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PAINTING - TESSA PEARSON - Big Bold Watercolour Flowers.

Sunday 12 April 2026 17:00
Friday 17 April 2026 18:00

Coombe Farm Studios (map)

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Last Summer Bouquet Coral 76x106cm watercolour.jpg

A wonderful workshop of colour and flowers- from classic watercolour studies to bold expressive paintings…

Tessa will guide you through watercolour techniques, colour mixing and brush skills to capture the many forms and textures of flowers in a series of classic studies and will share her process to create larger more abstract floral watercolour paintings.

Those new to watercolour will be encouraged to confidently use the brush to capture the many aspects of flowers, and learn technical skills of layering washes, wet in wet and overpainting. You will progress onto larger, more exuberant paintings exploring aspects of abstraction and introducing elements of mixed media.

This course is designed for all abilities from beginners to more advanced painters - essentially Tessa will work with you at your level during the week so you can progress your work and develop new techniques.
SUNDAY
5-7pm Residents Arrive
7.00pm Non residents arrive
7.00pm Welcome Drinks
8pm Dinner
MONDAY-THURSDAY
8.30am Breakfast
9.30am Tuition
1.00pm Lunch
2-5pm Tuition resumes
7.00pm Dinner
FRIDAY
8.30am Breakfast
9.30am Final tuition session
1.00pm Lunch
2.00pm Course ends
Residential and non-residential spaces available.
RESIDENTIAL
includes all your food, accommodation and tuition from arrival on Thursday evening through to departure after lunch on Sunday.
NON-RESIDENTIAL
Includes tuition, welcome drinks on Sunday night and all lunches.
NB Residents are not required to share bedrooms, but bathrooms are shared [we do not have any en suite rooms on site]. See ac commodation for more info.
Residential
£903 + VAT includes tuition, accommodation and food from arrival on Sunday through to departure after lunch on Friday.
Non-residential
£650 + VAT include all tuition, welcome drinks on Sunday and lunch from Mon-Friday.

Fantasy Dahlia Bouquet 2 56x76cm watercolour with mixed media.jpg

Materials list: Please bring the following with you
Paint: I prefer watercolour and gouache in tubes, but bring what you have- tubes paints are better for large washes. Always try to use artist quality paint- Windsor & Newton are good, Golden / Schminke my personal favourites. My basic list of colours would include:
- Green Gold
- Lemon Yellow
- Opera rose
- Cerulean Turquoise
- Violet
- Perylene Green
- Indigo
- Sepia
- Cobalt blue
- Cadmium orange
I would also bring some tubes of Designers Gouache , particularly in pinks/reds and a large tube of Permanent White ( not Zinc White).
Brushes: You will need a selection of watercolour brushes, including at least a large mop type for big washes, a smaller round , a rigger.
If you need to buy brushes, only buy one- a size 1 or 2 ‘Isabey squirrel mop ‘, I paint 90% of my paintings with one brush like this….
Palette: you will need a good sized palette with several wells for washes, plus a collection of small yogurt type pots for mixing larger amounts of paint.
Paper: We will be working on loose paper- I will have lots of A3 practise paper, and sheets of heavier watercolour for you to buy if you need them. If you want to bring several sheets of paper- I suggest at least 300g weight NOT (cold press) Bockingford or Saunders Waterford or Arches paper.
Mixed Media bits: I will have some for you to try, but if you have them, please bring some oil pastels, watercolour crayons (Inktense / Neocolor etc), acrylic inks including black, pencils, small stub of white candle…small natural sponge, bamboo dip pen,
Other items in your kit should include a roll of kitchen roll, a large waterpot, apron, small sketchbook for notes.
We recommend Jackson’s Art for buying materials
We are located in Devon between Totnes and Dartmouth.
Our postcode is TQ6 0JA
Driving
We have plenty of free onsite parking.
Trains
Totnes is nearest station then we can arrange lift shares or send taxi details. We are about 20 minutes from the station and costs approx £35 each way.
[What3words: What3words: fulfilled.exploring.branching]
Min 6 max 12 to allow the tutor to give everyone enough attention and time on the press.
Tessa studied Printed Textile design at UCA Farnham and the Royal College of Art, where she won the Courtaulds Prize and was commissioned by Liberty of London to produce a collection of printed silks. As Tessa Lambert she opened her own print studio and gallery in London and successfully sold her distinctive handpainted silks around the world. Since 2000 Tessa’s professional practise has centred on her continuing passion for colour. Her work is an intuitive response to recollections of moments in time and special places, inspired by pattern and rhythms in space, currently is focusing on watercolour painting, mixed media and printmaking,working in series to explore and revisit a theme many times.
Tessa regularly exhibits and sells her work and teaches in the UK and internationally and has always been in love with colour. She has spent her life seeing the world as a myriad of pattern and captivating images. Marvelling at patches of brilliant yellow in a dramatic patchwork green landscape, the glimpse of a violet pot against a cobalt blue wall will thrill her. Her influences have been many, from Matisse to Hodgkin and the bold colourists of mid twenty first century painters Patrick Heron and Albert Irvin.

SEASON

Spring at Coombe, particularly April and May is a gorgeous time of year. Starting to get warm, flowers and greenery coming out. We will be in the studio and going out sketching down the lanes weather permitting. If it’s cooler weather the fires will be on in the studios and accommodation. If it’s sunnier and warmer we may even get to eat outside. Whatever the weather, the combination of studio and great location mean we have options each day.