If you love plants, delight in gardening or you marvel at the beauty of flowers, you have probably wanted to capture them in watercolour. But if you don't want to paint a highly detailed botanical piece, or a traditional still life, how can you capture the exuberance and complexity of florals and botanicals in a contemporary way? This course shows you how, along the way teaching many new watercolour skills.

If you love the strength of ink against delicacy of watercolour washes, or just like learning unusual techniques, then ink resist (gouache wash off) is for you. It certainly exploits the very best of ink and watercolour.  It is a painterly technique which produces an image similar to a wood or lino cut. Though the process is exacting and needs to be followed carefully, the end result is unpredictable and exciting.

Line and wash is where drawing and painting meet. It combines the strength and impact of ink, with the softness and transparency of watercolour. At its best the combination is far more than a coloured in line drawing or an outlined painting. In this extensive course you will learn all about the different combinations of line and wash, using buildings, portraits, animals, flowers and still life as your inspiration.

Negative painting is far from negative! It is simply a way of turning how we look at objects upside down. The subject is revealed by painting the space and air around the object rather than by painting the object itself. Once you have got your head around the concept of negative painting it is incredibly useful to the watercolourist. It will help you capture light and carve out your subject from its surroundings.

The wonderful variety of animal and bird life means that you will never be short of inspiration. No wonder animal painting is so popular. This course is based on my best-selling book (Painting Animals in Watercolour). We explore eyes, shape, texture and tone before completing a step by step portrait of a cheeky donkey. The exercises and techniques build confidence for you to produce portraits full of life and energy.

Free as a bird! We are so in awe of them that we want to paint their beauty, but how can we do that without rendering every feather and detail? How can we capture the very essence of the bird and flight? This comprehensive course gives you the skills, experience and confidence to depict the character and behaviour of 'things with wings' in loose expressive watercolour.

Horses tend to feature high on any list of most popular animals. No wonder - our relationship with them goes back for many thousands of years and they have powered our exploration of the world. But what if you want to capture a horse in loose and lively watercolour without painting every hair? You want to capture their beauty and strength while breathing life into your painting. Then this course is for you.

Painting watercolours on canvas offers many exciting opportunities for the artist. Along with the immediacy, vibrancy and unpredictability of watercolours, it is a liberating and creative process. This practical course explains how to get started and goes on to encourage experimentation, with advice on selecting and preparing canvases, ways to adapt your working process and step by step demonstrations.

Learn an exciting new line and wash technique using a folded nib pen, which you can make yourself in 5-10 minutes out of a drink's can. Using waterproof Indian ink, this dip pen and watercolour, you will draw and paint a dynamic portrait of a bird of prey. In the process you will learn lots of new mark making techniques which can be applied to a wide variety of other subjects such as urban sketching and portraits.

Ink resist or gouache wash off technique is an exciting way of producing beautiful images which look akin to wood block prints. Using the unique properties of gouache and Indian ink, you will be introduced to the materials and techniques before applying them to a painting of a turtle. At the end you will have the knowledge and confidence to work on any subject of your choosing.

Have you thought 'I wish I could paint'? Are you looking for a creative outlet? This thorough course introduces you to the joys of watercolour, starting right at the beginning with which materials you will need (and what you don't). It then moves you on to the basic techniques and guides you through the jargon in a practical and engaging way.   The step-by-step exercises and projects build experience and confidence.