Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

All Short Courses1 day

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

1 dayStudio5th Oct

A morning session designed to breathe new life into old materials by transforming forgotten artwork into fresh, studio-ready canvases. This workshop guides you through the practical, sustainable skills of canvas reclamation, frame conservation, and surface preparation. Whether you are looking to declutter your studio or cut down on art supply costs, you will leave with the skills needed to upcycle canvas frames independently.Your own old pictures or canvases that you are ready to strip down and reuse.No old artwork? No problem! You can choose to work with one of the abandoned paintings provided directly by the school.What is IncludedAll technical equipment, tools, raw canvas, and priming mediums are fully supplied. The instructor will provide step-by-step demonstrations for every stage of the process, making this course ideal for both beginners and experienced painters looking to master their own studio prep.

What you'll do

Deconstruction: Learn how to safely remove old, unwanted canvas paintings from their wooden stretcher bars without warping or damaging the frames.Restretching: Master the art of using canvas pliers and staple guns to tension and stretch brand-new raw canvas tightly and evenly over your reclaimed wooden frames
Restretching: Master the art of using canvas pliers and staple guns to tension and stretch brand-new raw canvas tightly and evenly over your reclaimed wooden frames.
Priming & Surface Prep: Discover how to properly apply gesso and sand your surface to build a smooth, professional, and archival foundation ready for your next masterpiece.What to BringYour own old pictures or canvases that you are ready to strip down and reuse

Who is this for?

All levels.

What to bring

No old artwork? No problem! You can choose to work with one of the abandoned paintings provided directly by the school.

Other short courses

Finishing Day

1 day

Finishing Day

Do you have a painting you want to finish? Lucie is offering you the chance to join her in the studio and let your paintings fulfil their potential. .

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

Create a stunning pastel portrait from your own photograph. Learn Lucie's structural techniques for capturing likeness and depth.

Contemporary Portraiture

Wed Evenings

Contemporary Portraiture

Led by internationally exhibited artist Lucie Cookson—whose work has been showcased at the National Portrait Gallery and is held in portrait collections worldwide—this course bridges classical techniques with contemporary materials and styles.

Finishing Day

All Short Courses1 day

Finishing Day

1 dayStudio17th Oct

It's Satisfaction time!! A dedicated studio day to complete, refine, and finish works in progress. Bring a painting you've been struggling to finish and leave with it resolved . Do you have a painting you want to finish? Lucie is offering you the chance to join her in the studio and let your paintings fulfil their potential. Book now to benefit from Lucie's expert advice and the materials of Tidy St. Tuition is given on an individual basis so all levels welcome. Time to resolve your work and come away with paintings you are proud of!

What you'll do

Work on your own painting with expert guidance
Identify and resolve problem areas in your work
Leave with a finished, resolved painting

Who is this for?

All levels.

What to bring

A work in progress and your usual materials. A full list is sent on booking.

Other short courses

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

1 day

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

Learn to restretch and upcycle canvases in this hands-on workshop. A practical, sustainable skill every artist should have.

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

Create a stunning pastel portrait from your own photograph. Learn Lucie's structural techniques for capturing likeness and depth.

Contemporary Portraiture

Wed Evenings

Contemporary Portraiture

Led by internationally exhibited artist Lucie Cookson—whose work has been showcased at the National Portrait Gallery and is held in portrait collections worldwide—this course bridges classical techniques with contemporary materials and styles.

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

All Short Courses1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

weekendStudio14th & 15th Nov

A weekend workshop designed to elevate your portraiture skills and build confidence in the vibrant medium of pastels. This hands-on course guides you through the practical techniques of capturing a convincing likeness, rendering realistic skin tones, and understanding facial anatomy using structured, step-by-step methods.Whether you are a complete beginner picking up pastels for the first time or a returning artist looking to refine your technique, you will leave with a striking, completed portrait and a reliable framework for future projects.

What you'll do

Anatomy & Features: Learn the core structural rules of the human face, mapping out the key geometric relationships between eyes, nose, and mouth to build an accurate likeness.
Flesh Tone Mastery: Discover Lucie's specific layering method for applying pastels, mastering how to mix and balance warm and cool tones to create vibrant, lifelike skin.
Composition & Depth: Explore the interactive principles of traditional portraiture alongside modern techniques to turn a flat photograph into an engaging, dynamic piece of art.

Who is this for?

All levels.

What to bring

A printed photograph of your chosen subject. A full list is sent on booking Materials provided

Other short courses

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

1 day

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

Learn to restretch and upcycle canvases in this hands-on workshop. A practical, sustainable skill every artist should have.

Finishing Day

1 day

Finishing Day

Do you have a painting you want to finish? Lucie is offering you the chance to join her in the studio and let your paintings fulfil their potential. .

Contemporary Portraiture

Wed Evenings

Contemporary Portraiture

Led by internationally exhibited artist Lucie Cookson—whose work has been showcased at the National Portrait Gallery and is held in portrait collections worldwide—this course bridges classical techniques with contemporary materials and styles.

Contemporary Portraiture

All Short CoursesWed Evenings

Contemporary Portraiture

10 Wednesday evenings 6.30pm - 9pm The course commences on 13th Jan finishing on 24th Mar With half term break on 17th FebStudioWednesday evenings 6.30 -9pm

Led by celebrated artist Lucie—whose work is exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery and held in private collections internationally—this course bridges the gap between foundational mastery and cutting-edge artistry. After a vital recap of essential portrait mechanics, including structural head drawing and mixing versatile flesh-tone palettes, you will dive directly into the most exciting, up-to-date concepts and techniques dominating the contemporary art world right now.

By analysing the intersection of classical training and modern innovation, you will learn to experiment freely and ultimately discover your own unique, individual language in paint.

What you'll do

Master Contemporary Techniques: Learn the exact cutting-edge painting methods, ideas, and stylistic approaches that are currently at the very top of the contemporary portraiture field
Command Colour and Composition: Discover how to step away from predictable palettes and use bold mark-making and experimental composition to inject raw energy into your artwork
Find Your Visual Voice: Refine your foundational skills—from head structure to complex skin tones—and synthesise them into a deeply personal, confident painting language

Who is this for?

Intermediate to advanced painters.

What to bring

A full list is sent on booking.

Other short courses

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

1 day

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

Learn to restretch and upcycle canvases in this hands-on workshop. A practical, sustainable skill every artist should have.

Finishing Day

1 day

Finishing Day

Do you have a painting you want to finish? Lucie is offering you the chance to join her in the studio and let your paintings fulfil their potential. .

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

Create a stunning pastel portrait from your own photograph. Learn Lucie's structural techniques for capturing likeness and depth.

Monochrome Portraits

All Short Courses1 day

Monochrome Portraits

1 dayStudio16th January

Monochrome Pastel Portraiture at Tidy St. Art School is a focused, day-long workshop designed to take the guesswork out of drawing faces and help you build a striking, high-contrast portrait. This hands-on course guides you through the practical, step-by-step techniques of mapping out accurate facial features using specialized monochrome pastel pencils. Whether you are a beginner nervous about proportions or an experienced artist wanting to master value and shadow, you will learn Lucie’s own signature techniques that guarantee fantastic results and ensure everything lands in the right place from the very first mark. you'll learn to see and render form with confidence.

Working in monochrome pastel pencils, you'll build up tone, depth, and likeness step by step—leaving with a finished portrait and a set of skills you can apply to any medium.

What you'll do

Apply Lucie's structural head-drawing method
Build tone and depth using monochrome pastel pencils
Capture a powerful likeness and striking proportions

Who is this for?

All levels.

What to bring

Pastel pencils (monochrome set). A full list is sent on booking.

What's Included

All materials provided on the day.

Other short courses

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

1 day

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

Learn to restretch and upcycle canvases in this hands-on workshop. A practical, sustainable skill every artist should have.

Finishing Day

1 day

Finishing Day

Do you have a painting you want to finish? Lucie is offering you the chance to join her in the studio and let your paintings fulfil their potential. .

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

Create a stunning pastel portrait from your own photograph. Learn Lucie's structural techniques for capturing likeness and depth.

Pastel Portrait from a Model

All Short Courses1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Model

1 dayStudio13th Feb

Immerse yourself in a focused, one-day intensive designed to demystify the art of drawing the human face from life. Hosted in Lucie's professional studio, this hands-on workshop grounds your practice in the essential fundamentals of traditional portraiture using the rich, vibrant medium of pastels. Working directly from a live studio model, you will learn to navigate the complexities of structural anatomy and capture the true likeness and character of your subject. Throughout the day, Lucie will provide structural, step-by-step demonstrations, creating a pastel portrait alongside the class to reveal her precise studio workflow. You will learn how to handle your materials correctly, map out the underlying anatomy of the head, and realistically render light and shadow across the planes of the face. With individual feedback tailored to your skill level after every single demonstration, you will leave the studio with a finished portrait and a confident, repeatable process for working from live subjects.

What you'll do

Anatomical Accuracy: Learn to map out the underlying structure, proportions, and anatomy of the human head to create a structurally sound, lifelike portrait.
Mastering Light and Shadow: Discover how to observe and correctly render light across the face, capturing realistic form, depth, and three-dimensional value.
Mastering Light and Shadow: Discover how to observe and correctly render light across the face, capturing realistic form, depth, and three-dimensional value.

Who is this for?

All levels.

What to bring

All high-quality pastels, papers, and studio materials are fully included, so you can simply turn up and focus entirely on your practice..

Other short courses

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

1 day

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

Learn to restretch and upcycle canvases in this hands-on workshop. A practical, sustainable skill every artist should have.

Finishing Day

1 day

Finishing Day

Do you have a painting you want to finish? Lucie is offering you the chance to join her in the studio and let your paintings fulfil their potential. .

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

Create a stunning pastel portrait from your own photograph. Learn Lucie's structural techniques for capturing likeness and depth.

