UK WORKSHOPS
Vic offers a variety of teaching workshops in different mediums throughout the UK. Subjects vary from wildlife paintings and portraits, to seascapes, people, children and pets. With mediums in pastel, pencil, oil, acrylic and watercolour, there's something to suit everyone.
At this point in time, most of Vic's workshops and courses are run online via Zoom, This means people all over the world can attend from the safety and comfort of their own home.
Vic's workshops are suitable for complete beginners and advanced artists, and you will learn a great deal about the subject and medium you're working in.
The numbers attending his workshops are kept fairly small. This ensures everyone gets individual tuition and guidance throughout the day so they can learn a lot about the medium they're working in and achieve great results.
2025 WORKSHOPS & COURSES
Date: Thursday 9th January 2025
Subject: Monkeys
Medium: Graphite & Watercolour
Course length: 6 x 1.5-hour lessons (9 hours total)
Included in the workshop: All tuition, reference photo (emailed), feedback and recording of the course.
A workshop kit containing everything you need is available to purchase for this course for £11.99
Suitable for: Beginners and advanced artists.
Location: Live via Zoom – instructions sent after booking.
Time: 7.00pm-8:30pm GMT (Please be ready with your materials by 6.45pm)
Price: £99
COURSE STARTED
A new year, and a new wildlife art adventure begins!
Primates – the order of mammals which includes monkeys and apes (including ourselves of course), are many and diverse; over 500 species of primates exist on the planet, with new species continuing to be discovered.
To try and sketch, let alone paint, such a huge variety of animals from lemurs to old world and new world monkeys, and of course the great apes, would naturally be a massive undertaking. In an ad hoc series, we can at least focus on sketching, painting and learning about a handful of representatives from the various families.
This first course will find us dipping into the large world of small primates – monkeys, following the
popular format of creating three graphite and watercolour paintings over six lessons; each of the three subjects split into two parts; part one sketching, part two painting.
This format not only removes the pressure of sketching and painting an animal from scratch in one
session, but also allows for a week to refine, or even redraw the subject before adding colour.
Out of over 300 species of monkey that exist today, I have chosen three of the more colourful and unusual to begin our primate journey.
Lesson 1 - Thursday 9th January - Japanese macaque - Part 1 - Sketching
Also known as a snow monkey, the Japanese macaque lives in the most northerly and coldest habitat of all non-human primates. They are also known for taking baths in warm springs as well as having quite distinctive red faces.
In part one, we will go through the techniques of sketching a portrait of a snow monkey relaxing in a
warm spring. The main focus of the sketch will be the features – especially creating the somewhat blissful expression that we can all relate to when relaxing in a nice hot bath.
Lesson 2 - Thursday 16th January - Japanese macaque - Part 2 - Painting
In part two, we will look at glazing transparent layers of watercolour over the sketch; this is the ideal technique for creating soft fur textures. By slightly increasing the pigment content of the glazes, we can add a visually stronger colour to the face and the eyes, without losing the translucent effect that watercolours are renowned for. We will also enhance the atmosphere by creating a soft focus, cool blue background.
Lesson 3 - Thursday 23rd January - Golden-headed lion tamarin - Part 1 - Sketching
Tamarins are one of the smallest monkey species; most of which have wonderfully coiffured hairdos or facial hair. The golden-headed lion tamarin, as the name suggests, has a lion-like mane of golden hair, contrasting with its black body fur with hints of blue and purple.
In part one, the primary focus again will be sketching the almost grumpy-looking features of this squirrel-sized monkey. Then we will look at how to create the overall shape of the mane before refining the texture with pencil and kneadable eraser. The final step will be to create the darker tones of the face and body prior to painting in part two.
Lesson 4 - Thursday 30th January - Golden-headed lion tamarin - Part 2 - Painting
Creating a soft focus jungle background will be the first step of this week's session, using the wet-on-wet technique.
