Working With Natural Art Materials
Learn with artists and makers who work with local natural materials. We offer one-off classes and talks, online and in-person, sharing skills for making handmade natural paints, inks and art materials.
2026 Long Online Programmes
2026 Short Online Classes & Talks
2026 In Person Courses
With Caroline Ross
22nd – 26th June 2026
You can also join ‘Drawn From the Wild: Making Natural Art Materials Level Two - 5 Days With Caroline Ross’ which will take place from the 29th June - 3rd July 2026. These two courses have been scheduled back-to-back in June to allow participants the opportunity to attend both for a richer, more in-depth exploration of natural material making.
Times: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday
Location: Brentor Village Hall, Brentor, Tavistock, Devon PL19 0LW, UK
Course Fee: (includes all raw materials, lunches, and refreshments) Pay In Full: £530
Or Pay A Deposit: Pay £100 deposit now (Pay the remaining £450 by January 2026) (Total: £550 Including a £20 admin fee)
Learn the essential skills to create your own art materials from natural resources. You'll leave equipped with a personal art kit and the confidence to gather and process pigments, make paints, pastels, inks, and more; anywhere your creative journey may take you.
Dates: 29th June - 3rd July 2026, Times: 10-4pm Monday-Friday
Location: Brentor Village Hall, Brentor, Tavistock, Devon PL19 0LW
Course Fees: (includes all raw materials, lunches, and refreshments) Pay In Full: £540
Or Pay A Deposit: Pay £100 deposit now (Pay the remaining £460 by January 2026) (Total: £560 Including a £20 admin fee)
So you want to go further into the wild, time travel some more, go a bit deeper with drawing and painting with Earth?
This is an in-depth five days on methods and materials close to Caroline’s heart such as metal point, graphite based drawing tools, conte style tinted pastels, semi-precious pigment processing and paints, artist’s char blacks, plus tannin inks and sketchbook boxes…
It is suitable for anyone but especially those who have experimented even a little with making their own art materials before. For those who have enjoyed Caroline’s first book, studied online, in person, or privately with natural arts materials teachers before, this course was made especially with you in mind! We’ll be creating bespoke materials of the highest quality to augment your growing natural art kit.
2026 Long Online Programmes
Printing & Painting
On Textiles
A Year Long Course
January 2026 - January 2027
This year long course will explore a variety of techniques for printmaking and painting on textiles using natural dyes, inks, and pigments.
Online sessions and demonstrations taught by artists and craftspeople, giving you a broad overview of the different approaches to making enduring patterns and prints on fabric that are light-fast and wash-fast.
Lake Pigment Making
A Deep Dive
A Year Long Course
January 2026 - January 2027
A year long online programme exploring deeper into the history and chemistry of lake pigment making
Following a historical trajectory of making lake pigments from ancient Egyptian recipes, to medieval approaches, and modern day techniques. Taught by Natalie Stopka, Lucy Mayes, and Julie Beeler, leading monthly live online sessions covering different perspectives and processes for practicing this age-old approach to pigment making.
Making & Working
With Natural Art Materials
An Online Programme of Demonstrations and Talks Starting in April 2026 - April 2027
Following on from Natural Colour Making For Artists, a yearlong course that took place over 2024/25, this follow-on programme offers deeper dives into approaches to making and working with natural art materials for drawing and painting. Sharing practices for working with plant and earth based colour, building on skills & knowledge over the year to create an artist colour palette of paints, inks, pastels, and pigments. This programme will be going into greater depth over a wide range of approaches to making and working with natural art materials from pastels, to inks, from metal-point, to gesso & more.
Natural Colour Making For Artists
Online Learning Programme
A 12 part online course sharing techniques for making natural art materials for drawing, painting, and printmaking from earths, plants, and fungi.
Recordings Available
Taught By Julie Beeler, Caroline Ross, Annie Hogg, Natalie Stopka, Sophie Holt, Lucy Mayes, Flora Arbuthnott, & Carolyn Sweeney
In-depth sessions offer a deep exploration into the chemistry, creation, and contemporary applications of verdigris pigments. Verdigris, a term encompassing a wide range of copper-based pigments, offers a rich and expansive subject within the world of handmade and historical art materials.
Across all sessions, you’ll gain a practical and conceptual understanding of verdigris, from ancient recipes to modern adaptations, while learning how to create a nuanced palette of greens, blues, purples, and blacks using copper-based methods. You will learn how to make a plethora of pigments, paints, inks, tinted varnishes and learn how to use verdigris as an additive in other pigment and paint contexts.
“From believing that we must work with nature, to seeing us as working within nature, to understanding that we are nature working.”
Follow us on Instagram @plants_and_colour
