This five-day intensive painting workshop will take place at my studio in Arklow (Ireland) and students can choose to stay with us for the duration of the course*.

Daily timetable
10am - 11am intro & demo
11am - 1pm: painting with model
1pm - 2pm: lunch
2pm - 4.30pm: painting with model
5.30pm - 6.30pm: lectures on technique, colour theory, art history
6.30pm: dinner

Cost and options
€550 non-residential, including lunch, linen canvas, easels, paint (basic palette), solvents. (No brushes provided)
Dinner with wine @ €12 per day optional.
€950 residential (single bedroom), inc. all the above plus all meals, pick-up & drop-off at Wicklow train station.
€750 reduced-rate residential camping option (inc. all meals, etc.) for those prepared to camp in our garden.

There are 9 places plus one scholarship aimed at a student in 2nd or 3rd level education. Application is portfolio based.

To apply
Please email info@conorwalton.com:
• 4 jpeg images of recent work (painting or drawing) approx. file size 2mb or less.
• Please state your age and give a summary of your artistic education, if any.
• State whether you wish to attend on a residential/non-residential basis.
• If applying for the scholarship, please state this and include your current educational status.
• please title your email "Conor Walton Summer School 2013".

Deadline for application
Postponed until further notice.


If you require further information, please email info@conorwalton.com

*The residential option is to facilitate students who either a) may not want to move a muscle after eight hours intensive engagement on the course, or b) wish to spend long summer evenings talking art and philosophy and partaking in the life of the household. The accomodation, while comfortable, is part of a family home, not a five-star hotel, and bathrooms are shared.

 

Testimonials

"Conor is a brilliant and supportive teacher, with a vast wealth of knowledge of practical and theoretical art and art history, philosophy, classics, and he is a world-class painter. He is an independent thinker, and (consequently) is one of the few people who understand my jokes."
- Fergus Ryan (facebook.com/fergus.a.ryan)

"What a great week Conor. I've always been a great admirer of your work and was fortunate enough to have sat for you to have my portrait painted, so I eagerly awaited this workshop - I wasn't disappointed! Thanks to your generous tuition during the painting process each day and your insightful lectures on the art and craft of painting each evening, I was pleasantly exhausted by the end of the week. Superb venue, genuine hospitality (thanks Jane), great company (despite Fergus Ryan's jokes) and a very memorable and truly educational experience. I've no doubt your Summer School will go from strength to strength."
- Neil Condron (facebook.com/condron.ie)

"Conor you are world class indeed, thanks for a memorable week of learning."
- Ruth Mannion (facebook.com/ruth.mannion.9)

"Sad to leave the @conorwalton70 figure painting workshop. By far one of the most challenging workshops I've taken and I'll be digesting the lessons learned for years to come! Thank you!"
- Eric Johnson (instagram@eric_johnson_arts)

"It has been a tough week of intense concentration, learning and full of interesting advice and assistance from Conor. A week to thoroughly immerse yourself in all that is 'paint', with the extremely knowledgeable and talented artist that he is. His obvious love of his craft has made it a fantastic workshop for anyone who wants to learn How, With What, What's in it and How to apply paint, and create artwork. It will certainly help me in my quest to become a better artist."
- Angela Cahill (instagram@angelacahill263)

"Learned so much and tried several different new techniques"
- Caitlyn Rooke (instagram@caitlynrookepainter)

"I really enjoyed the course and I would recommend it to other painters. Sophie was a great model barely moving a muscle all week. The studio was a great space with consistent light. The hosts and participants generated a very friendly atmosphere. Lunchtimes was really lovely too and having the ability to skulk off into the corridor to study Conor's paintings up close at lunch was a great pleasure/resource especially after he explained some of the techniques during the class. After the course was finished I noticed a change in my paintings. I feel I have a lot more tools in my box which help me to figure out the painting problems that I'm faced with. I learned a lot from when Conor came around to see our progress, sometimes spending up to 15 mins giving us individual advice....Quality stuff."
- Brian Manning (brianoart.com/blog)