Glazing layers of paint over the tamarin, from vivid base colours to more subtle hues, will create a soft
look and feel to the fur. Finishing details will be added using the graphite pencil.
Lesson 5 - Thursday 6th February - Snub-nosed monkey - Part 1 - Sketching
One of the more unusual-looking species has to be the snub-nosed monkey - so named for fairly obvious reasons.
The critically endangered Myanmar snub-nosed monkey is our final subject of this series, and the unusual features are once again the main focus of part one.
Stubby noses, with forward facing nostrils and dark eyes give these monkeys an otherworldly appearance; to me, they look like a race of strange little forest people.
Very dark eyes and nostrils are in stark contrast to the full lips and soft fur; which we will soften with
some paper towel blending techniques.
Lesson 6 - Thursday 13th February - Snub-nosed monkey - Part 2 - Painting
We will begin part two by painting transparent glazes of green foliage in the background, which will provide a soft contrast to the blues, purples, pinks and pale oranges in the monkey's fur and skin.
This strange-looking monkey's distinctive eyes and nostrils will be detailed and darkened further with the graphite pencil after painting.
There is a kit available to accompany this course, which includes:
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2B graphite pencil
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Kneadable eraser
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Set of 7 colours: burnt umber, natural grey, French ultramarine, cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, red and violet.
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4 x A4 sheets of watercolour paper
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2 x A4 sheet of cartridge paper
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Reference photos (3) emailed before the class, or included in the kit
** You will need a round watercolour brush. I generally use an SAA #6 'worker' brush, which is a good
all rounder for painting both details and larger areas of colour, and some spare/scrap paper (e.g. cartridge – included in the set) to test your colour strength, mix and brushstrokes **
** Kits are posted out approx. 1 week before the course starts **
SKETCHING & PAINTING MONKEYS IN WATERCOLOUR
Date: Tuesday 21st January & Tuesday 28th January 2025
Subject: Cat by the Fireplace
Medium: Graphite Pencil & Watercolour
Course length: 2 x 1.5 hours (3 hours total)
Included in the workshop: All tuition, reference photo (emailed), feedback and recording of the course.
A workshop kit containing everything you need is available to purchase for this course for £9.99
Suitable for: Beginners and advanced artists.
Location: Live via Zoom – instructions sent after booking.
Time: 7.00-8.30pm GMT (Please be ready with your materials by 6.45pm)
Price: £35
WORKSHOP STARTED
Meet Bumble – our youngest and smallest family member. Despite her young age and diminutive size,
Bumble has no fear of a roaring, crackling fire. On the contrary, she is fascinated, and will sit for ages
staring at the flames as they dance their way up the chimney.
Watching her small, dark silhouette in front of the fire a few evenings ago inspired us to think about
creating a cosy, atmospheric graphite and watercolour painting for this special two part mixed media
workshop. So, if you've never tried this technique, now's the chance to have a go. If you have tried
already, then here's your chance to practice some more!
PART 1 - Tuesday 21st January 2025
To begin with, I'll show you how to create the form of a sitting cat, using basic shapes and angles.
Once we have Bumble in place, albeit in simple form, we will then 'build' the background around her;
sketching the fireplace, hearth and brickwork before refining and adding details such as the fireplace tools and flames.
With the background finished, we can refine Bumble's outline and form, with a hint of fur texture by way of scribble shading. Some additional pencil shading here and there will help to create tonal depth before the paint is applied.
Part 2 – Tuesday 28th January 2025
We begin part two by painting the brickwork in the background. We will try to keep the paint
layers quite thin, and the colour muted here, to push the background away a little.
Next will be the fireplace; adding a warm glow over the dark tones and bringing the flames to life.
Glazing blues and blue-greys over Bumble and the tools will be next, before using a 'black' mix to add
details and darker fur.
Finally, any sharper detailing and additional dark tones for contrast will be added with the graphite pencil.
