Beautiful Bullfinch
Day Course
On 16th January 2027
£80 £65pp Early Bird Price ends 16th December 2026
High-quality materials included
Templates provided, giving you a ‘no free-hand drawing’ option.
What You Will Do
At the start of the day, Caroline will run through all the professional drawing and painting equipment that you will be using. All materials are provided for you to borrow on the course.
Caroline will discuss her recommended art materials, giving you a great insight into what’s worth splurging on, and what’s not. This will help you to understand why 100% cotton paper matters!
During the morning, you will create your own balanced composition either using free-hand drawing or templates provided, and by lunchtime, you will have transferred your own composition onto the professional standard watercolour paper, ready for painting.
In the afternoon, we will start by discussing colour matching and colour mixing as well as several key watercolour painting techniques.
By the end of the course, you will have added gorgeous painted textures to your bullfinch composition, inspired by the watercolour techniques.
You will leave the day with your beautiful bullfinch artwork, comprehensive handouts and a greater understanding of watercolour painting techniques and successful composition.
No Experience Necessary
This course is suitable for all levels of art experience, whether you are new to watercolour painting or are experienced and just want to hone your skills or experiment with stylised composition.
Caroline will walk you through her process, composition methodology and painting techniques.
If you’re nervous about drawing, Caroline will offer a range of stylised flowers and leaves that can be incorporated into this composition and beyond. These are a useful reference for future art projects. There will also be templates to trace around, to make processes even easier.
Both Caroline and Emma will be on hand throughout the day to offer support and advice, including while you create the final artwork in the afternoon.
You will be given step-by-step handouts to guide you through the process. These handouts can be taken home.
After the course, you will gain access to our Beautiful Bullfinch demonstration video for a limited time. You can download this video to keep it forever! The video, along with the handouts, are a great reference if you’d like to repeat exercises or finish off your artwork from the course.
Creative Processes
You will discover examples of what makes a successful composition and the kinds of stylisation which can result in you finding your own unique creative voice. You can choose to create your own composition or borrow Caroline’s from the handouts by tracing over it.
Creating your own composition can be achieved free-hand, by referencing a menu of Caroline’s drawings for you to incorporate into your own work. Templates will be provided for you to trace around, if you’d prefer not to draw free-hand.
Learn how to transfer the image of your drawing composition onto your watercolour paper, ready for painting.
We’ll discuss the following watercolour painting techniques: lifting, wet-on-dry, wet-on-wet, detailing, image transfer, colour mixing, colour matching. Learning these techniques will help you to create your final artwork and make the painting easier and more enjoyable.
We will be taking inspiration from a reference photo for the final artwork, plus you will discover where to source free reference images.
After the image is transferred, you will paint your watercolour bullfinch artwork, which will be much easier after the morning’s preparation.
A Taste of What’s To Come…
FAQs
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Caroline will discuss her recommended art materials, giving you great insight into quality, effective equipment.
In the morning, Caroline will walk you through several traditional watercolour techniques and teach you different composition methods. One composition method allows you to express yourself more creatively, and another helps to keep things simple!
You will be using a reference photo to help you with your composition, and you will learn where to source free reference images for future practice.
You will be painting your final artwork in the afternoon, harnessing the techniques learnt in the morning.
Materials for the day are included and are for studio use only. There will be a full equipment list, for you to be able to source the materials for yourself should finishing off at home be necessary.
The handouts will remind you of the process and we will also offer you free access to the online version of this course for a limited time period, for you to download and keep forever.
There will be a welcome tea or coffee and internet access.
Free parking is available.
Your provided materials include 1 sheet of best quality watercolour paper. If you require more sheets, you can buy them from us for an additional £2.00 each.
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Lunch is not provided, please bring a packed lunch with you.
Extra paper is not included in the course cost.
You will be provided with 1 sheet of watercolour paper. If you require more sheets, you can buy them from us for £2.00 each.
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Your tutor will be Caroline Tatham, a qualified lecturer who has a lifetime of experience teaching creativity and is a professional watercolour artist.
Your teaching assistant will be Emma Tatham, who will offer lots of encouragement and practical support.
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Not at all. We specialise in supporting and encouraging those with no previous experience. You just need a ‘can-do’ attitude!
If you do already have painting experince our exercises will help you to loosen up.
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Materials are included in the course cost, including top-quality paints, tracing paper, brushes, a water-soluble pencil and the highest-quality watercolour paper.
You’re welcome to bring your own if you prefer.
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Do not worry! We are all creative and Caroline specialises in connecting people to their inner creative voice.
You just need to be willing to give it a go. Absolute beginners are most welcome.
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You will leave the day with your beautiful bullfinch artwork and a greater understanding of watercolour painting techniques and successful composition via various methods.
You’ll also learn which art materials are ‘worth ‘it, and where to source free reference images.
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Yes! You are very welcome to join our free online community ‘Creative Space’ where Caroline offers encouragement and feedback to posting members. In this free group.
In this free group, there is a bank of free archived resources, such as weekly botanical art prompt sheets, designed to inspire your artwork (#CreativeSpaceNatureSpark). As well as reference photos, reference images, sketches and equipment lists, from our archived Fun-Sized Art School FREE art initiative.
There is also the chance to win prizes in the group challenges.
Please see the button below.
You will also have free access to the online version of this course for a limited time period, which you can download and keep forever!
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This course is suitable for all levels of art experience, whether you are new to watercolour and gouache painting or are experienced and just want to hone your skills.
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Saturday 16th January 2027, 10:00 - 16:00.
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The course cost is £80.
Including art materials to be used in our studio.
The early bird price is £65 until 16th December 2026.
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Doors open at 10am where tea and coffee will be available.
The course finishes at 4pm.
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In the unlikely event that a course is cancelled, please review our Terms and Conditions.
About Your Tutor
Caroline Tatham is a passionate artist who loves helping people to discover their own innate creativity.
She studied at the Royal College of Art and has taught at a range of colleges and art schools, including Central Saint Martins School of Art in London.
Caroline is a qualified lecturer and has loved running the Cotswold Gardening School since 2010. She specialises in teaching creative design to a professional standard for those with no previous experience, helping them achieve results they never imagined possible. She is proud to have 30+ years of teaching experience under her belt.
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Join our community Creative Space and meet other like minded creatives and see some of the techniques from our courses in action.
