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EMILY BALL AT SEAWHITE‍

CONTEMPORARY DRAWING AND PAINTING COURSES‍

UP ON THE CHALK DOWNS

Out in the Landscape with

Emily Ball this April

Image: student making studies on the chalk down at Sullington (Emily Ball)‍

“Up on the chalk hill, the ancient landscape of the South Downs unfolds.  The weathered, white worn chalk paths climb and wrap around the shape of the hill. Above us, the soaring space is filled with bird song carried on the breeze, as cloud shadows drift across the land. The emerging wild flowers push through the thin crust of soil and beneath our feet lie flints and hidden barrows, holding their quiet secrets. We are held by the land, swept up into the folds of fields and distant views.” ~ Emily Ball

Dear  ‍Visitor ‍

‍At the end of April, Emily warmly invites you to join her for a very special five day-landscape course that is an opportunity to immerse yourself in nature and explore how its shifting qualities can be captured in paint.

 Up on the Chalk Downs – Drawing and Painting

April 27th – May 1st 2026 (Monday - Friday)

Tutor Emily Ball

Cost - £580

This course comes in two inspiring halves:

Two days on the chalk hills – full of wonder, beauty, and sensory delight. You’ll make lots of studies that capture the magic of the landscape: the dry, powdery chalk paths etched into the hillside; wide open skies alive with the trill of skylarks; sunshine and shadows dancing across the field; stony soil threaded with flowers; the faint scent of blossom and the gentle hum of bees in the air.

Three days in the Seawhite Studio – using your on-location studies to develop paintings that truly convey the feeling of being on the ancient chalk hills.

Emily’s intention is that through this course you will be able to: boost your confidence in working from nature;  explore new ways of engaging with the landscape; develop your creative courage working with materials; and produce work that is fresh, engaging and uniquely your own. 

Getting out in the landscape in April – with Emily guiding you through bespoke exercises that really get you seeing, experiencing and painting – means that you are set up for the rest of Spring/Summer to successfully and meaningfully work outdoors in nature

Image: Walking Image: Walking the land IV, Oils on Arches Oil Paper, 57xm x 38cm, 2021 (Emily Ball)‍

Read on to find out more, or click on the button below and head straight to our website to book your place:‍

“I found the course intense, challenging and exciting. Intense because there was so much information to take on board, so many new ideas to think about. Challenging because I’d become stuck in old familiar ways of working and I was being introduced to other possibilities. Exciting because I was being pushed and loved it!” ~ Anne Hignell‍

Up on the Chalk Downs

Days 1&2 : working on location

at Sullington Manor Barn

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Image: student making studies on the chalk down at Sullington (Emily Ball)‍

Up on the Chalk Downs takes its inspiration from the white chalk hills and sweeping valleys that charactise the South Downs.  The course begins by walking up to the top of the hill from Sullington Church, just outside Storrington*. Hidden views are revealed as you climb the steep carved paths and wild flowers and bird song augment the journey. On a clear day you can see the Surrey Hills in one direction and - climb a little further - the sea.

*Please note: It is essential that anyone attending the course is physically strong and fit enough to be able to make a 20 minute walk up a steep hill and be out in the landscape for a large part of days 1 & 2.‍

Image: student making studies on the chalk down at Sullington (Emily Ball)‍

Working outside for most of the day the focus of the first  two days is spending time making experimental drawings which will provide inspiration and reference for paintings later in the week.

Working outdoors can feel a little overwhelming at first:  making the most of your time and finding ways to really connect with your surroundings can be hard to do. It’s not always easy to settle into the experience, and many of us can feel unsure regarding the best materials to use when working outdoors.  This is where Emily’s experience comes in. Drawing on years of working in the landscape, for this course she will provide each participant with a thoughtfully chosen set of materials—perfect for playful, mixed media exploration.

Each kit includes a compact selection of essentials: charcoal, inks and pencil for black and white studies; oil pastels, soft chalk pastels, R&F pigment sticks for colour work; along with prepared papers and boards, including beautiful Arches Oil paper—everything you need; nothing you don’t.‍‍

Image: chalk down  painting study (Frances Knight)‍

Through simple processes of mixing, layering, and working directly onto the surface, you’ll discover how to build rich, subtle colour in a painterly, expressive way. The combination of materials encourage unexpected marks, textures, and moments of surprise—capturing not just what you see, but the feeling of being in the landscape, with all its shifting light and atmosphere.