There is a kit available to accompany this workshop, which includes:
MATERIALS REQUIRED
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2B graphite pencil
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Set of 5 watercolours: burnt umber, natural grey, French ultramarine, cadmium yellow, cadmium orange
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Kneadable Eraser
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1 x A4 sheet of watercolour paper
-
1 x A4 sheet of cartridge paper
-
Reference photo (emailed before the class, or included in the kit)
***You will need a round watercolour brush. I generally use an SAA #6 'worker' brush, which is a good
all rounder for painting both details and larger areas of colour, and some spare/scrap paper (e.g. cartridge – included in the set) to test your colour strength, mix and brushstrokes.
** Kits are posted out a week before the course starts **
BUMBLE BY THE FIRE - 2-PART GRAPHITE & WATERCOLOUR WORKSHOP
Date: Thursday 6th March 2025
Subject: Sketching animals in sepia and white ink.
Medium: Sepia ink pen and white gel pen
Course length: 6 x 1.5-hour lessons (9 hours total)
Included in the workshop: All tuition, reference photo (emailed), feedback and recording of the course.
A workshop kit containing everything you need is available to purchase for this course for £10.99
Suitable for: Beginners and advanced artists.
Location: Live via Zoom – instructions sent after booking.
Time: 7.00pm-8:30pm GMT (Please be ready with your materials by 6.45pm)
Price: £99
7 PLACES REMAINING
Sketching and drawing animals with an ink pen is nothing new; indeed, some of you, like me, may already have experience with an ink pen. I personally love the medium and, on white paper, you can create eye-catching images with dramatic tonal contrast.
However, when you introduce a brown-toned paper, sepia ink pen and white gel pen, the tonal range is greatly increased and, at the same time softened, compared with a black pen, giving an almost antique look to the finished drawing. You can also create strong or atmospheric highlights that are not achievable on white paper.
Lesson 1 - Thursday 6th March - Hare
Sketching a hare in March? How appropriate but, hopefully, the first subject in this course won't drive us mad!
The first lesson will commence with an introduction to using basic shapes to create outlines and proportions quickly, in graphite pencil. This 'roughing out' step will form a template to give us the confidence to start refining shapes and add textures and preliminary details with the sepia pen.
Once we have the important shapes – head, ears, eye, etc. - inked, we can then start to think about the hare's fur texture, introducing the white gel pen to lay down some initial highlights.
The fur and features will be completed using alternate layers of sepia ink and white gel pens, whilst allowing the brown paper to bring the dark and light tones together to create a warm sketch, with maybe just a hint of madness in the eye.
Lesson 2 - Thursday 13th January - Wren
Those of us with pre-decimal coin memories will be familiar with the image of a wren on a farthing. I always thought it was a cute image to have on a coin, but often wondered why.
Regardless of your coinage memories, I'm sure you'll agree that little 'Jenny Wren' is one of the most popular of our small garden birds.
The wren's speckled plumage in shades of brown, cream and white, make it a perfect subject for this course.
The lesson begins by creating basic shapes, including rough features (eye, beak, feet, etc) as well as the wren''s perch, with the graphite pencil.
Once the preliminary layer of ink is down, we can erase the underlying pencil and add a few highlights with the white gel pen. I will show how to vary hand pressure and hatch strokes to create both subtle and stronger highlights.
To finish the lesson we will add a few key 'dark accents' with the sepia pen, along with some grasses/foliage to add interest to the foreground.
Lesson 3 - Thursday 20th march - Horse
We have brown paper and pen, so why not 'How now brown horse'? Yes, I know it doesn't rhyme, but its the best I could come up with at short notice.
Regardless of my poor poetry skills, horses have always been a popular subject in art. The mid-tone hues of this handsome bay are already set in the brown paper; which allows us time, after our preliminary shape sketch, to focus on the features. After a little texture here and there, a few well-placed highlights and dark accents will result in a relatively simple but striking sketch.
