Art Outside
My favourite place to be is outside in nature; it inspires many of my paintings. I want to encourage more people to explore their creativity without the constraints of four walls by running outside workshops and art walks.
I will soon be a qualified Hill and Moorland Leader with Mountain Training and I am also a qualified Outdoor First Aider.
Future workshops
11 May 2024, 10:00 - 12:30
Lino printing Discover the joy of carving your own designs onto lino blocks and creating beautiful pieces of artwork. I will guide you through the process, from choosing your design to printing your masterpiece. Don't worry if you've never tried lino printing before, we'll provide all the materials you need. Come and unleash your creativity in a relaxed and supportive environment.
Please bring some photos or images to inspire you. If you've never done any lino printing before, think simple to begin with - the carving of the lino takes longer than you think....
If you've already done some printing you can have a go at using a few colours, although not a reduction print (which has to be done over a length of time!) I can show you a couple of ways to do this. Don't forget your apron and wet wipes for keeping everything including you clean, as printing ink is messy.... And of course there will be cake and coffee/tea to sustain you!
For more details and to book a place click here (takes you to Eventbrite)
18 May 2024, 13:30 - 16:00
Art is fun - Try abstract painting We'll work at some relaxing introductory exercises to help you find your own way of creating an abstract painting!
You can work from reality, or we can do something totally abstract . I'll bring some examples along that I've painted as well as bring some examples of artists to help you find your way through to creating something you can be really proud of! For more details and to book a place click here (takes you to Eventbrite)
8 June 2024, 9:30 - 12:30
Tetrapak printing
Using the cheapest of materials - the insides of tetrapak boxes (think long life milk...) you'll learn about the process of ingalio printing without the scariness and expense of copper sheet and nasty acid!
Bring along some ideas, photos etc for designs and start by making a very small one to learn the technique then spend some time working on a more complicated plate and print out copies to take home to mount as pictures, use as greetings cards and generally impress your friends and family! Intaglio ink is a bit messy so normal rules - wear old clothes, bring an apron and a load of wipes! Hot drinks and cake of course are provided to sustain your creativity! This workshop is for age 14 upwards. For more details and to book a place click here (takes you to Eventbrite)
18 May 2024, 10:00 - 12:00
Art is fun - Still Life Painting This class is for all ages! Children need to be accompanied by a participating adult who is responsible for them.
I will bring a mixture of items but if there's something in particular you want to paint, please bring it along. Take a look at the pictures used to illustrate this workshop and see how you can completely make your own style to paint a still life!
You can use acrylics, watercolours crayons and pastels and so on - there will be lots of choice for you. We'll start off by doing some warm up games to get you looking at the objects and then you will spend most of the time working on one piece that will be a fabulous response to what you're looking at. I will be there to help, encourage and give you ideas about how to proceed and make a wonderful painting/drawing!
Please wear old clothes and bring an apron. It's a good idea to bring some baby wipes for cleaning yourself up as well. For more details and to book a place click here (takes you to Eventbrite)
26 May 2024, 13:00 - 16:00
Botanical doodling and watercolour Perfect for all skill levels, whether you're a seasoned artist or haven't sketched since your school days!
Together, we'll embark on a journey through a series of soothing and reflective exercises on high-quality watercolour paper. Beginning with pencils, we'll then explore the use of pens, graphite, and charcoal. And finally, adding vibrant touches of watercolours to bring your piece to life, capturing the essence of the delicate flowers and lush foliage that inspire us.
This workshop is not about accurate botanical photographic drawing, it’s about embracing the process, learning to observe, and connecting our eyes with our hands to create expressive and compassionate marks. We'll foster a supportive environment, where self-criticism takes a back seat and curiosity and appreciation thrive. By the end, you'll find yourself feeling tranquil, with a weight lifted off your shoulders, and a unique piece of art to proudly take home.
