The Latest News

Soraya French Christmas Open 2017

Soraya French Fine Art wil be open as usual for the 2017 Project Workshops open weekend on the 2nd - 3rd December.

Do call by for a chat and catch up with us, we will be glad to see you all.

Christmas Open 2017

Project Workshops Open Studios
 

Christmas Sale Weekend
2nd  - 3rd December 2017
10am - 4pm

Take the opportunity to visit and chat to the artists in a friendly relaxed atmosphere away from the busy high street whilst enjoying a mince pie or two.

The Mall Gallery London Workshop 2017

Contemporary Landscapes Workshop with Soraya French VPSWA SFP

This one day workshop with Soraya French VPSWA will take place in the prestigious Threadneedle Space at the Mall Galleries on Saturday the 8th July.

In this one day workshop Soraya will show you how to interpret your source material to create a lively and expressive contemporary landscape using acrylic colours. The value of underpainting to add yet another dimension to your painting. 

The day will start with an introduction to the versatile medium of acrylics and the possible exciting textural effects using Golden products followed by a demonstration and plenty of individual tuition.

The work shop will run from 10.30-3.30 with a break for lunch.

The cost of the work shop is £90 per person

To book a place on this one day workshop please contact Rebecca Cotton at:- rebeccacottonswa@gmail.com.

Payment on booking will need to be sent to:- The society of women Artists, Foxcote cottage, Foxcote, Cheltenham, Glos, GL54 4LP

If you could also let Rebecca Cotton know via email that you have sent the payment and intend to take a place on the workshop, this would be most helpful.

Places are limited so please book promptly to avoid disappointment.

Painting Holiday --Portugal. 14-21st October 2017

You are welcome to join us on this exciting Painting Holiday to The Western Algarve in Portugal.

4th - 21st  October  2017

The Algarve is well known for it’s amazing light and vibrant colours, from vivid blue skies and turquoise waters to the lush green vegetation along with the rustic  traditional tiled buildings. The Western Algarve is more rural and peaceful than the Central Algarve with it’s sleepy harbours, quiet mountain villages and unspoilt coastline. The holiday will be based at Villa Termal Das Caldas De Monchique Spa Resort, which is in the National Park of the Serra De Monchique. We will spend the first and last painting days at Caldas as there are many painting subjects within the village and complex, including Portuguese architecture, cobbled streets lined with deciduous trees and dappled sunlight. There are buildings perched down the valley giving various vantage points for painting. We will also visit the town and fishing harbour of Lagos, the coastal town of Praia Da Luz and the harbours of Alvor or Burgau. Subjects include multi-coloured fishing boats, churches, panoramic coastal views and palm trees. With the exception of brushes all art materials are supplied and included in the price of this holiday, so you don't have to worry about what to bring. You are also recomended to bring your own sketchbook

Holiday Details  £1195 Excluding Flights. Please see Alpha Painting Holidays Website for full details:--www.alphapaintingholidays.com

Airport Transfer will be available from Faro Airport on the arrival date at set times throughout the day. There are flights from various UK airports. Please call for details/advice on flights and pick-up times.  

Painting Course - There will be 5 days tuition plus one day off, where you are free to relax or come on the excursion, which is optional and is included in the price. You are free to paint of course on the day off, but there will be no tuition. The deposit is £350 per person.

 

 

Please contact Alpha Painting Holidays direct to book. - Telephone 01934 733877 
or email joinus@alphapaintingholidays.com or write to: 

Alpha Painting Holidays, Unit 4A, Kirklea Farm, Church Lane, Badgworth, Axbridge, Somerset. BS26 2QH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Open Weekend 3rd & 4th Dec 2016

Christmas Open Weekend 3rd & 4th December 2016 As in previous years The French Collection Studio Gallery will be open all weekend Christmas Shopping Weekend 3rd & 4th December 2016. 10am until 4pm The special early dates of this year’s Project Workshops ‘Christmas Sale’ weekend provide a great opportunity to get those special presents ticked off the list and even order bespoke gifts for that person who has everything! Doors open at 10am on both days and our artists are ready to welcome you and show you the marvellous work they create and to talk about the skilled processes involved.  There will be a vast range of bespoke, original art work on show and plenty of shopping opportunities too – many of the artists offer lessons and demonstrations for groups and a voucher for a day or weekend course can make an original Christmas gift idea for the friend who has everything!  Entry for our Christmas Shopping weekend is free and there is ample free parking and disabled toilet facilities. Large parties and children under supervision are very welcome. Put the date in your diary now for this popular Open Studios Weekend.. Christmas Open Studio 3rd & 4th Dec 2016.

2017 Workshops

Workshops for 2017 at our studio in the heart of Hampshire are now available to book. Please see our workshops page for more information.