Lesson 4 - Thursday 27th March - Cat
In terms of domestic cats, there aren't too many brown ones about; unless you count brown tabbies, with their full range of browns, blacks and cream markings.
Ginger tabbies, however, don't have such a wide range of tones in their markings which, for our purposes, make for an ideal subject in the sepia ink brown paper.
Using or own Forrest as this week's model, the focus will be mostly on the markings and highlights, creating an atmospherically-lit feline sketch.
Lesson 5 - Thursday 3rd April - Fox
You will doubtless be aware by now that this combination of pens and brown paper is particularly, although not exclusively, suited to brownish-coloured subjects.
With that in mind, how about a quick brown fox...or perhaps a quick-ish fox portrait?
Facial features and highlights will be the main focus of this week's sketch – especially the piercing cat-like eye. Fur texture will be mostly suggested with the sepia pen, with more use of the gel pen to create white fur and a touch of atmospheric backlighting.
Lesson 6 - Thursday 10th April - Tawny Owl
We finish the course in a similar vein to which we began – feathers – from dark browns to white and various tones in between. As with the wren, our tawny owl has some interesting markings – ideally suited to this combination.
After 'roughing out' in graphite, we will use the same technique that we used in the first lesson for the textures and markings of the owl.
Of course, the big difference here will be the eyes. Owls, being predatory birds, have those glistening, staring eyes that are almost haunting. Capturing that look will surely be the highlight of this lesson and, perhaps the whole course. What a hoot!
There is a kit available to accompany this course, which includes:
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A4 brown-toned paper (12 sheets)
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Sepia ink pen (0.5mm point)
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White gel pen (0.8mm point)
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2B graphite pencil
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Kneadable eraser
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Reference Photos (6)
** Kits are posted out approx. 1 week before the course starts **
SEPIA INK SKETCHING – 6 WEEK LIVE ZOOM COURSE
Book Sepia Ink Sketching Course
Order Sepia Ink Sketching Kit
Date: Sunday 6th April & Sunday 13th April 2025
Subject: Lion cub
Medium: Pastel on velour
Course length: 2 x 3 hours (6 hours total)
Included in the workshop: All tuition, reference photo (emailed), feedback and recording of the course.
A workshop kit containing everything you need is available to purchase for this course for £9.99
Suitable for: Beginners and advanced artists.
Location: Live via Zoom – instructions sent after booking.
Time: 12.30-3.30pm GMT (Please be ready with your materials by 12.15pm)
Price: £65
11 PLACES REMAINING
Baby animals are cute. Let's be honest; it takes a hard heart not to fall for a puppy, kitten or wild animal cub. We were watching a nature programme recently, and both agreed that the offspring of the African lion has to be one of the cutest of all baby animals!
Part 1 - Sunday 6th April
In part one, we will be focussing primarily on the underpainting/tonal sketch, tone being the most
important element in creating form, as well as lighting and overall atmosphere in a painting.
Naturally, the features of this adorable lion cub will be the focus of the painting, and a fair amount of time will be spent creating the initial look and expression; especially in the eyes.
After sketching in some foreground elements, we will then look at tonal values; bringing the cub forward by use of tonal contrast. The dark tones in the foliage contrasting with the softer, lighter tones of the fur.
As this stage is so fundamentally important to the finished painting, we will be able to spend a decent
amount of time in the first lesson creating this important foundation.
Part 2 – Sunday 13th April
Once the tonal sketch is complete, you will have a full week to make any essential tweaks to
tones or details before we add colour.
The colour palette in this painting is earthy and muted, with soft highlights; all of which help to create a gentle image of the lion cub.
I will show you how to layer the colours on velour to create visual softness and add depth to the painting.
The next stage will cover enhancing details, such as fur texture, foliage and foreground in colour.
The painting of the eyes will be dealt with in more depth towards the end of the session, so that they
catch the attention of the viewer, along with the final soft highlights.
