Artist-Tutor: Johanna Melvin
Format & Frequency: In Studio — Every other Sunday, 10:30 am – 4:30 pm
Fee: £545 per term | Annual fee £1,420
Group Size: Maximum 12 participants
Please note: course fees will increase with effect from 5 July 2026.
About This Course
Approaches to Abstraction is the starting point for painters who want to find their way into abstract practice — or who have been making abstract work intuitively and want to understand more deeply what they are doing and why. Led by Johanna Melvin in the ESOP main studio, the course offers a genuinely open, exploratory environment in which technical guidance, conceptual discussion and individual experimentation are held in productive balance.
The course does not prescribe a style or methodology. Its aim is to help each participant discover the routes into abstraction that are most alive for them — whether through colour and form, through gesture and material, through the structural logic of the picture plane, or through the transformation of observed or remembered experience. The history and contemporary context of abstract painting are explored throughout, but always in service of the practical, immediate question: what do you want your painting to do, and how do you make it do it?
The fortnightly format — one full Sunday every two weeks — provides the rhythm of a sustained practice without the daily commitment of a weekday programme. Between sessions, students are expected to make work, think about what they have discovered, and bring new material and new questions back to the studio.
Who This Course Is For
- Painters who are new to abstraction and want a guided, structured way into the practice
- Those who have been making abstract work but want to deepen their understanding of what they are doing
- Artists looking for a supportive, exploratory environment that balances freedom with rigorous support
- Painters at any level of experience who are genuinely curious about what abstraction opens up
- Those who want a high-quality, intensive Sunday programme that works around a working week
Whether you are a complete newcomer to abstraction or an artist who has been circling around it for years without quite finding the door — this is the place to begin.
What the Year Involves
- Three terms — alternate Sundays, 10:30am to 4:30pm, approximately 6 sessions per term
- Exploration of multiple routes into abstraction: colour, form, gesture, material, structure
- One-to-one tutorials and group critiques in a warm and constructive studio environment
- Presentations and discussions on the history and contemporary context of abstract art
- Practical tasks that build technical skills alongside personal areas of inquiry
- End-of-year group exhibition — the year’s work seen publicly
Session Dates 2026–27
| Term | Session Dates (fortnightly) |
| Autumn Term 2026 | 4 Oct · 18 Oct · 1 Nov · 15 Nov · 29 Nov · 13 Dec 2026 |
| Spring Term 2027 | 17 Jan · 31 Jan · 14 Feb · 28 Feb · 14 Mar · 28 Mar 2027 |
| Summer Term 2027 | 25 Apr · 9 May · 23 May · 6 Jun · 20 Jun · 4 Jul 2027 |
| End-of-Year Exhibition | Summer 2027 — date TBC |
Total sessions: approximately 18 across the year (6 per term, subject to final tutor confirmation). Sessions run 10:30am – 4:30pm. On the alternate Sundays, Advanced Abstraction meets — the two courses interleave completely and never overlap.
Art Materials: All art materials are provided as part of the course fee, with the exception of canvases, which can be purchased directly from the school studio at a discounted rate.
About the Artist-Tutor
Jo Melvin
is a practising artist and curator whose work is held in public and private collections including the archives of the Whitechapel Gallery…
Johanna Melvin is a practising artist and curator whose work is held in public and private collections including the archives of the Whitechapel Gallery, The Groucho Club, House of St Barnabas and Soho House. From 2006–15 she served as Editions Manager at the Whitechapel Gallery, working with leading contemporary artists on the production of limited editions. She subsequently co-tutored with Bob and Roberta Smith RA OBE, and with Alex J Pollard on the Intuitive Abstraction Year. She is a board member of the Essential School of Painting.
Past work by students
The ESOP Pathway
Approaches to Abstraction is the recommended starting point for the Sunday abstraction programme. Painters who complete this course and want to continue their development should consider Advanced Abstraction — the next step in the same Sunday series, led by the same tutor, on the alternate Sundays. Those who complete Advanced Abstraction and want to continue at the highest level may wish to consider applying for the ESOP Advanced Painting Course.
