Workshops

Throughout the year established artists put together a series of workshops, generally run at the weekends. These are open for anyone to join so please get in contact with the tutors to book a place.

To keep up to date with workshops that are available and to secure your place early, check this page often. Alternatively, why not apply to become a member of the Northand Society of Arts and get emailed when new art workshops arrive.

1. Elena Nikolaeva – Series of five Sunday workshops to delight and push the boundaries of your artistic knowledge.

EXPLORING COLOUR. MOOD POWER
MAKING MARKS
LEARNING FROM A NEW ZEALAND ARTIST – MARG HAMILTON
EXPLORING COLOURS OF CAST SHADOWS. IMPRESSIONISTIC APPROACH
OVER THE EDGE – Exploring extreme impasto palette knife techniques and materials

Date range: March – April 2023

Location: Reyburn Art Studio.

All workshops in this series are conducted by Elena Nikolaeva. Contact her directly to enrol or make enquiries: enikonzealand@gmail.com or phone: (09) 431 4741, mob: 021 157 1730

Download the Workshop information here…

Elena’s Workshops Downloadable version

Details about Elena’s Workshops

1. EXPLORING COLOUR. MOOD POWER.

One-Day Workshop – Sunday, March 12th, 2023

10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.

Fee $55.

How many colour palettes are in the art world? The answer is – probably as many as the number of artists on our Earth.

Each painter has their own palette.

Artistic colour palette is closely related to a certain range of emotions.

Artists use bright colours to express cheerfulness, joy of life, excitement.

But what if an artist wants to show other emotions or moods?

What colours are suitable for quiet feelings, romantic, melancholic or cosy atmosphere?

A painter needs to use different palette then.

In this workshop you will explore colour palettes, related to different emotions, painting quick “sketchy” pictures on small canvases with big brushes.

You will see how certain colours can change a picture, when you transform the same monochromatic image into two or three paintings using different colour palettes.

****This workshop is good for the beginning of a new creative season because of the quick, sketchy style of painting process. You will use big brushes avoiding details; keep your style loose and fresh.

MATERIALS:

Acrylic paints
Several small canvases or boards, preferably the same size
Your favourite brushes, including big ones
All your usual painting gear.

2. MAKING MARKS

One-Day Workshop – Sunday March 19th, 2023.

10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.

Fee $55.

Contemporary visual art is known by its wide variety of techniques, styles and media.

10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.

There is one group of elements in painting which can’t be described as brush strokes.

The common name of these elements is marks

This workshop makes an emphasis on techniques and styles of various marks.

Exploring the variety of marks, materials, tools and brushes used for making them, will help you to widen your visual language.

These marks might me small brush strokes, or they might be lines, contours, scribbles or doodles. They might be done by an oil pastel stick, acrylic pen or a marker. They may vary of colour, thickness and intensity of lines.

Techniques are based on a character of these marks. Sometimes these marks become the focal point of a painting. They create the main shapes and elements of a composition.

In this workshop you will paint an abstract or semi-abstract picture using marks done by materials and tools of your personal choice.

Materials:

Acrylics
Medium size canvas

Your favourite brushes (including liner brush and several small ones)

Oil pastel sticks

Acrylic pens, markers

palettes
your usual painting gear

3. LEARNING FROM A NEW ZEALAND ARTIST – MARG HAMILTON

One-Day Workshop – Sunday, March 26th, 2023

10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.

Fee $55.

Living in Central Otago, Marg Hamilton finds her inspiration in her regular walks around Alexandra Basin.

Former art teacher, Marg used to study works of a great many NZ artists. She has been influenced by Bill Sutton, Susan Webb, Don Binney and other talented Central Otago artists.

Her abstract landscapes reflect NZ landscape settings.

She developed clean, graphic style of her works, harmoniously combining strong outlines, patterns and foil.

What we can learn from Marg’s art?

We can see that it’s possible to combine various languages in art. It reminds us mixed media, but all elements are painted.

Don’t be afraid to step out from your traditional area of painting and to add extra elements –whatever you need to add to display necessary information into your picture.

