Sketching and Painting at Benton End 

This one-day course is a wonderful opportunity to sketch and paint this charming and   picturesque house and its garden, which are usually open to the public by appointment only. We will be given a guided tour prior to spending the rest of the day drawing and painting at leisure. Carole will start by showing you sketching techniques using pen & wash and then give individual tuition throughout the day. In the event of poor weather, we can work from a room overlooking the gardens.  Suitable for all abilities.

Travel to & from Benton End will be by minibus from Flatford Mill. In the event of rain, we will be able to work indoors.

About Benton End

Benton End house and gardens in Hadleigh, Suffolk is the former home of celebrated artist and gardener Sir Cedric Morris (1889 – 1982) and artist, Arthur Lett-Haines, known as Lett, (1894–1978); lifelong partners, they met on Armistice Night in 1918.
Together they ran the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing – a sanctuary for a diverse range of influential artists, writers, musicians, and botanists of the 20th century. Lucian Freud and Maggi Hambling were among their students. Vita Sackville-West, Beth Chatto, Paul and John Nash, Elizabeth David, Constance Spry and Benjamin Britten all frequented the house.

 

Carole Massey

Carole Massey is a popular and supportive tutor who has been teaching at Flatford Mill for over 20 years. She is an all-round artist working in soft pastels, acrylics and watercolours and uses a variety of mediums and is equally at home painting landscapes or portraits and has been an independent, self-employed professional artist all her working life.  After studying at St Albans School of Art and then Leicester College of Art & Design, she set up her own successful Graphic Design business which she ran for many years.

Carole has written many teaching art books, her latest two being “Drawing for the Absolute Beginner” and “The Beginners’ Guide to Drawing Portraits” (published by Search Press) both of which should be on sale, signed, during the course.

Carole demonstrates to art clubs and runs many workshops and courses throughout East Anglia as well as painting holidays in the UK and abroad with Alpha Painting Holidays and in Italy with Hotel Leone. She has exhibited at the Mall Galleries and regularly takes part in exhibitions in Aldeburgh and Woodbridge as well as belonging to Suffolk Open Studios. She is President of Felixstowe Art Group and a member of several Suffolk Art Societies.

www.carolemassey.com   

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  Expert Tuition
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  Free Wi-Fi
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  Hot and Cold Drinks
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  In Course Transport

Refreshments are provided but please bring lunch with you.

What to bring

• A Sketchbook approx. size A4 to A5, (300 x 210mm to 210 x 150mm / 12” x 8” to 8” x 6”).  I like Seawhite of Brighton’s “Popular Portrait” or “Landscape” hard-backed, black cloth, casebound sketchbooks that can be bought at Hobbycraft or online at www.artsaver.co.uk
• And/or a Watercolour block or pad, size Approx. 12 x 8”, (300 x 210mm), or larger, NOT or semi-rough 140lb, (300gsm), e.g. Bockingford, The Langton, Saunders Waterford, Arches or whatever you prefer.
• 2B or 3B Graphite pencil or a propelling pencil or clutch pencil 0.5 or 0.7 is ideal for sketching and doesn’t need frequent sharpening
• Waterproof Pens - Black or brown fibre tipped drawing pens e.g. Pilot or Faber Castell or equivalent, sizes 03 or 05, or 0.8
• Optional: A Pentel Brushpen, black
• Optional: Watersoluble Pens: Brown or black, e.g. Zig or Tombow, or any pen that is non-permanent.
• Watercolour paints: A portable set of pans, or tubes squeezed into a folding palette. Colours: Lemon yellow, Indian or cadmium yellow, Cadmium Red or Vermillion, Permanent Rose, Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna, French Ultramarine, Phthalo or Winsor blue.
• Optional; Cobalt blue, Phthalo green
• Watercolour brushes – round Sizes 5, 8 & 12
• Optional: Several wax crayons or oil pastels e.g. White, yellow, red orange, pale green, raw sienna
• Optional – An easel if you prefer to use one. I find it easier to work with my sketchbook/ watercolour pad on my knees.
• Other materials: A kneadable rubber, a pencil sharpener, two bulldog clips or rubber bands to stop pages flapping in the wind.
• A lightweight chair or painting stool (these can also be hired from the office after 9am and before we leave)
• A water pot and bottle of water for painting.
• Suitable clothing, footwear, (and hat?) for the weather.
• A packed lunch