| Workshops Programme 2026

Isobel Milne is an Arran-based tutor & maker, therapist and counsellor who works from her own Meadowbank Studio near Blackwaterfoot (and at different locations around the island).

This two-day workshop includes drawing & painting, construction & building in paper mache, decorating with a range of techniques, and producing a completed relief face by the end of day 2, based on mythical characters such as the Green Man and spirits of Merkland Wood. All materials will be provided however you are welcome to bring your own acrylics and a selection of found natural objects from forest and shore.

Day 1 – Sketching of mythical facial images as a starter activity (visual source material will be provided or you can work from your own imagination); 3D construction of basic features using card on board; final paper mache layer in preparation for decoration on the second day. Work will be taken home overnight to dry by Isobel.

Day 2 – The second day will start with experimenting with colour and texture, prior to decorating the faces with a range of different media such as acrylic, sand and natural materials. Beginners welcome. Messy and fun!

Necessary Experience | Beginners welcome.

Materials to Bring | All materials will be provided however you are welcome to bring your own acrylics and a selection of found natural objects from forest and shore.

Food & Drink | Please bring a packed lunch and any drinks.

Suzi has been teaching and running art classes for students of all ages for many years. She has undertaken numerous workshops and special projects, hospitals, schools and museums – notably the Victoria and Albert Museum. Now living full time on Arran and as a designer artist her work covers a whole range of subjects and scale.

Day 1 – A fun relaxed workshop over 2 days – using the sketch book and the importance of play. Looking at mark making, composition, shapes, texture, tone and colour. Images will be provided for inspiration – extra materials and guidance all the way.

Day 2 – Working up sketchbook ideas from the previous day on watercolour paper. The aim being to produce a finished piece with confidence. Please bring if you can your own watercolours, brushes and pencils. Participants could bring an A3 watercolour pad and a sketchbook, cartridge paper or watercolour paper.

Necessary Experience | Suitable for all – from beginners to the more experienced.

Materials to Bring | A small selection of materials will be available for those who need them.

Food & Drink | Please bring a packed lunch and any drinks.

Joan studied at Glasgow School of Art and taught for many years before establishing her own art school, Robinwood, in Ayr in 1993. She is a practising artist enjoying working in a variety of mediums.

In this workshop, we shall look at a garden landscape, in pastel. I shall bring some images and we will explore composition. Using our phone cameras, we will take several photos in the walled garden, and having discussed mood and format, use these photos to make thumbnail sketches, concentrating on design and tone.

Selecting one of these sketches to form the basis of our final pastel painting we will scale up, working initially inside, and using monochrome colours as a base (Burnt Sienna or Burnt Umber). Before starting the painting in colour, we shall explore the mark making skills we will need to get the best effects for grass, foliage etc from the pastels. Weather allowing, we shall continue outside, to bring our paintings to life with colour. After completion there will be a friendly crit.

Necessary Experience | Not suitable for the complete beginner.

Materials to Bring | Sketchbooks and pencils (2-6B)
A selection of pastels, both hard and soft
Conte pencils in Burnt Sienna or Burnt Umber
Pastel mat card, any colour other than white
 Various colours of pastels, both hard and soft
Drawing board to lean on, easils masking tape. portable chairs if working outside
Wet wipes and rags. 

Food & Drink | Please bring a packed lunch and any drinks.

Lisa Derrick is a Scottish-based artist and qualified teacher with experience across many mediums. She specialises in semi-abstract acrylic landscapes and brings a warm, clear and encouraging teaching style to her workshops.

Join artist and teacher Lisa Derrick for a hands-on workshop introducing the essentials of acrylic painting. You’ll learn how to mix colours with confidence, apply paint in different ways, create texture, and set up a stay-wet palette to keep your paints workable.

The morning focuses on colour mixing, simple exercises, and playful imprinting techniques that can be turned into abstract designs. In the afternoon, you’ll follow a step-by-step process to paint petunia flower heads – with plenty of room to explore your own approach. Perfect for beginners, but also ideal for artists who want to refresh or expand their acrylic skills.

You will learn: Colour mixing and how colours relate to each other. How mixed colours behave and shift. Techniques for creating textured acrylic surfaces. How to build layers to paint a realistic flower.

Necessary Experience | No experience needed. Perfect for beginners, but also ideal for artists who want to refresh or expand their acrylic skills.

Materials to Bring | - Acrylic paint-ideally the following colours rather than a set : white, black, lemon yellow, primary yellow, cadmium red, magenta, ultramarine blue, cerulean blue. I would recommend Sennelier ‘abstract acrylics’ or Daler Rowney ‘System 3’ as good beginner brands;
- Acrylic brushes: you will definitely need a fine size 0 brush for the flower head, plus a range of flat and round brushes of a variety of sizes;
- Surface: canvas pad approx A4 size – these canvas sheets are usually acrylic primed Paper: A3 size loose or as a sketch pad (minimum thickness 160 gsm);
- X2 dinner trays to be used as a stay wet palette;
- baking paper;
- water container;
- rags to clean brushes

Food & Drink | Please bring a packed lunch and any drinks.

Gillian Park graduated from Glasgow School of Art and spent over 20 years as a graphic designer. A completely self-taught painter, she works loosely in bold colour using oils and mixed media, and now takes her artwork into fabrics, homeware and upholstery.