In this workshop you are going to create a medium to big painting, experimenting with masking, stencils, patterns, metallic surfaces and more!

Materials:

Acrylics, including metallic acrylics
Medium to big size canvas
Acrylic pens, markers
Your favourite brushes
Stencils, sponges
Gold leaf (optional)
Paper and pencil for sketching
Good masking tape
Paper patterns for collage (optional)
Glue for collage
palettes
your usual painting gear

4. EXPLORING COLOURS OF CAST SHADOWS. IMPRESSIONISTIC APPROACH.

One-Day Workshop – Sunday, April 2^nd, 2023.

10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.

Fee $55.

Being artists, we must keep up and improve our artistic vision constantly.

To create harmony of colours is one of the most difficult issues in the painting process.

French impressionists are widely known by their experiments with colours. A number of contemporary artists continue their experiments and develop contemporary impressionistic language of colours.

This workshop offers you an opportunity to explore Impressionistic vision and their principles of using colours.

You will find out how to paint cast shadows without black, using cool colours and warm colours which are also presented in cast shadows.

You will learn how to make your shadows colourful and vibrant, harmonious with the rest of your composition.

You will see the logic of Impressionistic colour palette and will try their ideas on your canvas.

During this day you will paint a landscape on a medium size canvas, practicing this new knowledge.

Materials:

Medium to big size canvas
Acrylics or oils
Your favourite brushes
Your usual painting gear

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5. “OVER THE EDGE” – Exploring extreme impasto palette knife techniques and materials

One-Day Workshop – Sunday, April 9^th, 2023.

Fee $55.

Artistic world is developing rapidly in different, interesting and unusual ways. Being a part of it, we need to explore what’s going on there and try to experiment with our own art using existing innovations and creating our own ones.

Heavy impasto painting is one of the latest tendencies in visual art due to the new invented materials and creative minds of the artists. Heavy impasto painting widens technical options for artists to express their ideas.

This workshop will allow you to experiment with thick pastes suitable for palette knife techniques.

During the day you will make your own paste and use some “non-traditional” pastes from hardware shop.

These experiments with heavy pastes, give you new ideas of possible ways of applications and what kinds of tools you can use.

During this workshop you will paint several small pictures on canvases or boards using different pastes and learning new creative “tricks of the trade”.

Materials:

several small canvas or boards
acrylics
gesso
modelling paste
several palette knifes

– Your usual painting gear.

**** Elena brings extra materials for making “homemade” pastes for extra $5 per student

All workshops in this series are conducted by Elena Nikolaeva. Contact her directly to enrol or make enquiries: enikonzealand@gmail.comor phone: (09) 431 4741, mob: 021 157 1730

PAYMENT FOR EACH WORKSHOP TO BE MADE TO THE TUTOR IN CASH ON THE DAY OF THE WORKSHOP, OR DIRECT DEPOSIT BEFORE THE WORKSHOP:

Elena Nikolaeva 12 3013 0871132 51

2. Claire from Oscuro NZ – A series of drum lampshade making workshops traveling around New Zealand with two dates for our Whangarei studio

Come make your own awesome drum lampshade!

Cost: $135

Fun time learning to make your very own drum lampshade, tapered or straight. Must pre-book to reserve your space, only 8 spaces per class. You may have the opportunity to fabric line your shade too at this class depending on number in the class, your confidence and the time available. The price includes everything needed except fabric. Please bring along 0.5m of standard width fabric of your choice to go around the circumference of your shade (1.4m) Cotton or linen is the best to use. Please NO silks, sheers or velvet/heavy upholstery fabric. If you decide to line your shade you will need the same amount of fabric in addition. Refreshments and nibbles will be available 🙂

ENQUIRIES AND ENROLLMENTS

To enquire about the NSA Workshops, or to apply to enroll, unless otherwise directed, please phone in the first instance your course Tutor.
Alternatively phone Reyburn House Gallery (09) 438 3074, or email us with your full contact details – phone, address, email, so we can respond with the appropriate follow-up. (Gallery hours are 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 10.00 to 2.00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.)