Spring Open Studios 2016

 

Christmas Open Weekend 21st - 22nd November 2015

As in previous years The French Collection Studio Gallery will be open all weekend

Christmas Shopping Weekend 2015
21st & 22nd November 10am until 4pm

The special early dates of this year’s Project Workshops ‘Christmas Sale’ weekend provide a great opportunity to get those special presents ticked off the list and even order bespoke gifts for that person who has everything! You will be welcomed with a complimentary glass of wine or a hot drink and mince pies. Doors open at 10am on both Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd November and our artists are ready to welcome you and show the marvellous work they create and to talk about the skilled processes involved. 

Glass Blowing demonstrations will be given throughout both days in the glassmaking workshop of experts Mark Taylor and David Hill, who this year will be showing the techniques they use to 
re-create the intricate patterns of 18th Century lead crystal as well as producing a colourful range of beautiful, individually blown crystal tree decorations. The Talos Art Foundry will also be open, with a display showing how bronze sculptures are made and a selection of recent projects under construction. An exhibition of work by artist Nicola Ravenscroft, recently cast at the foundry, will be on display in Studio 12 and will include new work by Talos head chaser, Matt Duke. Resident artist Amy Goodman will also be showing two major new sculptures under construction in her studio: her ‘Cedar of Lebanon’ for Winchester University and a magnificent steel balustrade depicting hunting dogs with pheasants and hares, which Amy is making for a private house in Derbyshire. Sculptor Damian Rochford has a selection of new pieces prepared over the summer. Marek Woznica is excited to be showing his new hare design. There will be an interesting exhibition in the Life Studio show casing some of the local talent.

There will be a vast range of bespoke, original art work on show and plenty of shopping opportunities too – many of the artists offer lessons and demonstrations for groups and a voucher for a day or weekend course can make an original Christmas gift idea for the friend who has everything! 

Entry for our Christmas Shopping weekend is free and there is ample free parking and disabled toilet facilities. Large parties and children under supervision are very welcome. Put the date in your diary now for this popular Open Studios Weekend..

Christmas Open Studios - 
21st and 22nd November 2015.

Soraya French Exhibition 2nd--17th October 2016

Spring Open Weekend 2015

Open Studios Weekend 2015
16^th & 17^th May, 10am through until 5pm

The artists at Project Workshops are already preparing their studios in readiness for the increasingly popular spring Project Workshops Open weekend, which this year is on the 16^th and 17^th May. Our open weekends are a rare chance to explore the studios of some of the best artists and craftsmen in the area and be the first to see their new work in the process of being made. All of the artists will be on hand to share their secrets and demonstrate their skills - it’s a great day out for all the family – and entry is absolutely free.

Last year marked the 100^th anniversary of the start of the first world war, and we were particularly thrilled to be able to show Amy Goodman’s life size memorial to the horses which perished in the conflict under construction in the granary gallery, giving visitors a unique insight into how  a monumental piece of public sculpture is actually made. This year marks the 2ooth anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, and once again we are proud to be able to offer visitors the opportunity to see a major memorial to the British soldiers who took part being made in the foundry. The sculpture is being made by Project Workshops artist Vivi Mallock, and follows a number of major works which have left Project Workshops during the past year, including a magnificent bronze by artist Georgie Welch commemorating the truce when British and German troops left their trenches on Christmas Day 1914 and played football in no-man’s land.

To complement our tradition of allowing visitors to see how things are made, we will again be hosting an exhibition of experimental sculpture and work in progress in the huge grain store at Project Workshops, including macabre skeletal figures by Amanda and Bjorn Sjoling and new work by Alexander Brewood and Project Workshops director Richard Atkinson-Willes all recently returned from exhibition in London. 

For those who missed our Christmas exhibition, there’s another chance to see Marek Woznica’s amazing pewter chess set, which is the feature exhibit on all the posters and flyers for this year’s Open Studios weekend and Marc Johnson will be returning to exhibit a selection of his fine bespoke jewellery. Painters Linda Powell, Sally Milligan and sculptor Damian Rochford, who had only just joined us this time last year, now have an impressive collection of new work to show and are well established members of the remarkable team at Project Workshops. We can hardly believe that glassmakers Mark Taylor and David Hill have been with us for 20 years this year, in which time they have developed from specialist manufacturers of historical glass into a world authority on all aspects of antique and period glassmaking techniques. Their research into the glass of ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, renaissance Venice and even the English Georgian period is valued worldwide and we are very proud that much of their ground-breaking research has been done here at Project Workshops. Mark and David will be exhibiting a selection of their hand-made glass and demonstrating how much of it was made throughout the weekend – a spectacle that astonishes visitors to Project Workshops year after year.

We like to think there is something to interest everyone at Project Workshops, and just to make sure, there will be a delicious BBQ and stalls of local fare supplied by Parsonage Farm, including home-made cakes to enjoy with a cup of tea in the garden. Put the dates in your diary - there is ample free parking, disabled toilet facilities and children under supervision are very welcome.
We look forward to your visit.