Paint & Draw On Everything
With Caroline Ross
Ready to break free from paper and bring your natural inks and paints to many different types of surfaces? Caroline Ross will guide you through her decades-long passion for decorating surfaces of all kinds, from wood and cloth to leather and suede. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or just love to experiment, these two sessions will inspire your artistic journey. The course consists of two stand-alone sessions which can be taken on their own or together (for a discount).
Caroline has been delighting (and infuriating) friends and relatives for over four decades by delighting in decorating her clothes, bags, shoes, face, books, walls and belongings. Her love of surface design is inspired by many sources worldwide, but for this course she’ll be delving into her own cultural heritage, including William Morris, the Picts (ancient Scottish ancestors known for covering themselves and their belongings with intricate drawings), Roman murals, Van Gogh’s letters, the Bloomsbury Group’s painted furniture, Mediaeval painted churches, the cave art of ancient Europe…
Part One:
An Online Demonstration With Caroline Ross
Wednesday 11th June 4-6pm BST - Join live or watch the recording
Preparation, priming and suitable drawing media and paints for working on paper, card, found and repurposed papers, shells, driftwood, wood and board, furniture, walls and cloth.
We’ll look at why acrylic-based paints and permanent markers seem to have taken over the world and look at how shop-bought paints can be more safely used, as well as suggesting several eco-friendlier home-made alternatives and ancient but still excellent methods.
We’ll cover collage, primers and sealants as bases to work on and compare the finishes of different paints and inks we can use, trouble-shooting gloss, adhesion and permanence. Featured projects will include repurposed wooden boxes, permanent drawing with metal point on prepared grounds, and colourful paint choices for fabrics, bags and more.
There will be ample time for questions and students will receive a tailor made pdf after the course featuring simple recipes, any links, books and artists we have covered, plus answers to any great questions we covered.
Part Two:
An Online Demonstration With Caroline Ross
Wednesday 18th June 4-6pm BST - Join live or watch the recording
Painting on leather, suede, parchment, buckskin, repurposed leather items, shoes and leather clothes. This is a specialty of Caroline’s, she has been developing and testing methods for permanent decoration of leather goods since she started learning to naturally tan leather over a decade ago. Where other culture’s traditions have favoured intricate beading or applique, Caroline developed inks and paints based on traditional illuminated manuscripts and rediscovered wall-paintings of the British Isles. These time- tested inks and paints proved resilient (even sometimes when whitewashed over by Puritans…) so that detailed designs drawn on her belongings don’t fade in the sunlight or wash off in the rain.
We will cover how to prepare surfaces, make and use a variety of home-made natural inks, glue paints and stains for use on all kinds of leather goods, as well as how to make them last longer using waxes, gentle washing techniques and correct handling. This session is a perfect addition to those who love to thrift and up-cycle well-made vintage garments and bags as well as tanners looking for new ways to express themselves with their craft. Featured projects will include camouflage gloves, a variety of chamois, suede and buckskin bags, forest floor shoes and clothes, vintage leather cases and more. There will be ample time for questions and students will receive a tailor made pdf after the course featuring simple recipes, any links, books and artists we have covered, plus answers to any great questions we covered.
Two Online Demonstrations With Caroline Ross
Part One Learning Outcomes:
Prepare Various Surfaces: Prime and seal paper, wood, cloth, walls, and found objects for compatibility with paints and drawing media.
Explore Paints and Markers: Understand acrylic-based paints, their dominance, and eco-friendlier alternatives, including homemade and historical methods.
Work with Mixed Media: Compare finishes of paints, inks, and primers while troubleshooting issues like gloss, adhesion, and permanence.
Complete Creative Projects: Decorate wooden boxes, create metal point drawings, and paint vibrant fabrics and textiles.
Adopt Sustainable Practices: Learn environmentally conscious art methods and material choices.
Part Two Learning Outcomes:
Prepare Leather Surfaces: Learn techniques to prepare leather, suede, parchment, buckskin, and repurposed items for painting and decoration.
Use Natural Inks and Paints: Create and apply durable, homemade natural inks, glue paints, and stains inspired by traditional illuminated manuscripts and wall paintings.
Ensure Durability: Understand methods to make designs permanent using waxes, gentle washing techniques, and proper handling practices.
Decorate Leather Goods: Work on projects like gloves, bags, shoes, vintage cases, and clothes using innovative designs and techniques.
Incorporate Upcycling: Gain skills to thrift and upcycle vintage leather garments and accessories creatively.
Caroline Ross
About Caroline
Caroline Ross is an artist, writer and teacher living by the sea in Bournemouth. Her debut book ‘Found and Ground: A Practical Guide to Making your own Foraged Paints’ was published by Search Press in June 2023. She is writing the follow up about ancient and foraged drawing materials, ‘Drawn From the Wild’ to be published spring 2025. Using what nature provides and repurposing what humans discard are a large part of her practice. After the rooks have feasted on the riverbank, the empty mussel shells become paint palettes. The seasonally moulted flight feathers of local swans and geese become quill pens and brushes. Chalk dug out from their setts by badgers is left in piles in the woods, where she gathers it and take it home to make gouache. Caroline makes paints from foraged earth pigments from around the UK, and art tools and inks from natural, wild, and found materials such as oak galls, rusty nails, elderberries, bay leaves and cherry tree gum. The natural fluctuations of materials and the botanical ink stains or ochre paints forming prepared grounds on paper, all suggest forms with which she works.
For how long will you have access to the resources?
You will be able to access the recordings for three months from the end of the course.
(Until the 11th September 2025)
You will be able to download the PDF resource to keep forever.
Want to Gift this class to someone?
The best way is to buy a gift voucher for her. They can then sign up to the class using the voucher code.
This means that you can surprise them with the gift, and then the recipient can register with their email address to access all the resources.
Policy on Sharing Course Content
Thank you for your interest in our programmes. To ensure a high-quality experience and to respect the intellectual property rights of our teachers, we ask all participants to adhere to the following guidelines:
Do Not Share Recording Links or PDFs: The content provided during our sessions, including recording links and PDFs, is the intellectual property of our instructors. These materials are meant exclusively for the use of registered participants. Please refrain from sharing these resources with anyone outside of the program. Unauthorized distribution can undermine the value of the content and the hard work of our educators.
Do Not Share Zoom Links: Each session has a limited number of spaces to maintain an interactive and engaging environment. Sharing Zoom links with individuals who are not registered disrupts this balance and can lead to overcrowding, detracting from the experience of all participants. Please ensure that Zoom links are kept confidential and are not shared with others.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in these matters. By following these guidelines, you help us protect the intellectual property of our teachers and ensure that all participants have a fair and enjoyable learning experience.