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EMILY BALL AT SEAWHITE‍

CONTEMPORARY DRAWING AND PAINTING COURSES‍

COLOUR & LIGHT ON THE SOUTH DOWNS

making studies on location,

developing painting in the studio

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)

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“I love pushing, layering and rubbing colour in search of finding a visual connection to the vastness of the open space of the South Downs. This course is about Katie and me sharing our love of colour and light, and helping you to find new ways of weaving colours together to create a beautiful sense of the scoop of the land and the way the light continually changes.” ~ Emily

Dear  ‍Visitor ‍

‍Earlier this month Emily Ball & Katie Sollohub invited artists to join them for  Colour & Light on the South Downs.  They gathered on Truleigh Hill for two days of drawing, colour, weather, conversation and immersion in the landscape — and the response  was incredibly positive, with artists fully immersed in the experience. 

Now, with two more courses scheduled later this summer, alongside the companion course Colour & Light on the South Downs: Development into Paintings, we wanted to celebrate what makes these courses so special – and encourage you to join us!  

Colour & Light on The South Downs

29-30 May (Fri-Sat)

 Truleigh Centre, £280‍

Colour & Light on The South Downs

25-26 September  (Fri-Sat)

 Truleigh Centre, £280‍

Read on to find out why these courses resonate so deeply with artists, and take a deep dive into our new course Development into Paintings- which is the perfect follow-on from the outdoor sessions that focus on making studies on location.

“I enjoyed everything about the course - Emily and Katie's combined creative and teaching experience and encouragement, the camaraderie of the group, the panoramic Downs, the focus on creativity - in the landscape - away from home.  Spending time really looking and seeing the landscape and discovering different ways of portraying the views abstractly.” ~ Anna Hewitt

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)

The Top 10 Reasons

Why This Course Works‍

1. Total Immersion in the Landscape

For two whole days you are invited to step fully into the landscape: to walk, pause, look, listen and quietly absorb the shifting colours, skies and weather of the South Downs. With no pressure to create finished paintings, there is space simply to notice, respond and reconnect with the experience of being outdoors.‍

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)

“I enjoyed absorbing and being embedded in the amazing landscape location, and the excellent facilities of the  venue. The long drive up into the Downs gave one the feeling of going up into the hills away from the busyness below. The skylarks singing was wonderful.”

~ Rachel Stapleton‍

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2. Learning to Move Beyond “Painting the View”

This course is not about copying the landscape, but about discovering how to translate the feeling of being there into colour, mark and movement. The changing light, the sweep of the land, the wind on your skin and the vastness of the open space all become part of the work you make. 

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)

 3. Emily & Katie’s

Team Teaching

What makes this course unique is the creative dialogue between Emily and Katie — two artists sharing different approaches, materials and ways of seeing. Their teaching combines practical guidance with warmth, encouragement and an infectious enthusiasm for working in the landscape.

Image: Emily & Katie making studies at the Truleigh Centre (Clare Wilkinson)

“I thought Emily and Katie brought the perfect combination of leadership, fabulous examples and demos, and encouragement to get out there and try it.  I really appreciated the generous provision of materials.  They created a warm and kindly setting, essential for us to work in.”

~ Frances Rae‍

4. Building Confidence Working Outdoors

Many artists feel uncertain about working on location, but these course

provide structure, guidance and

encouragement that helps participants relax into the process.

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)

 5. Carefully Devised Exercises

The exercises encourage experimentation, sensory awareness and expressive mark-making that often leads to unexpected breakthroughs.‍

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)

“I loved being given exercises up on the hill, with everything I needed to make studies. Using materials I would not usually use was good. Emily suggested studies which made me excited, less overwhelmed” ~ Sandra Roche‍

 6. The South Downs Landscape

The vast skies, chalk paths and shifting light of Truleigh Hill provide an endlessly inspiring environment for drawing and painting.‍

“Standing on Truleigh Hill you are held by the hill, grounded by the chalk beneath your feet, yet exhilarated by being up high, soaring and floating, feeling the air and wind on your face.” ~ Emily‍‍

 7. The Specially

Curated Toolkit

One of the joys of the course is arriving with nothing to worry about. Emily has carefully prepared a toolkit for every artist, containing prepared papers and boards, oil pigment sticks, oil pastels, chalk pastels, inks, rags and drawing tools — all chosen specifically for expressive outdoor working. The limited, tactile materials encourage experimentation and help artists make rich, painterly studies without feeling overwhelmed by choice.

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)‍

 8. The Truleigh Centre

As a base for  landscape course, the Truleigh centre is hard to beat: located in the heart of the downs, it boasts a spacious converted barn with open

vistas, offering comfort, shelter and space to regroup, reflect and share work.‍

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)

9. Creative Freedom

Working with new materials and

approaches often helps artists loosen up, take risks and discover new

directions in their work.

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)‍

“Emily and Katie helped me to be a bit freer and bolder, and try and avoid putting things down in a predictable way.” ~ Kate Jerred

 10. The Work Continues Back in the Studio

The companion course, Colour & Light on the South Downs: Development into Painting, helps artists transform location studies into resolved studio paintings. Read on to find out more!

To book your place on one of our Colour & Light on the South Downs courses, click on the buttons below:‍

 Colour & Light – Development  into Paintings

At the Seawhite Studio

With Emily Ball and Katie Sollohub

 8-10 June, £380‍

Image: Clare Wilkinson

If you have joined one of the Colour & Light courses with Emily and Katie at the Truleigh Centre (regardless of whether that was last year or earlier this month!) , this three-day course offers a natural next step — building directly on the experience of working outdoors on the South Downs.

The immediacy, freedom and responsiveness of studies made on location are qualities we all want to carry into more sustained paintings. This course invites you to do just that, encouraging you to view your studies as a source of energy, memory and possibility.‍

Image: Emily Ball leading a painting demonstration in the studio

“What you did was unpack the whole process of working outside on studies, bringing them into the studio and then how to put together a painting. You couldn’t have broken it down for us more or facilitated our creativity better.” ~ Sophie Bartlett

Image: Katie working in the studio‍

Development into Painting begins where Colour & Light on the South Downs leaves off: with an impressive amount of work made on location. Emily and Katie will demonstrate a range of approaches to help unlock your studies’ potential. Working with acrylic or oil on canvas, board or paper, you will explore paint, tools and processes to develop a more confident and expressive visual language — one that supports bold, dynamic and sustained painting.‍‍

In this way, your studies become a landscape, a place to return to, wander through and re-encounter; carrying with them the sensations of light, weather and movement from the South Downs.

Taken together with the studies-based Colour & Light on the South Downs course this three-day course completes a creative cycle — from direct encounter with the landscape, to making studies on location, and finally to developing them into resolved, expressive paintings.

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

Image: Colour & Light on the South Downs (Emily Ball/KatieSollohub)‍

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