Flower Painting in Acrylics - Southwell Library - Adult Learning

You’ll explore the process of creating expressive, contemporary flowers in acrylics in a relaxed and supportive setting. Whether you're completely new to painting or looking to build on your existing skills, this course will help you feel more confident using acrylics. Through a combination of tutor demonstrations and practical exercises tailored to your needs, you’ll learn techniques to bring your flowers to life while developing your own creative style.

On this course, you’ll be guided step-by-step through the process of creating expressive, contemporary flower paintings using acrylics. You’ll begin by exploring the fundamentals—such as how to handle acrylic paint, mix colours effectively, and use brushes and other tools with confidence. As the course progresses, you’ll learn how to design your composition, build layers, and create depth using a variety of painting techniques. You’ll experiment with mark-making, texture, and colour mixing to bring energy and expression into your work. The tutor will demonstrate different ways to approach flower painting—such as working from photographs, sketches, or imagination—and you’ll have plenty of time to apply these ideas in your own paintings.

Throughout the course, you’ll be encouraged to loosen up your style, try new techniques, and develop your own artistic voice. The teaching is flexible and responsive to your needs, with one-to-one guidance and group demonstrations that support both beginners and improvers. You’ll finish the course with a stronger understanding of how to use acrylics and a collection of your own expressive landscape paintings.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

- Select and interpret reference images or sketches to inform the composition

- Demonstrate control over basic acrylic painting techniques,

- Mix colours to create a range of new colours

- Apply a range of expressive techniques

- Experiment with and apply at least three different mark-making or textural techniques to create movement in your work

What you will need to bring to the course:

Acrylic paper/sketch pad

A4 canvas

white gesso

A range of synthetic paint brushes

photo reference

metallic palette knife

Acrylic paint (student grade):

Red (Magenta, Cadmium Red,

Yellow (Lemon and Cadmiun Yellow),

Blue (Ultramarine, and Cerulean),

Titanium white