She’s the author of "Don’t Be a Starving Artist" and runs her online art club, The Creative Coorie, along with a range of DIY workshops in her online Art Academy. A two-day workshop exploring outdoor mark-making, surface design and lampshade construction.

Day 1 – Field. We’ll work outdoors in expressive inks and water-based media, capturing Arran’s colours, textures and wild marks exactly as Gillian does when creating artwork for her textile designs.

Day 2 – Fabric. In the morning, we’ll refine your potential pattern pieces and learn how to take your own paintings and turn them into digital fabric designs for future projects – a gentle, beginner-friendly introduction to pattern creation and surface design. In the afternoon, you’ll make a beautiful 30cm lampshade using either: a fabric panel of your choice from Gillian’s designs (available to pre-order for £15 – choices will be available 2 weeks before workshop), or a bring your own (you’ll need 970mm x 255mm non-stretch fabric). Please note: your day-one artwork won’t be printed in time to use for the lampshade, but you’ll learn exactly how to create your own designs for future fabric printing.

Materials to Bring | Inks, watercolours, acrylics, mark-making media (sticks, brushes, crayons, pastels) - Gillian will be using watercolour paper but any good heavy paper will be fine.
PLEASE NOTE: lampshade kits required for day 2 (not including fabric) will be an additional £28.
And see information above about alternatively needing a 970mm x 255mm piece of non-stretch fabric.

Food & Drink | Please bring a packed lunch and any drinks.

Tim Pomeroy is an Arran-based artist who exhibits sculptures in Edinburgh and London. He has major works in Provands Lordship and Glasgow Cathedral. Also in Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery. He is currently working on a commission for the Garden of Cosmic Speculation.

This one day class will use the techniques of slab building, coil-building, applied decoration, scratched or incised designs and/or lettering to produce a traditional/historical oil lamp after the Roman and Greek model. It is hoped that, after firing, these will all be working ceramic oil lamps which could be used symbolically at Christmas or Easter or autumn. They could be customised as birthday/wedding/anniversary gifts to possibly include names to celebrate auspicious days. Examples will be shown to help inspire what messages the oil lamp could communicate. The inventiveness that goes into them can go as far as the imagination. They will be made in terracotta and will be eventually glaze fired. Support and advice from the tutor will be there at every stage of the build.

Please note: An additional fee of £10 will be requested to cover the clay used and the electricity used to fire the kiln for both bisque and glaze firings.

Materials to Bring | All clay working tools will be supplied though participants are free to bring their own. Participants are requested to bring drawing materials to experiment with designs before starting onto the clay.

Food & Drink | Please bring a packed lunch and any drinks.

Raine Clarke is a contemporary Scottish artist living on Arran and inspired by the natural world. She works in a range of mediums and has her own studio and etching press which allows her to use many printmaking processes including monotype, drypoint and linocut. She has worked as an art specialist in health and well being settings. Instagram: @underwing_studio

Day 1 – Introduction to monotype. Using an etching press you will be shown a variety of techniques to create one-off monotype prints. A monotype is a unique printmaking process where you can make a single print by painting or drawing on a smooth, non-absorbent surface like glass or metal, and then transferring the image to paper.

Day 2 – Printmaking with tetrapaks. Building on the experience of day 1, you will have the opportunity to explore interesting textures, shapes and tone using repurposed tetrapak cartons as a plate for printmaking. The shiny surface of a flattened tetrapak is scored with tools to create lines that hold ink, creating intaglio-style prints. No previous experience needed. Participants can bring their own photographs and sketchbook with ideas for high contrast monochrome images. Bring an apron, as you will get inky, and any tetrapak cartons – I will also provide these. Extra paper will be available to purchase on the day.

Necessary Experience | No previous experience necessary.

Materials to Bring | You may wish to bring reference material such as photographs or a sketchbook with ideas for high contrast monochrome images.
Please bring an old shirt or apron as you will get inky!
Tetrapak cartons will be provided but you can also bring your own. Extra paper will be available to purchase on the day if required.

Food & Drink | Please bring a packed lunch and any drinks.

Andrew is an Arran-based artist with a degree in Visual Art & Design from the Eastern Institute of Technology, New Zealand. He has taught art and art history in secondary education, as well as decorative art and mural painting within the professional decorating industry in Australia.

Inspired by a lifelong fascination with both the natural and built environment, Andrew creates and exhibits impressionist landscapes and cityscapes alongside imaginative watercolour works. This engaging two-day watercolour course offers a supportive introduction to techniques and creative approach, with guided painting from photographic references on Day 1 and the development of a personal painting on Day 2. Individual guidance is provided throughout, encouraging confidence and creative growth.

Suitable for beginner to intermediate painters. Participants are encouraged to bring their own watercolour paints, brushes, and 100% cotton watercolour paper. A limited selection of materials will also be available for a small fee.

Necessary Experience | Suitable for beginner to intermediate painters.

Materials to Bring | Participants are encouraged to bring their own watercolour paints, brushes, and 100% cotton watercolour paper. A limited selection of materials will also be available for a small fee.

Food & Drink | Please bring a packed lunch and any drinks.