"I highly recommend Conor’s course, it’s informative & great for expanding knowledge & techniques. I loved using Conor’s limited palette & learning to apply using his style combining palette knife & brush.
I would however suggest your knowledge & feel for oils is already strong to get the full benefit of Conor’s experience & knowledge, not for beginners."
- Sally Mollan (facebook.com/sally.mollan)

"There are weeks running like a river, one equal to the other, always the same so that you can't tell them apart from each other when you turn back and watch. This was not of this type. From the beginning, it was charged with expectations and fears, and I must say that it has not disappointed.
It was an intense week, made of commitment and work, but also of sharing and knowledge. Living in a family home with so many people may not be easy if you can't connect with those who populate this little community. Jane and Conor's family is already a small community, the students and model turned out to be sincere and pleasant people, and the little week in Wicklow has turned into an experience marked by character, intelligence, sensitivity and stories of these new friends.
Wicklow is a small quiet town on the sea. I recall its intense green, the smell of the sea, the clean and sparkling air that enters your lungs, its prominent Norman fortress on the strait that divides Ireland from Wales. And why not? Even for its pubs, loud and full of live music.
Conor is an artist with a great passion and will for teaching, serious and demanding in his work, who leaves nothing to chance and if you have eyes to see, you understand that you are in front of a person who has thought through the week in all its aspects. Isabella turned out to be a professional, serious and capable model of an impressive beauty, capable of overcoming the predictable and justifiable embarrassment and establishing a relationship with all of us. In this context, drawing was a struggle, but with great beauty."
- Riccardo Bonelli (facebook.com/richardbonelli1)

"I really enjoyed the course and found it highly stimulating and challenging. I believe I learned a great deal throughout the week, both in technique and through discussion."
- Zsolt Basti (facebook.com/zsolt.basti)  

"After spending the week at Conor's studio, emersed in an atmosphere of focused learning and supportive expert tuition, I've come away with sound artistic strategies grounded in art history and colour theory which I hope to apply to my own practice and future work. A very pleasant professional atmosphere , great to meet other artists and well kitted out large studio."
- Melissa O'Faherty (www.facebook.com/melissa.ofaherty)

"Thanks Conor, I learned a lot from watching you in action. And from what you said to me. I also met really lovely people including Jane who could not have been more hospitable and served up delicious grub. I feel better able to paint on my own now and that's what I'm going to do so thank you for that. Pandora's Box has been opened! I will certainly recommend your workshop to friends who wants to learn to paint better."
- Yvonne Pettitt (www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000547911839)

"Conor is truly a master in his own right. His pursuit and dedication to his craft not only shined through his paintings but also through the incredible knowledge he has obtained from his relentless researches and experiments.
The Summer School was an intensive 5 days of bootcamp, at the end of each day, I was mentally and physically exhausted. Conor kept the class worthwhile, even with major jet lag and not feeling all that well, I was never feeling sleepy or bored. I've learned so much about myself, the craft, the attitude, valuable skills and knowledge of what it takes to be a good painter.
I never thought I would be accepted into his program since I had no art background. Even though it was surreal to find out that I was offered a place in his Summer school, I was so nervous. I was afraid to be lost in the class since I was in a career that had zero interaction with art and just started to really paint a year ago. But I was so wrong! Conor and all my classmates were so encouraging, supportive and all working towards learning to be better artists.
Now I just can't wait to implement what I have learned in this program into my future work. I highly recommend Conor's course."
- Chia Schuler (www.instagram.com/chiachunart)  

"Conor Walton offers a master class that offers much interest and ease in participation. A wonderful opportunity to indulge yourself in timeless instruction, skill sharing and a focused end goal.
The residential option was most comfortable and I felt very welcome and well looked after.
It was wonderful to spend time in a working artists studio space and relate this to my own endeavours.
Conor is a knowledgeable and talented artist who is open and particular about sharing his methods.
After painting for twenty years it is true there is always room to learn. Currently digesting!
- Tammy Andrews (www.instagram.com/tammyandrewsartist)