Reflecting the Countryside

Join artist Emma Williams for three days, working with 24 metres of wall space courtesy of the Army Welfare Service, to design and plan street art for their courtyard at Shippon.

Working with the theme of ‘Nature’, the group will explore the shapes and colours of the natural environment and create a mural to reflect those surroundings. The group will start with sketches, then learn how to develop those sketches into stencils to use with eco-friendly spray paint and other water-based liquid paints for freestyle work on the walls.

The group will design with negative and positive shapes, scale and composition, and will also explore different colour palettes and how these can be influential in a space.

Day one:

At Sunningwell School of Art

By exploring the immediate surroundings and looking for areas of inspiration and ideas, students will sketch examples and learn how to recreate these shapes simply, using sponge brushes on large sheets of paper. Students will then make simple oiled manilla card stencils using scissors and tape.

Day two:

At Shippon

The group will think about positive and negative shapes, scale and composition, using pieces of scrap paper to experiment with different composition formats.  In the afternoon the young artists will spray paint some of the negative stencil designs on the walls to start to create a background.

Day three:

At Shippon

The final day is for using positive stencils to add plants and other features using sponge brushes and acrylic paints, finishing the walls with freestyle paintings of characterful creatures in detail.

What to bring

Wear comfortable clothing that can get mucky and a raincoat with a hood. Bring a packed lunch, water bottle and snacks.

Image on Short Courses homepage is of a mural created by children aged 8-12 years at Sunningwell School of Art 2023.