


2 day courses

Sat – Sun

Begin to draw + paint

Weekend course 2-days

The absolute-beginners guide to starting art, drawing and painting


Creative sketchbooks

Weekend course 2-days

Unlock creativity, explore transformative new ideas, and find your unique voice by embracing the true power of your sketchbook


Realistic drawing

Weekend course 2-days

The perfect course to develop skills in drawing accurately and realistically from life using graphite + colour pencil


Expressive still-life

Weekend course 2-days

Learn to create with an inventive + self-expressive approach to create semi-abstract contemporary still-life artwork


Abstract Art

Weekend course 2-days

Discover the key ingredients, materials and techniques to creating highly personal self-expressive abstract art.


Urban sketching Ancoats

Weekend course 2-days

Build confidence in technical and creative urban sketching techniques with a focus on drawing buildings 


Acrylic painting L1

Weekend course 2-days

The perfect introductory course for beginners to start learning acrylic painting skills and techniques


Acrylic painting L2

Weekend course 2-days

Further develop your acrylic painting with added skills, techniques and creative styles


Dynamic Colour Mixing

Weekend course 2-days

A practical beginner’s guide to colour mixing. Gain confidence in mixing the colours you want when you want


3 day Foundation courses

Fri – Sun

Essential Drawing Foundations

Friday – Sunday 3-day course

A unique course teaching an innovative and creative approach to drawing that will form the foundation to all your future drawing


Life drawing Foundations

Friday – Sunday 3-day course

A unique life drawing course teaching an innovative and creative approach to drawing the figure that will form the foundation to all future life drawing


This is what our students have to say

jackie lindsay profile picture
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What a very special place. Brian is a wonderful teacher supportive and inspirational. I've been going to the Wednesday drop in's for 18 months now and have just completed Art + Creativity: Drawing Skills course. Excellent and I have enrolled to do part two of that course which is Material Techniques next term. Can't recommend highly enough.
jackie lindsay
David Thorpe profile picture
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I thoroughly enjoyed the Begin to draw + paint course with Brian. The 2 day weekend course was challenging but nonetheless very enjoyable. He has a relaxed and amenable style whilst at the same time attentively looking after his students to ensure they get the most out of the course. There was a particular part of the course, drawing measuring techniques, which I felt I needed a little more help with. Brian very kindly invited me back to his studio in his own time to go through it again with me. Thanks Brian! Will see you soon!
David Thorpe
F Andrew profile picture
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Had a very informative and enjoyable morning at the art class. I totally learnt new skills and got to try something different. Brian is a great teacher & I would definitely recommend this class.
F Andrew
Kathy Boylan profile picture
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The whole experience was fantastic, Brian is a natural teacher and I was surprised at what I achieved in the time and how much I learned. Already looking to book my next class 👏👏
Kathy Boylan
Jo Houghton profile picture
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I had a great couple of days this weekend on the Begin to draw and paint course with Brian. I am a complete beginner who has never had any formal art education and having done the course I now feel confident to explore drawing and sketching further. Day one was based on the fundamental principles of drawing - learning techniques and tips for creating accurate sketches. Then day two let us explore lots of different media to use in our paintings from charcoal and pastels to acrylic and watercolour paint. I really enjoyed the supportive and collaborative approach in the sessions which were also good fun. Brian is very patient and had a great way of explaining all the concepts. I’d definitely recommend this course.
Jo Houghton
Maria Wilmslow profile picture
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I can’t believe I learnt so much in just two days! Bryan is a natural teacher, very patient and encouraging. I’d highly recommend doing this course if you want to get to grips with drawing tricky buildings.
Maria Wilmslow
Carol Platts profile picture
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It's 50 years since I had an art lesson, and Bryan's beginner weekend was just what I needed to give me the confidence to pick up a pencil and paint brush and just have a go. Really enjoyable, learnt some basic techniques and had fun. Thank you.
Carol Platts
Helen Benson profile picture
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Beginners Creative Arts course was excellent. It was really great overview with instruction and practical application of techniques and media. I really appreciated Brian Raymond's patience and tutoring style.
Helen Benson
Bren Gil profile picture
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I took my grandaughter to hav a chat with brian he was really nice and helpfull but still carnt make up her mind. But great place to do art.
Bren Gil
Jane Doyle profile picture
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Experimental drawing workshop - Really enjoyed experimenting with inks and charcoal under Brian's expert tuition. Loved the variety of excercises we covered. Brian is always there for questions, support and constructive feedback to develop techniques whilst allowing your individual creativity to flourish. Great way to explore your creativity!
Jane Doyle

7 Comments

  1. ERICA OSBORNE
    24 June 2026 @ 1:45 pm

    We went on the drawing foundations course and my drawing has been greatly improved thanks to the 3 days. Strongly recommend. I feel a much greater confidence with observing subjects and creating marks that reflect those observations. I haven’t stopped drawing since….

    Reply

  2. Mrs Wendy P Heaton
    26 November 2025 @ 8:26 am

    do you run courses in stained glass

    Reply

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