“The course is beautifully structured and presented. On the first day we were given a course plan with week by week breakdown.
We have had excellent handouts that were not simply photocopies from text books, but pieces written by Alison.
I felt her session on the Colour Wheel and Colour Harmony was one of the most illuminating I have experienced.
Having attended many visual art courses over the past seven years, I feel privileged to have worked with some wonderful teachers/artists. Alison I regard as one of the best.
This is just to let you know how much we value Alison’s knowledge, teaching and personality”
“I came on the Essential Painting Course in dire need of help! Having painted for most of my life and exhibited regularly over the last ten years I had got into a rut and didn’t know how to get myself out of it. It was like a brick wall and I was beginning to find the activity of painting to be unenjoyable for the first time ever.
I knew I needed to go back to basics and relearn–and also to learn for the first time certain basic rules and techniques that I was never shown either at school or Art College, even on a BA course.
The workshops enabled me to rediscover painting all over again and in a completely painless, stress free way. I now feel as though I can see the way forward to lots more experimentation and discovery.”
“I attended Alison Harper’s ‘Essential School of Painting’ ( a whole Saturday every week) for one year and one term. The school is held in a large light studio with plenty of room for the students to expand around their easels. The classes are small enough for each student to feel cared for, the atmosphere is informal and relaxed, and the students are serious about developing themselves as artists.
As a teacher Alison is positive, supportive, intelligent and relaxed. She is highly experienced in drawing out the best from her students and guiding them in their preferred direction. She can quickly spot a problem or explain why something is not working, then suggest a solution for it. She never imposes her own ideas but discusses with each student what it is they want to achieve, and works with them to achieve it.
Prior to this course I had painted for a number of years and attended a variety of classes. However, it was clear to me that my work needed pushing, and that I needed to be more aware of what I was doing. I wanted to be able to make informed decisions about colour choices, composition and style. That was why I chose this class. It has lived up to my expectations, and I now feel more confident and assured about what I do.
In the first term Alison gives all students a thorough grounding of the basics—of colour theory, colour harmony, arbitrary colour, tonal values, composition, planes, mark making, imaginative self expression, and ways to generate ideas. This was extremely valuable as it set us thinking outside our previously established “boxes”. It made us all aware of just how many different elements go into creating successful painting. For each “element” we did a series of exercises to increase our awareness of what was possible to achieve, and we looked at how other artists had achieved it.”