There is a kit available to accompany this workshop, which includes:
MATERIALS REQUIRED
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Pre-outlined sand velour (25x35cm)
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Black & white hard pastels
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Light brown, light green, orange & yellow ochre soft pastels
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Reference photo
** Kits are posted out a week before the course starts **
LION CUB IN PASTEL ON VELOUR – LIVE ZOOM WORKSHOP
Book Lion Cub in Pastel Workshop
Order Lion Cub in Pastel Kit
Date: Sunday 4th & Sunday 11th May 2025
Subject: Spring Lambs
Medium: Pastel on velour
Course length: 2 x 3 hours (6 hours total)
Included in the workshop: All tuition, reference photo (emailed), feedback and recording of the course.
A workshop kit containing everything you need is available to purchase for this course for £9.99
Suitable for: Beginners and advanced artists.
Location: Live via Zoom – instructions sent after booking.
Time: 12.30-3.30pm GMT (Please be ready with your materials by 12.15pm)
Price: £65
15 PLACES AVAILABLE
I, like, many others, love spring time. A time of new growth and new birth following the long, dark winter months. Surely, one of the most familiar signs that spring has arrived is the sight of lambs, gambolling in a field.
We are fortunate to have such a field across the road and could easily spend a good part of the day watching the lambs jumping around and chasing each other, while their mothers graze to produce more milk for their lively offspring.
The reference we will be using for this workshop is of two siblings from a royalty-free site, which looked just like the ones in the field across the road.
We will also be using a little artistic licence to change the scene somewhat, having the lambs peeping through a gap in a old stone wall; a useful segment on creating your own composition from reference photos.
Part 1 - Sunday 4th may
In part one, we will be focussing primarily on the underpainting/tonal sketch, tone being the most important element in creating form, as well as lighting and overall atmosphere in the painting. In addition, we will look at composition, including adding, removing and changing features from our original reference. As this stage is so fundamentally important to the finished painting, we will be able to spend a decent amount of time in the first lesson creating this important foundation.
Part 2 – Sunday 11th May
Once we're happy with the composition, lighting, tones, etc., we can begin to add colour. On velour, this is best done in light, transparent layers. This technique is visually softer and allows for many more layers to be added.
A sky blue pastel will be perfect for creating a pleasant spring-like feel to this painting – which will be reflected in the lambs' coats to compliment the warm browns underpinning the creamy white wool, as well as in the earthy colours of the foreground.
There is a kit available to accompany this workshop, which includes:
MATERIALS REQUIRED
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Pre-outlined grey velour (25x35cm)
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Black & white hard pastels
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Sky blue, light green, dark brown and pink soft pastels
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Reference photo
** Kits are posted out a week before the course starts **
SPRING LAMBS IN PASTEL – 2 PART LIVE ZOOM WORKSHOP
Book Spring Lambs in Pastel Workshop
Order Spring Lambs Pastel Kit
MORE WORKSHOPS AND COURSES COMING SOON...
Saturday 25th April 2020
Subject: Lion
Medium: Pastel on Velour
Length: 1-day
Included in the workshop: All materials, light refreshments, all tuition.
Suitable for: Beginners & Advanced Artists.
Location: Big Cat Sanctuary, Headcorn Road, Smarden, Ashford, Kent. TN27 8PJ
Times: 10am-4pm (arrive 9.30am)
Price: £120
2 PLACES REMAINING
Something new for me and hopefully for you, for the first of my Big Cat Sanctuary workshops in 2020; a full colour lion portrait in pastels on black velour.
The subject of this workshop is the handsome African lion, Kasanga, who you will get to meet and take your own reference photos, like this one, on the morning of the workshop.
The use of black velour gives much more depth of tone than other colours, such as the sand-coloured velour, as well as allowing you to create dramatic highlights that can give an otherwise ‘standard’ portrait much more atmosphere.