Coffee and cake will be provided to sustain your work. For more details and to book a place click here (takes you to Tickettailor)
Water in Summer Nature Escapes, Aberffro, Cymru
21-24 June 2024
I will be running workshops during this festival. More details to follow.
2023 - photos from Claymills and Bog Centre workshops; Bishop's Castle Charter Celebrations
Summer Bushmoot 2022:
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"Meditative botanical drawing"
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"Creating 'Green Man'/Found Natural Art"
Summer Nature Escapes 2022
"My review would be: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved my workshops with Catherine! She is wonderfully engaging, enthusiastic and welcoming. I enjoyed every minute and will definitely be returning for future workshops!"
Lauren (Monoprinting workshop)
"Thank you for all your hard work over the weekend running the art workshops. A lot of people had a really great time. We’d be really pleased to welcome you back to Claymills for further similar events. Great to meet you and see the work that you do, you really helped our steaming go well"
Andrew (Claymills)
"I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and would love to get stuck into another one! Catherine is so lovely and really encouraging but also dished out help whenever I needed it and a push in the right direction when I didn’t. I felt comfortable enough to just go wild and see where I ended up as well as focusing on making my art look as technical as I could. Being outdoors was a lovely change of pace, we never were stretched for something to sketch and the location was beautiful"
Maya
"Thank you for the workshop at Bushmoot. I enjoyed it all so much"
Sofia (age 7)
"A wonderful workshop! Such a great way to spend an hour, allowing the kids to explore different methods. Highly recommended. Thank you"
Participant at children's art workshop
"I would like to say a big thank you for holding your workshops at Claymills - they were certainly a huge success. I trust you enjoyed them as much as the participants did"
Jan (Claymills)
"The variety of media we were able to experience was great and your attitude to let us relax into trying new things.We honed down some actual pencil shading technique that I had never known. More importantly we reinforced how it's not important for the art we make to be perfect, since to improve my art, I need to be prepared to make more art, good or bad".
Ewein
"Your workshop was a very good experience, that I would find much pleasure in repeating"
Henri (age 11)
"Catherine came to the Bushcraft UK Summer BushMoot to share her amazing art skills with everyone there, and once again she knocked it out the park, everyone loved it.
She facilitated a variety of workshops on different aspects of art, doodles, printing, nature, painting and so much more, this allowed anyone no matter their experience or confidence to jump in and feel welcome, she’s an absolute legend"
Tony (Bushmoot)
"Excellent workshops"
"Stayed in the workshop and missed the tour of Clay Mills"
"Catherine was lovely, very helpful and encouraging"
"I am so proud of myself"
"Thoroughly enjoyed picking up a paint brush again, Catherine was very supportive"
Participants at Claymills Workshop
"A beautiful creative and inspired nature themed workshop that our participants thoroughly enjoyed. Catherine’s greatest skill is encouraging the hidden artist in everyone no matter what your experience.
Thank you Catherine, what an absolute joy!"
Fleur (Nature Escapes)
"I've never considered myself an artist but Catherine convinced me that everyone has the ability to make art. I let myself go wild with colours in a beautiful, pine-smelling woodland along with a varied group from toddlers to teens and adults. I loved the encouraging, accepting atmosphere!"
Saara (Bushmoot)
"The energy you give off is inspiring"
"We all got to paint a canvas today!"
"Great to have permission to go outside the box"
"Great to by inspired by art outside. And to now have a notebook and to have tried out notebook techniques"
Participants at the Bog Centre Workshop
"Catherine joined us for the second time on our recent retreat to deliver a beautiful bespoke art workshop! She curated an amazing session allowing our guests to find both their confidence and creative flow. I’d highly recommend booking her for your day or weekend retreat to add in some art magic! Her passion is infectious!"
Fleur (Nature Escapes)
"It was great having Catherine at the Summer BushMoot running a mix of Art workshops, the feedback has been amazing and she's welcome back any time!"
Tony (Bushmoot)
