At the moment this is the only course with Rosie in 2027
Spend five days with Rosie painting and drawing, with an imaginative, playful and creative attention to colour and composition.
This 5 day course follows on from Rosie’s sold-out courses for the last two years. You will begin by drawing from a still life looking at colour and composition, drawing upon the plants and flowers that surround Coombe. Through a series of exercises, you will build on experimentation and observation before planning and painting a diptych (two paintings that are equal in size composed and hung together) on canvas, capturing the personality of your chosen flower(s).
This course is ideal if you are looking to build on your colour theory and immerse yourself in the intimate world of flowers and the myriad of patterns and colours in nature.
Rosie Harbottle is an artist based in the Teign Valley on the edge of Dartmoor, Devon. Drawing on close observation of the natural world, her paintings explore cycles of growth, renewal and transformation through flowers, plants and place. Memories of a childhood spent exploring wild places continue to inform her practice, alongside an enduring fascination with the relationship between people and nature. She is particularly interested in the traces left behind by living systems; what disappears, what returns, and the layered histories embedded within a landscape. Through colour, pattern and intuitive mark-making, her paintings seek to capture not only the appearance of a plant or place, but its character, memory and emotional resonance.
Influenced by folk art traditions, mythology, music and storytelling, her work moves between observation and imagination. Before becoming a full-time artist, Harbottle worked in illustration and textile design, experiences that continue to inform her use of pattern, colour and composition. Her paintings invite a slower way of looking, celebrating the beauty, complexity and interconnectedness of the natural world.
Rosie exhibits both nationally and internationally and has collaborated with The Garden Museum, Toast, The Conran Shop, Charleston House and Soho House, amongst others.
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Residential
£995 + VAT (total £1,194) which covers all your tuition, accommodation and food from arrival on Sunday through to departure after lunch on Friday.
Non-residential
£715 + VAT (total £858) which includes all tuition, welcome drinks on Sunday and lunch each day.
Payment schedule & cancellations
A 20% deposit will be taken when you book, the balance of fees are due 6 weeks before the course starts. These are non refundable payments. See cancellation policy for more information.
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Please bring the following with you
2 x canvas, Rosie is recommending 40 x 50cm. Rosie also prefers a fine grain canvas as she prefers the feel of painting on a smoother surface. Stretched cotton canvas, something like this , Stretched linen something like this
A selection of coarse round brushes (different sizes) and a palette knife – Rosie tends to use old cheap brushes such as Daler Rowney
A selection of acrylic paints – Rosie’s go-to brand is ‘Golden’ (the heavy body acrylic) but she also uses Jacksons own brand studio paints too.
A selection of ‘Sennelier’ oil pastels. They come in a range of sets for example these
A range of papers suitable for oil pastel (ideally not stark white) These are good for sketching: Or I love this ‘toothed’ paper for more ‘finished’ works. They come in cool or warm tones see here and here
A pack of Caran Dache neo colours like this
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This course is designed for anyone that wants to paint in an imaginative and playful way, exploring the cross over between design/illustration painting. If you have no painting experience this is a great place to start, if you already have painting skills but you’re feeling ‘stuck’ and want to free up your work, come and immerse yourself in a world of colour and experiment with Rosie.
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Sunday
5-7pm - Residents arrive
7pm - Non residents arrive
7pm - Welcome drinks
8.00pm - Dinner
Monday-Thursday
8.30am - Breakfast (for residents)
9.30am - Tuition
1.00pm Lunch
2.00pm Tuition
5pm - Afternoon session ends
7.00pm - Dinner
Friday
8.30am - Breakfast (for residents)
9.30am- Tuition
1.00pm Lunch
2.00pm Course ends
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Residential and non-residential spaces available.
Residential option.
Onsite, rooms are single occupancy unless coming with a partner and would like share. Note bathrooms are shared/no ensuite facilities.
Residential fees include all your food, accommodation and tuition from arrival on Sunday from 5pm hrough to departure on Friday after lunch.
More info on our residential facilities can be found here.
Non residential option
Include welcome drinks on Sunday, tuition and lunch.
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There will be a minimum of 6 people and a maximum of 12 participants to allow the tutor to give everyone enough time & attention.
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HOW TO GET HERE: Our address is TQ6 0JA [What3words: What3words: fulfilled.exploring.branching] and we have plenty of free onsite parking. Trains > nearest station is Totnes then we can arrange lift shares or send taxi details. We are about 20 minutes from the station.
If you are travelling internationally the nearest airports are Bristol (nearest) and London. From London and Bristol there are direct trains to Totnes. Booking trains is easiest via The Train Line.
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A first payment is due at the time of booking @ 20% of total course cost.
There is a 14 day cooling off period so if you cancel within 14 days you receive a full refund on your first payment. Thereafter it is non refundable and not transferable to any other course.
The balance of course fees are due 6 weeks before the course starts and are also non-refundable and non transferable.
Please take out adequate travel/health insurance in the event that you are unable to attend.
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I can’t book when the course goes live because I am travelling/I have other arrangements, can I book before it goes live?
I’m afraid not, we suggest you either make arrangements to be available at that time or ask a friend to book for you if you’re not available.
I’d like to stay in the area before/after the course, do you have any recommendations?
Both Totnes and Dartmouth are nearby and really lovely towns so worth visiting. See the town links for recommendations of what to do and where to stay.
I have dietary requirements/food allergies can you cater for those?
Yes, once you have booked onto the course will will write to you asking for those details.
I have a partner that would like to come with me but not paint is that possible?
Yes there’s a charge of £350 if they want to stay with us during the course but not paint/take part in the tuition. When you book just add that you would like a double room and a partner place in the ‘access’ requirements section. We will then make arrangements for you and invoice accordingly. That payment will be due three weeks before.
Can I arrange a taxi/lift share from the train station?
Yes once you’ve booked you’ll get details about how we can do that for you. You will also get a registration pack with local taxi numbers.
There’s a lot of kit and I’m travelling from abroad/on public transport how can I manage that?
Yes you can arrange for your kit to be posted/shipped/couriered to us marked with your name c/o Lara Lloyd. Likewise to return it. There are various courier services in the UK including Royal Mail and Send my Bag International options vary accordingly but global options include FedEx
Do you recommend any UK suppliers for buying required kit and getting it either shipped to me or to Coombe Farm Studios direct?
Yes Jacksons, Atlantis and Cass Art are all good online UK suppliers.