Image: studies made on the chalk hill, Shafina Eddicott

“I loved being given exercises up on the hill ,with everything I needed to make studies. Emily's suggested studies made me excited, less overwhelmed...I trusted the process and felt immersed in my surroundings.” ~  Sandra Roche 

Image: Sandra Roche making paintings from studies‍

Devoting time to really experiencing a place – noticing, being still, being quiet -  is  a precious and profound experience that is fundamental to Emily’s approach to painting.  The benefits to working in this way are many and varied.  Here we have listed just a few:

• Rather than plans for paintings, the studies you make will be a compilation of things seen, felt, heard
• The act of creating studies will encourage you to engage in a dialogue with your work, while exploring, gathering and researching
• Quiet, mindful noticing will enable you to create studies that capture a multi-sensory sense of place and fleeting experiences
• Extended time immersed in a landscape will help you become familiar and identify the specific qualities of the landscape that are important to you, so that your response and memory of place is uniquely yours.‍

Image: painted studies of the chalk hill, Sarita Robson‍

"We spent a wonderful 2 days sitting high in the Downs, encouraged to look past the 'overwhelming views' and draw the sounds, the smells, the wind....what it meant to be there, on that day, in your body.  What is the essence of the South Downs landscape for you? Emily’s encouragement and attention to packing a kit of materials, finding the right exercises to warm you up and push you forward in your work was amazing.”  ~ Sarita Robson  

Image: blue skies over the chalk downs (Emily Ball)

Spotlight on Sullington Manor Farm

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Image credit: Sullington Manor Farm

Your base for these two days on location is the magical Sullington Manor Farm:   A family run farm, café and events venue.  It’s definitely worth taking a look at their website and Instagram feed to get a feel for how special this place is:

“We have worked with nature for over thirty years with a long-term commitment to restoring nature and to the sustainability of the landscape.

Sullington Manor Farm is a special place with years of history coursing through the core of this ancient farm. There is plenty to explore with miles and miles of bridleways and footpaths – escape into nature!

Grahame, Gail and Anna welcome you to Sullington Manor Farm where they continue to work alongside the landscape, ensuring the importance of wildlife. We have also diversified, over the years, with self-catering holiday cottages, café and wedding venue.” ~ Sullington Manor Farm

Click on the link below to find out more about Sullington Manor Farm:‍

Image credit: Sullington Manor Farm‍

They also offer a selection of charming cottages to rent—perfect if you’d like to stay right in the landscape that will inspire your work. This would be a lovely way to fully immerse yourself;  with time in the mornings and evenings to walk, draw, and explore at your own pace.

If you’re travelling from further afield, staying on the farm could turn the course into a relaxed, retreat-like experience—one that would leave you feeling refreshed and creatively recharged.

You can find more details about booking accommodation here: https://www.sullingtonmanorfarm.co.uk/cottages‍

Up on the Chalk Downs

Days 3-5: at the Seawhite Studio‍

Image: Sarita Robson working on paintings from her Chalk Down studies at the Seawhite Studio‍

The two days in the landscape will  be followed by three days in the studio using the  material gathered and studies made on location to start to develop a series of paintings. Emily will demonstrate the many possibilities that paint can offer. She will help with the process of unpacking the potential from the studies. The colours, marks, layers and memories within your studies become material to experiment with and reimagine. In a sense, they become your own landscape to wander through and explore—reminders of the sensations, light, weather and atmosphere of being out on the hill.‍‍

Image: On Top of the Downs 1, acrylic and oil on canvas, 60x60cm, Frances Knight

“In the studio... I was not aiming at a literal depiction of the landscape but rather a subjective expression of emotion and sensory experience. It was interesting to experiment in this way - freeing from rendering appearances and more experimenting with expressive colour and mark making.” ~ Frances Knight @francesknightfineart,www.francesknight.com ‍

Image: paintings of the Downs, Helen Law

Over the three days, Emily will guide you through a range of approaches to selecting, inventing, and composing—helping you develop bold, imaginative paintings rich in your own visual language. You will work on  3 – 4 paintings, navigating the path that the paintings may want to take all the while  keeping a playful sense of engagement.

By the end of the course you will have begun a small body of work and acquired a set of exercises and ways of working that will support your practice beyond the course.  These could continue to grow into a rich and personal response to the experience of walking, seeing, and sensing the ancient Chalk Downs.

To find out more about the course and to secure your place, please click on the button below:

Image: Shafina Eddicott  making paintings from studies at the Seawhite Studio‍

 “The entire experience was thoroughly enjoyable. It is something that I will carry with me for a long time. I feel that this way of being immersed in the landscape suits me as I am able to draw upon my memory of the place as well (having sat there for almost 2 days taking it all in).” ~  Shafina Eddicott‍

Image: student's work station during Up on the Chalk Downs course at the Seawhite Studio‍

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