Workshops

Intuitive Painting Day Retreat: Awakening with Spring

Saturday March 21st 2026, 9:30am - 4:00pm
Hawkwood
Booking direct with the venue here
Drinks, Lunch and afternoon tea included

As winter lifts join me for a calming day of intuitive painting inspired by the slow return of light, colour and energy in the natural world.

This day-long retreat offers a chance to gently reconnect with your creativity in a supportive and peaceful setting. Through guided mark making exercises, seasonal colour exploration and open ended abstract painting, you will respond to the rhythms and forms found in nature, creating expressive work that reflects both the outer season and your inner landscape. 

Expect a nurturing, low pressure environment with time to slow down, observe and make art freely. No artistic experience is needed, just a willingness to explore and respond to what emerges. 

More about Intuitive Painting Day Retreat: Awakening with Spring

This one-day retreat invites you to immerse yourself fully in Hawkwood’s landscape and the energy of early spring. The day is designed to help you observe, feel, and respond to the subtle rhythms of the season, from buds emerging and sunlight shifting, to the textures and movement of the natural world and to translate these experiences into intuitive, expressive painting.

We begin with outdoor exploration, allowing the sights, sounds, and textures of the surroundings to invigorate and inspire your creativity. Quick sketches, mark-making exercises, and observational studies help you tune into patterns of growth, movement, and renewal, capturing the season’s energy before moving back indoors to develop your work. If the weather is wet or overcast, we’ll use reflections, rain patterns, and muted tones as inspiration, learning to find beauty and rhythm in every seasonal moment.

A major focus of the day is colour and its connection to spring. Participants will explore, mix, and experiment with palettes inspired by the landscape: emerging greens, soft pastels, earthy tones, and shifting light. This allows you to create paintings that not only reflect the external world but also your personal, intuitive response to it.

The afternoon is dedicated to developing expressive works informed by your observations, mark making, and colour studies. Through this process, you’ll explore growth, renewal, and the feeling of being in rhythm with the season, leaving the retreat with a set of paintings that capture both the outer environment of Hawkwood and your inner creative landscape.

OTHER CLASSES

I do run a regular short class every Thursday morning at The Quarry Chapel in Cam Information here