Frequently Asked Questions

You can either book private lessons, come to a weekend introductory course (starting in January), or you can just come along to a weekly session and I’ll get you set up and started!

The introductory courses are designed to teach complete beginners the lay of the land over ten weeks.

The weekly sessions are for all levels, and I will circulate helping students in turn, or as needed. There will be an induction session at the beginning of each class for newcomers who are planning on working with oil paint. 

Unless specified in the description for a particular workshop or course, there will not be a life model. 

When it comes to portraiture I am a strong believer in the use of photographic reference material and a part of what I teach is how to select the right photos and get the most out of them.

You will have the use of an iPad if you wish to use photo references (or you can use your own tablet on the easel clamp). 

I do not offer a concessionary rate. I have tried to simply set an affordable price point for all.

If you would love to learn, but the expense of classes is holding you back, please email me and I’ll see what I can do based on your availability and whether there are last-minute free spaces in classes. I’m sure we can work something out. 

I am really sorry, but I am afraid it is not. I am based on the third floor of a listed residential building with stair access only. 

Yes. the floor easels in the studio are fully adjustable. Many people prefer to work standing at first to be able to change perspective by walking back and forth, but thats a personal preference and not a necessity. 

Please note that the studio is on the third floor and you will need to be able to climb the steps up to reach it. 

This is mostly visual learning, so language should not hold you back. There is a glossary of terms at the end of each page, which you might find helpful. Many of the terms artists use will not be familiar to most native English speakers anyway, as they are loanwords from other languages. 

Weekly classes are unstructured, aside from an induction session at the beginning of every class for anyone who is brand new to oil paint.

You will need to be content to work independently while I help other students. Many people like group classes for exactly this reason - you have personal space to work on whatever you wish to work on, and every twenty minutes or so you will have guidance to help you troubleshoot and find ways to improve your work.

If you prefer more structured teaching please take a look at the courses (currently limited to oil painting, but I’ll add more if there is demand!)

Some students prefer hands-off, and that’s fine too. I all you want is to have some ‘me time’ and use the materials, let me know and I will let you be! 

Yes, all materials are included. We use the student-quality ‘Winton’ and ‘Georgian’ oil paints by Winsor & Newton and Daler-Rowney respectively. For details please see the ‘Working with Oil Paint’ page. 

You are welcome to bring your own materials if you would like to learn how to use what your already have at home, or if you are a little more experienced and you would like to learn how to work with professional-quality paint and brushes.  

Student-grade oil paints, a range of long and short-handled brushes, low VOC solvent, refined linseed oil, and one A3 sheet of oil painting paper per class (fixed to a drawing board). 

All of the materials available in classes are heavy-metal free and the solvents we use are low-VOC. 

Nonetheless, please exercise caution when using all art materials, as if used improperly they can be hazardous to health and environment.

Subway: the closest stop is St George’s Cross (approx 8 min walk).

Train: the closest station is Charing Cross (9 min walk).

Bus: the number 4, 4A and 15 stop on Woodlands Road (2 min walk), while the 3,77, X25, X25A, X76 and X77 stop at Granville Street (6 mins walk).

By car: On-street parking is £1/ 15 minutes, and you can park for up to 2 hours. There aren’t always parking spaces available, especially in the evenings. 

There appears to be a small 24 hour car park on Sandyford Place Lane (11 mins walk) run by Euro Car Parks, which offers three hours of parking for £2 (I would call them ahead to make sure this information is correct and make a booking). 

Yes. There are two principle options:

1. If you would like to gift classes to someone else, but you’re not sure as to their schedule, you can buy an e-gift card which allows you to preload a certain amount into an account which they can use to book classes for themselves. These are available via a link on the Home page, right below the ‘Classes, Courses and Workshops’ booking section. 

2. If you would like to make a booking for them, please just get in touch with me after you have booked, and I will post you a physical gift card and envelope at no extra cost. These are like appointment cards, and let the recipient know what you’ve booked and how to get in touch with me.

If you have brought an e-gift card, but would like a physical gift card to give them on the day, just get in touch and let me know where to post it. I am happy to provide one.

If you would like a physical gift card for Christmas please let me know by December 17th at the latest, to allow ample time for postage in case of delays. 

Potentially. I focus on teaching technical skills, rather than on the entertainment side, so if other members of the group aren’t specifically motivated to learn how to make art they may get a bit bored!

If you would like to book a private group class please drop me an email by clicking here.