Whether you are an experienced artist or a beginner, Vic will guide you step by step through the process of painting with pastels on velour; how to create fur texture, realistic eyes, all important highlights and, of course, the special techniques required when using black velour.
As always, the big cat/art experience begins with a guided photography tour, starting at around 10am. This is a unique opportunity to gather your own reference photos of wide variety of big and wild cats at very close quarters for future use in your artworks.
The tour finishes at lunchtime, during which you are free to visit the on-site shop for souvenirs and enjoy your lunch under the watchful gaze of mountain lions and the famous ‘Maya’, whose enclosure is next to where we will be working.
The workshop itself begins after lunch and ends at around 4pm, after which you are free to admire and take more photographs of the beautiful Maya in the late afternoon light before leaving for home.
All materials and light refreshments provided. Please bring your lunch, an easel (table or standing) if you need one, and sensible shoes for walking around the enclosures (no sandals or flip flops please). And don't forget your camera!
The day will begin at 10am promptly, so please try to arrive around 9:30am.
For every booking, we donate £50 to the Big Cat Sanctuary. These funds help the sanctuary with upkeep and conservation projects.
LIVE ZOOM COURSE - PORTRAIT IN OILS
BIG CAT SANCTUARY LION WORKSHOP
Stating date: Thursday 7th January 2021
Subject: Portrait
Medium: Oils on canvas
Course length: 4 x 1 1/2 hour classes
Included in the workshop: All Tuition, Reference Photo (emailed), Recording of the Workshop.
Other Info: The portrait course kit is available to order in advance for this workshop
Suitable for: Beginners & Advanced Artists.
Location: Live via Zoom - Instructions sent after booking
Time: 7pm-8.30pm (Please be ready with your materials by 6.45pm)
Price: £60
COURSE STARTED
‘Portrait in oils’ is a complete course aimed at artists who want to learn or improve their oil painting skills.
Each lesson will focus on a particular stage in the oil painting process, using the techniques that I have used myself for many years.
Lesson 1 – Underpainting part 1
(7th January 2021)
We begin the course with probably the most important stage in any painting, a burnt umber underpainting, using the dry brush technique.
Once completed, the underpainting acts as a tonal foundation for subsequent layers, giving both basic details and all important tones to create form.
Lesson 2 – Underpainting part 2
(14th January 2021)
Once the burnt umber underpainting is dry, which will be just a few days, we can begin to create more subtle mid tones and key highlights.
This will be achieved by using varied mixes of burnt umber and titanium white, thinned slightly with linseed oil for easier control and flow.
Note: There will be a two week gap before the next lesson to ensure that the whole underpainting is completely dry before lesson three
Lesson 3 – Glazing
(28th January 2021)
Once the underpainting is completely dry, we can begin to add colour in the form of transparent glazes, a traditional oil painting technique.
Using the additional colours of cadmium red, yellow ochre and French ultramarine, thinned with linseed oil, we will ‘tint’ the underpainting with various colour mixes to create skin tones, and background.
Lesson 4 – Final details
(4th February 2021)
Using the rigger brush and thinned mixes of burnt umber, French ultramarine and titanium white, we will refine the portrait with finer details in the hair, eyes, nose and mouth, adding a few finishing highlights here and there.
Please note, the course is £60 per person, however, if more than one person is using the same Zoom connection, then the fee covers all participants from the same household.
MATERIALS
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290gm oil painting paper (14x10 inches)
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#6 oil/acrylic round brush
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Watercolour rigger brush
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Oil paints: Burnt umber, titanium white, cadmium red, yellow ochre, French ultramarine
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Linseed oil.
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Reference photo (emailed upon booking)
A kit is available for this course, which contains all the materials you'll need to complete the oil painting. Please take into account delivery times when ordering the kit. This kit is posted in a large postal tube.
The great things about Vic's Zoom classes is that you also receive a recording after each class/workshop. So, if you cannot attend one of the lessons, or would just like to re-watch the tutorial, you have the recording to watch as often as you like.