Art Courses
About Freedom in Painting
Find your freedom - painting courses in Cornwall, Aylesbury and Kent.
The concept of ‘Freedom in Painting’ is that as artists, rather than being in awe of the subject, to move our practice forward, we need to invent, challenge and surprise ourselves and transform the subject into something that is ours, utilizing all our knowledge and skills in the pursuit of an idea.
Our NEW Loyalty Programme
From January 2023, if you attend four courses or workshops (including online workshops) - with at least one being a course in Cornwall, you will be eligible for a Limited Edition (50) Signed Giclee. You can find out more HERE.
To contact Ashley Hanson, please email or call 01208 77656 or 07534 043845.
at Creek Creative, Faversham,Kent
'You can do certain things with painting that are unique to painting that you cannot do with anything else. With a painting you can contain within borders a lot of experience, narrative, emotion, poetry, idea, thought, time, references and so on, all within a frame … Painting has a unique potential to stop time and compact feelings and experience' SEAN SCULLY
An in-depth exploration of the ideas, process and influences of the abstract painters Hans Hoffman and Sean Scully.Their work is the springboard: working in a small group of 8, in this 2-day workshop we will be looking at colour and space, expression, pattern, mark-making, with the ambition of making something new, surprising and personal.
at Creek Creative, Faversham,Kent
'Rather than making a 'picture' about beach-huts, think in terms of using beach huts to make a painting'
Inspired by my memories of living in Whitsable, on this 2-day 'Freedom in Painting' workshop, our small group of 8 artists will use the popular motif of beach huts to explore a shifting relationship between image and ground and the painterly, geometric and narrative possibilities of beach huts in their paintings.
at The Old Lifeboat House
The unspoilt fishing-village of Porthleven, with its' iconic clock- tower and unique double-harbour, is the setting and inspiration for this 6-day painting course. Our studio is the Old Lifeboat House, dramatically positioned at the head of the harbour. Uniquely on our courses, artists will be working towards a one-day exhibition on the Thursday 4 April. This is an opportunity for artists with some experience to work in a small group – maximum seven - in a wonderful location that has inspired many of Ashley's own paintings.
Click here for review and gallery from the COVID safe Autumn 2020 Porthleven courses
Click here for review and gallery from the October 2019 Porthleven courses
at The Old Lifeboat House
The unspoilt fishing-village of Porthleven, with its' iconic clock- tower and unique double-harbour, is the setting and inspiration for this 6-day painting course. Our studio is the Old Lifeboat House, dramatically positioned at the head of the harbour. Uniquely on our courses, artists will be working towards a one-day exhibition on the Thursday 4 April. This is an opportunity for artists with some experience to work in a small group – maximum seven - in a wonderful location that has inspired many of Ashley's own paintings.
Click here for review and gallery from the COVID safe Autumn 2020 Porthleven courses
Click here for review and gallery from the October 2019 Porthleven courses
at Online ZOOM Workshop
Using the ZOOM online platform, we aim to replicate the format and ambitions of our popular Freedom in Painting workshops. Suitable for artists with some experience. You will need a space to work and a reasonable internet connection and a laptop or tablet.
The domestic-interior has inspired some of the greatest paintings in art-history. In this workshop we will be looking at varied possibilities of the subject in painting: narrative, the decorative, symbolism, intimacy, composition & abstraction. Artists may choose to work with or without the figure and to bring drawings/studies of a real or imagined room to the workshop. You will benefit from 1 to 1 tuition from Ashley on both days.
See HERE for Gallery of work made and brief write-up on 'Image & Ground', our first online workshop.
at Online
On this new online course, using ZOOM, we aim to mirror, the format and ambitions of our popular 'Freedom in Painting' courses in Porthleven. Suitable for artists with some experience. You will need a space to work and a reasonable internet connection and a laptop or tablet.
This unspoilt Cornish fishing-village, with its' iconic clock- tower and unique double-harbour, is our inspiration for this 5-day online painting course. Those who have been will know its special appeal for artists. For those yet to visit, Ashley will bring it to life with an introductory Powerpoint presentation about the village, the artists who have painted it and his own ‘Porthleven’ series. Working in a small group of 7, over the 5 days there will demonstrations, group exercises and individual tuition from 9.30 - 1pm, with the afternoons devoted to individual working. The course will end with our traditional Group Critique, where we can see and discuss your new 'Porthleven' paintings.
Click here for review and gallery from the COVID safe Autumn 2020 Porthleven courses
Click here for review and gallery from the October 2019 Porthleven courses
at Port Isaac Village Hall
Port Isaac is a traditional fishing village set amidst rugged and magnificent scenery on Cornwall's North coast, with narrow winding streets lined with whitewashed cottages that head down to the harbour. Truly inspirational: a rich variety of viewpoints and subject matter, an intoxicating mix of the natural and the man-made coastal landscape.
Click here for review and gallery from the 2015 painting holiday where we visited Port Isaac and Trebarwith Strand
Click here for review and report from the 2017 April Port Isaac course.
at The Old Lifeboat House
The unspoilt fishing-village of Porthleven, with its' iconic clock- tower and unique double-harbour, is the setting and inspiration for this 6-day painting course. Our studio is the Old Lifeboat House, dramatically positioned at the head of the harbour. Uniquely on our courses, artists will be working towards a one-day exhibition on the Thursday 4 April. This is an opportunity for artists with some experience to work in a small group – maximum seven - in a wonderful location that has inspired many of Ashley's own paintings.
Click here for review and gallery from the May 2019 Porthleven course
Click here for review and gallery from the October 2019 Porthleven courses
at Online ZOOM Workshop
Using the ZOOM online platform, we aim to replicate the format and ambitions of our popular Freedom in Painting workshops. Suitable for artists with some experience. You will need a space to work and a reasonable internet connection and a laptop or tablet.
All artists have their influences. Many have taken this further and re-worked and re-interpreted the work of other artists - Van Gogh/Millet, Soutine/Rembrandt, Picasso/Velasquez- out of respect and awe and the pursuit of knowledge. This workshop presents the opportunity and challenge of putting your own stamp on a favourite painting. You will benefit from 1 to 1 tuition from Ashley on both days.
See HERE for Gallery of work made and brief write-up on 'Image & Ground', our first online workshop.
at The Old Lifeboat House
The unspoilt fishing-village of Porthleven, with its' iconic clock- tower and unique double-harbour, is the setting and inspiration for this 6-day painting course. Our studio is the Old Lifeboat House, dramatically positioned at the head of the harbour. Uniquely on our courses, artists will be working towards a one-day exhibition on the Thursday 4 April. This is an opportunity for artists with some experience to work in a small group – maximum seven - in a wonderful location that has inspired many of Ashley's own paintings.
Click here for review and gallery from the May 2019 Porthleven course
Click here for review and gallery from the October 2019 Porthleven courses