Jo York

30th April - 2nd May

£405

Developing a Personal Response to Landscape

This course is designed to explore landscape through a series of intuitive and experimental approaches, working in acrylic paint and some mixed media. The emphasis will be on creating a personal response to the landscape, and enjoying the immersive process of painting and mark making, without any preconceptions.

We’ll make colour notes and small free studies, noticing shape and contrast, atmosphere, colour and texture. A particular focus will be on developing techniques to create a rich picture surface using layers of both opaque and translucent paint, combined with confident expressive mark making.

Throughout the course we’ll explore how to build a solid process for working from loose initial marks to creating a more considered response, using painting journals, swatches and sketchbooks to record ideas and progress.

Lunch and refreshments included. Day runs from 10am - 4pm (ish)

About Jo

My work comes from a strong sense of place; from walking in the landscape, becoming familiar with it and absorbing it in all weathers, lights and times of day. Although my work isn’t about trying to make a literal record of the landscapes I see, it is deeply rooted in the experience of being there, with rain pelting down, or on a calm grey day when there is total stillness.

Usually I begin with small free and intuitive paintings, plus notes and colour samples which all act as jumping off points for developing groups of work. Paintings are made slowly, building multiple layers of paint, scraping back, incising detail, and then building glazes to create a complex picture surface. I’m intrigued by layers in the landscape; historic, geographic, and even industrial, like the old mine workings here in the Dales, and I like the fact that these layers are in some way mirrored by layers in paint. I love the sensation of being in open spaces, with wide open views, in wild and unpopulated landscapes, and currently I’m developing a body of work inspired by walking the old drovers’ tracks and open spaces of Nidderdale where I now live.

Teaching, and coaching at all levels has always been an intrinsic part of my creative life, and is something that I’m really passionate about.

Website: https://www.joyorkart.co.uk

Instagram: @joyorkart

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoYorkArt