CAT CROXFORD
Weekend Painting Courses 2025
PAINTING WEEKENDS
Cat runs weekend courses at Mays Farm Studio, a wonderful studio set on a farm in the middle of the South Oxfordshire countryside. She has been running courses for over 15 years and has a wealth of experience in teaching all levels. ​All materials are included in every course, you have your own easel to work from and guided tuition and demonstrations are given throughout the weekend.
WHAT TO EXPECT
All materials will be provided, including canvas, brushes and paint. You will be painting in working art studio with your own easel and table.
TIMINGS
Saturday starts at 10.00am, and finishes at 4.00pm,Sunday starts at 9.30am and finishes at 3.00pm
LUNCH
Please bring your own lunch. There will be biscuits and hot drinks.
ACCOMMODATION
The studio is close to Wallingford, Henley-on-Thames and Reading. A list of options can be found here
HOW TO BOOK
Find your course below, select BOOK to email Cat for payment details. To secure your place you only need pay £100 deposit, with the balance due 6 weeks before the course start date. If there are 8 or less weeks before the start date then the full amount is required.
Terms and Conditions are here
WAITING LISTS
If a course is showing fully booked, please email Cat admin@catcroxford.com to be added to the wait list, and to be advised if another course is added
EXPRESSIVE PORTRAITS
We explore planes of the face and large shapes to describe structure and form through a series of charcoal sketches. The emphasis is on proportion, understanding values and how to deal with contrasts. In the afternoon we start our portrait in Oil or Acrylic using simple tones of colour, exploring colour temperature and loose creative mark making. On the Sunday we continue with our painting following a lesson colour mixing, finding detail and developing a style. Suitable for all levels.
All materials are included, you need only bring lunch for both days. Tea and coffee are provided. Saturday 10-4, Sunday 930-3
£295
Deposit of £100 to secure your place, balance due 6 weeks before the course start date
April 19-20 (Easter)
June 7-8
8 places left
6 places left
Or email admin@catcroxford.com
TREESCAPES
Suitable for all levels. Using Cat's unique process, we will learn acrylic painting techniques, brushwork and layering, to create a painting full of depth and light. We start by following Cat's step by step guidance to paint a colourful woodland scene. On the second day, you can paint from your own photo inspiration or from our source material. Cat will provide guidance and support throughout the day, helping with composition, colour choices and process.
All materials are included, you need only bring lunch for both days. Tea and coffee are provided. Saturday 10-4, Sunday 930-3
£295
Deposit of £100 to secure your place, balance due 6 weeks before the course start date
June 21-22
3 places left
Or email admin@catcroxford.com
SEASCAPES
Suitable for all levels. A creative look at mark making, layering and colour with the sea as our inspiration. We sart by looking at the sea from a different perspective on the Saturday morning, examining changes in blues and greens, tone and texture. We follow this up with a second painting exploiting shapes and proportion. On Sunday we concentrate on one painting on canvas: you can either work from your own photos or select from one from specially chosen images.
All materials are included, you need only bring lunch for both days. Tea and coffee are provided. Saturday 10-4, Sunday 930-3
£295
Deposit of £100 to secure your place, balance due 6 weeks before the course start date
March 15-16​
June 14-15
2 places left
7 places left
Or email admin@catcroxford.com
IT BEGINS WITH COLOUR
Suitable for all levels. The aim of the course is to understand how we can create a colour vision for our paintings, a unique way to express what we experience when we look at a landscape. We start the Saturday by working into sketchbooks exploring the properties of colour and colour mixing. Everyone has a colour wheel for reference and we also create further tools to help us with colour choice and identification. In the afternoon we use restricted palettes to paint a series of landscape paintings. The second day is a chance for you to paint a landscape on canvas in your own chosen palette.
All materials are included, you need only bring lunch for both days. Tea and coffee are provided. Saturday 10-4, Sunday 930-3
£295
Deposit of £100 to secure your place, balance due 6 weeks before the course start date
April 12-13
April 26-27
8 Places Left
Fully Booked
Or email admin@catcroxford.com
EXCITING LANDSCAPES
We start the day examining composition, perspective, and reducing landscape elements to basic shapes. We use charcoal and a limited palette of paint, together with a variety of mark making tools to create a series of expressive compositions in our sketchbooks (provided). In the afternoon we choose one of those sketches to develop further into a painting on large primed paper. The second day is an opportunity to work from your own photographs and inspiration using the same process of starting with small sketches and then developing onto canvas. You can use oils, acrylics or both. For all levels.
All materials are included, you need only bring lunch for both days. Tea and coffee are provided. Saturday 10-4, Sunday 930-3
£295
Deposit of £100 to secure your place, balance due 6 weeks before the course start date
March 29-30
6 places left
Or email admin@catcroxford.com
"Thanks Cat, and thanks for a terrific weekend. You work so hard, and work us hard too – which was exactly what I wanted; to be pushed to go further. I learned such a lot from you because you are an excellent teacher, particularly your ability to talk clearly as you demonstrate what you’re doing. Thanks for all your input and encouragement – and the fun!"
"I'd just like to say again how much fun you made the course and such a brilliant teacher, I still can't believe how much I achieved in such a short space of time"
"Thank you so much Cat for sharing some of the insights that you have gained in such an informed, encouraging and sensitive way - I am inspired to take more steps"
"You are an inspiring teacher and gave me the confidence to pick up a paint brush and apply paint to a canvas (a first for me!)"