Following on from last year’s success, we are delighted to welcome back Sally Ellis who returns to lead her inspiring 2-day Contemporary Still Life weekend course at Yardley Arts
Known for her Abstract Familiarity, Sally will guide you through her distinctive approach to painting using acrylics and dry media, she’ll encourage your imagination, intuition, and champion spontaneity to help you create meaningful still-life paintings based on your familiarity.
Sally’s unique method embraces freedom and artistic bravery, she is confident you’ll find her approach to artmaking forgiving, enjoyable, and ultimately achievable.
This workshop isn’t about perfection; it’s about letting go. Sally’s rebellious spirit invites you to set aside expectations, embrace creativity, and explore new ways of expression. Whether you have an established art practice or are starting fresh, this is a chance to decompress whilst escaping your normal for the weekend and join Sally at this fabulous venue.
Expect to make a mess and have fun! You’ll have lots of space to work on wooden panels, experiment with mark-making, dive into colour and composition, and play with paint. There’s no copying, no planning, and no requirement to draw. Instead, the focus is on seeing things differently and letting your imagination run.
At the end of the weekend, you will have created up to 2 paintings on artist quality acrylic paper on cradled wooden panels.
Come and enjoy an exceptional weekend of creativity in our beautiful art centre, with stunning natural daylight, plenty of room to spread out in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.
“What can I say? Two brilliant days of working with Sally. Inspirational!”
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Explore Unconventional Techniques: A very different approach, with a set of new tools.
See Things Differently Distort and abstract the everyday..
Shed Expectations and Quieten Judgment: Embrace a freer, more intuitive approach.
Master the Fundamentals: Understand the fundamentals of why a painting works, focusing on exploring colour theory, composition, and a harmonised limited palette.
Troubleshoot with Confidence: Be more comfortable and flexible with changing and reshaping your work.
WHO IS IT FOR
This workshop welcomes adults (18+) of all skill levels, whether you:
Haven’t painted since school.
Have some experience but feel stuck.
Are an experienced artist ready to try something different.
Have struggled with acrylics in the past.
Simply love the idea of experimenting with contemporary still life.
It’s also perfect for anyone who:
Needs a creative escape in a fabulous venue with gorgeous food.
Feels overwhelmed and wants to use art to decompress.
Would like to explore painting in a relaxed, non-traditional way with a group of like-minded people.
Has seen Sally’s work and wants to learn her unique process and have lots of hands on support and guidance.
“Overall an excellent experience & a course that I feel I can build on going forwards with my own art. I would definitely recommend a course with Sally & would be very happy to have an opportunity to create art with her expert tuition & enthusiasm again. Great to have an artist demonstrate different methods of producing art.”
what is included
All necessary art materials and equipment, plus a goodie bag of essentials.
Delicious lunches, tea, coffee, cakes, and snacks.
what do i need to bring
Yourself in old clothes and an apron - acrylic paints do not come off fabric!
dates
3 & 4 May
10am - 5pm
£350 per person
how to book
Booking is made direct through Yardley Arts. You can email bookings@yardleyarts.org or book online below.
Places are limited to 10, so book early to avoid disappointment
Join Sally Ellis this May Day Bank Holiday and let Yardley Arts take care of everything else - just bring your curiosity and enthusiasm!
“...I went on the most amazing journey with you. You challenged me, you inspired me, you exhausted me, you picked me up when I was flagging and you allowed me an insight into your world. What a fantastic way to spend a weekend and I feel very privileged to have been a part of it all. Now I want to continue with it all.”
about the tutor
Sally Ellis is a contemporary artist based in Bewdley, Worcestershire, known for her intuitive and expressive style she calls Abstract Familiarity. Her work transforms the everyday into abstract beauty, created through a process of layering, scratching, and spontaneous mark-making.
Since 2006, Sally’s art has been collected across the UK, and her work has been celebrated by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and the Society of Women Artists in both 2023 and 2024. Sally’s process is deeply influenced by a mildly rebellious nature, a mildly chaotic brain, a deep love of home and the things and clutter that fill it, and her enduring admiration for inspirational rule-breaking artists like Shirley Trevena and Mary Fedden RA. In addition to her own practice, Sally teaches workshops in her studio and gallery, helping students of all levels shed expectations and embrace the freedom of creative exploration.
To find out more about Sally & her work, visit her website, Instagram or Facebook
OUR LOCAL AREA AND ACCOMmODATION
The lovely village of Yardley Hastings is renowned for its character and beautiful countryside. Part of the Castle Ashby Estate, we are surrounded by fields, woods, glorious views, historic architecture and grazing sheep. It is located near to Bedford and Northampton railway stations and 15 minutes from J14 of the M1 so easily accessible from London. It is also just an hour away from Oxford, Cambridge and Birmingham.
People come from far and wide for our renowned local walks https://northamptonshirewalks.co.uk especially around Castle Ashby, Chadstone and Yardley Hastings.
Olney is our local market town, less than 4 miles away, it’s a stunning Georgian town, bustling with great shops, restaurants and pubs, some with accommodation including https://www.bullhotelolney.co.uk
There is accommodation here and in surrounding villages - just look up www.airbnb.co.uk and search for Yardley Hastings.
How to find us
By Train - our nearest train stations are within one hour’s train ride from London stations:
London St Pancras to Bedford Station (a further 25 mins by taxi) or Wellingborough Station (a further 15 mins by taxi)
London Euston to Northampton Station (a further 15 mins by taxi) or Milton Keynes (a further 25 mins by taxi)
For contact details, a map, directions and car parking see here