Forest Garden Drawing Days
One-day workshops in 2027
Saturdays 6th February, 8th May, 31st July, 6th November
10am - 4.30pm
Revitalise your approach to drawing in these full-day seasonal workshops, exploring drawing in the landscape, responding to nature as both inspiration and as material and process.
Enjoy the glorious setting of High Dalby House, with its many features from wild forest to ponds and streams, landscaped gardens and architectural features, all in the heart of the North York Moors National Park.
We will explore drawing in the landscape, experimenting with materials and drawing processes, with opportunity for individual focused drawing in the afternoon. The workshop will include collaborative exercises, experiments to loosen your drawing style, as well as taught activities exploring materials and techniques. In the afternoon we’ll choose our own focus for drawing, depending on what we enjoyed or what inspired us in the morning, with tailored guidance.
Each workshop will respond to the seasons and have a different drawing focus.
February: Exploring tone and line, inspired by the dark, stark lines of a winter forest and the muted tones of the landscape to create create atmospheric monochromatic drawings. We'll also experiment with ice and water, exploring their properties to push the boundaries of what drawing can be.
May: A season of colour and abundance, exploring materials such as pastels and coloured pencils, and how we can combine colour washes with line to create drawings inspired by flowers, both abstract and figurative and at scale.
July: Exploring the elements of water and light as both subject and material. Using the natural watercourses in the garden (ponds, streams, a lake and even rain, possibly!) and natural light, we'll play with mark-making, shadows, and the ever-changing nature of water and reflection.
November: A season full of texture and decay, we'll explore how the yearly cycle and the dying back of nature can create beautiful, rich, layered drawings. The natural decaying process in plants will be inspiration and material for mark-making and new ways of drawing.
With all our workshops, we respond to the interests of individuals. Each participant will be able to follow their own path, with our guided support, as well as take part in structured activity and try new ideas and techniques through taught activities. Beginners welcome.
Led by artists Rachel Welford and Kathryn Welford
Small group: Maximum of 6
Materials provided, but feel free to bring your own sketchbooks or materials if you wish.
Lunch included.
Accommodation may be available at High Dalby House if you are interested in staying overnight. Please contact High Dalby House directly to make arrangements for your stay: https://www.highdalbyhouse.com/
Your drawing guides - Rachel and Kathryn Welford
You can find all about me on my about page so I won’t repeat that here! Kathryn is my sister and is also an artist and artist-educator! We will be running this workshop together. Although both artists with lots of shared experience in teaching art and leading workshops, our approach to making art is very different, so we complement each other very well!
Kathryn studied Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Fine Art & Drawing, Oxford University. She has taught and led education programmes in galleries and museums for over twenty years. She is a painter and also draws, focusing mainly on landscapes.
Kathryn is inspired by the textures and ‘messiness’ of gardens and of nature. She uses drawing to capture a feeling of a subject, creating drawings and paintings from observation but also enjoying the expressiveness of the material and process of making.
Follow Kathryn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welfordkathryn/?hl=en
One-day workshops in 2027
Saturdays 6th February, 8th May, 31st July, 6th November
10am - 4.30pm
Revitalise your approach to drawing in these full-day seasonal workshops, exploring drawing in the landscape, responding to nature as both inspiration and as material and process.
Enjoy the glorious setting of High Dalby House, with its many features from wild forest to ponds and streams, landscaped gardens and architectural features, all in the heart of the North York Moors National Park.
We will explore drawing in the landscape, experimenting with materials and drawing processes, with opportunity for individual focused drawing in the afternoon. The workshop will include collaborative exercises, experiments to loosen your drawing style, as well as taught activities exploring materials and techniques. In the afternoon we’ll choose our own focus for drawing, depending on what we enjoyed or what inspired us in the morning, with tailored guidance.
Each workshop will respond to the seasons and have a different drawing focus.
February: Exploring tone and line, inspired by the dark, stark lines of a winter forest and the muted tones of the landscape to create create atmospheric monochromatic drawings. We'll also experiment with ice and water, exploring their properties to push the boundaries of what drawing can be.
May: A season of colour and abundance, exploring materials such as pastels and coloured pencils, and how we can combine colour washes with line to create drawings inspired by flowers, both abstract and figurative and at scale.
July: Exploring the elements of water and light as both subject and material. Using the natural watercourses in the garden (ponds, streams, a lake and even rain, possibly!) and natural light, we'll play with mark-making, shadows, and the ever-changing nature of water and reflection.
November: A season full of texture and decay, we'll explore how the yearly cycle and the dying back of nature can create beautiful, rich, layered drawings. The natural decaying process in plants will be inspiration and material for mark-making and new ways of drawing.
With all our workshops, we respond to the interests of individuals. Each participant will be able to follow their own path, with our guided support, as well as take part in structured activity and try new ideas and techniques through taught activities. Beginners welcome.
Led by artists Rachel Welford and Kathryn Welford
Small group: Maximum of 6
Materials provided, but feel free to bring your own sketchbooks or materials if you wish.
Lunch included.
Accommodation may be available at High Dalby House if you are interested in staying overnight. Please contact High Dalby House directly to make arrangements for your stay: https://www.highdalbyhouse.com/
Your drawing guides - Rachel and Kathryn Welford
You can find all about me on my about page so I won’t repeat that here! Kathryn is my sister and is also an artist and artist-educator! We will be running this workshop together. Although both artists with lots of shared experience in teaching art and leading workshops, our approach to making art is very different, so we complement each other very well!
Kathryn studied Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Fine Art & Drawing, Oxford University. She has taught and led education programmes in galleries and museums for over twenty years. She is a painter and also draws, focusing mainly on landscapes.
Kathryn is inspired by the textures and ‘messiness’ of gardens and of nature. She uses drawing to capture a feeling of a subject, creating drawings and paintings from observation but also enjoying the expressiveness of the material and process of making.
Follow Kathryn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welfordkathryn/?hl=en