Life Drawing Day

All Short Courses1 day

Life Drawing Day

1 dayStudio13th mar

A full day of life drawing with a professional model. Sharpen your observational skills and explore the human form in a relaxed, supportive studio environment. This session breaks down the complexities of anatomy, proportion, and light into actionable, step-by-step techniques that you can apply immediately to your practice. Working from a professional life model, you will receive personalized, 1-on-1 feedback at your easel throughout the session, making this workshop perfect for both beginners building their foundational skills and experienced artists looking to refine their style.

What you'll do

Dynamic Gesture Drawing: Master the art of capturing movement, rhythm, and weight in rapid 2-minute sketches, training your eye to see the "flow" of the body before focusing on details
Anatomy & Proportion: Learn simple structural frameworks to accurately map out body proportions, foreshortening, and skeletal landmarks without feeling overwhelmed by anatomy.
Chiaroscuro & Tone: Discover how to block in dramatic light and shadow using charcoal and graphite, creating a powerful sense of 3D volume, mass, and depth on a 2D surface.

Who is this for?

All levels.

What to bring

To ensure you can focus entirely on your learning, all premium drawing materials are fully provided. The studio will be equipped with: High-quality A2 and A3 drawing paper and sturdy drawing boards A complete range of charcoal, graphite sticks, drawing pencils, and blending tools Studio easels, drawing horses, and comfortable seating arranged for perfect sightlines

Other short courses

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

1 day

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

Learn to restretch and upcycle canvases in this hands-on workshop. A practical, sustainable skill every artist should have.

Finishing Day

1 day

Finishing Day

Do you have a painting you want to finish? Lucie is offering you the chance to join her in the studio and let your paintings fulfil their potential. .

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

Create a stunning pastel portrait from your own photograph. Learn Lucie's structural techniques for capturing likeness and depth.

An Impressionist Beach Scene

All Short Courses1 day

An Impressionist Beach Scene

1 dayStudio17th April

Paint a sun-drenched beach scene in the Impressionist tradition. Learn to capture light, movement, and atmosphere with confidence.Unleash the raw energy of colour and light in an expressive, day-long painting workshop designed to loosen your style and elevate your art. Inspired by masters of light like Joaquin Sorolla, Claude Monet, and the Skagen painters, An Impressionist Beach Scene guides you through the practical, hands-on techniques of capturing coastal beauty and atmospheric light. Whether you want to step back from tight, highly detailed drawing styles or you are a beginner eager to explore oil paints, this course helps you bypass labored details and focus on the immediate sensory feeling of the landscape. By the end of the day, you will leave with a fabulous, finished Impressionist beach painting and a unique personal language in paint.Throughout this immersive workshop, you will work step-by-step to master the core principles that made the Impressionist movement revolutionary. You will explore advanced palette management, discover how to construct a scene through confidence-building brushwork, and learn the structural steps required to translate shifting natural light onto canvas. Under direct guidance, you will develop a repeatable creative workflow that ensures your colours remain clean, vibrant, and filled with movement.

What you'll do

Palette Layout & Mixing: Master the art of preparing a professional Impressionist palette, learning how to pre-mix vibrant, clean colours that capture shifting coastal light without turning muddy.
Mark-Making & Brushwork: Discover how to use bold, beautiful brush strokes and varied mark-making techniques to let colour do the hard work of building form and movement.
Capturing Atmosphere: Learn step-by-step methods to translate the natural light and beauty of the beach onto canvas, prioritizing immediate sensory feeling over labored detail.

Who is this for?

All levels.

What to bring

Oil or acrylic paints and brushes. A full list is sent on booking.

Other short courses

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

1 day

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

Learn to restretch and upcycle canvases in this hands-on workshop. A practical, sustainable skill every artist should have.

Finishing Day

1 day

Finishing Day

Do you have a painting you want to finish? Lucie is offering you the chance to join her in the studio and let your paintings fulfil their potential. .

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

Create a stunning pastel portrait from your own photograph. Learn Lucie's structural techniques for capturing likeness and depth.

The Wonder of Water

All Short Courses1 day

The Wonder of Water

1 dayStudioTBC

Explore the mesmerising qualities of water in paint. Learn to capture reflections, movement, and light on water in this inspiring day workshop.

What you'll do

Paint water in a variety of conditions and contexts
Capture reflections, movement, and light
Develop a confident, expressive approach to painting water

Who is this for?

All levels.

What to bring

Oil or acrylic paints and brushes. A full list is sent on booking.

Other short courses

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

1 day

Canvas Upcycling & Restretching Workshop

Learn to restretch and upcycle canvases in this hands-on workshop. A practical, sustainable skill every artist should have.

Finishing Day

1 day

Finishing Day

Do you have a painting you want to finish? Lucie is offering you the chance to join her in the studio and let your paintings fulfil their potential. .

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

1 day

Pastel Portrait from a Photograph

Create a stunning pastel portrait from your own photograph. Learn Lucie's structural techniques for capturing likeness and depth.