EMILY BALL AT SEAWHITE | CONTEMPORARY DRAWING AND PAINTING COURSES |
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NOVEMBER AT THE STUDIO | Celebrate the colours of Autumn, embrace the unexpected and discover fresh possibilities in your painting this November |
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| Image: Detail of Light and Limb painting, Emily Ball |
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“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” ~ Pablo Picasso
Dear Visitor This November, at the studio and online, we have two courses designed to get you thinking differently about painting: engaging with colour, exploring new approaches and discovering what matters most to you as you create. |
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Improvisation in Paint – In Person NEW one-day workshop
Monday 9 November 2026 | |
Emily & Katie invite you to the Seawhite Studio for an immersive day of ‘serious play’. Explore what it means to let go, trust your instincts and have a conversation with your painting as it evolves – embracing the unexpected and discovering where it might lead. |
| Autumn Trees – Live Online Back by popular demand! 23 - 26 November 2026
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Find inspiration in a landscape you know and love! Learn how to make studies in the Autumnal landscape that really work, and then use these to create paintings that celebrate this beautiful time of year. |
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Both courses are packed with ideas, inspiration and fresh approaches. Team-taught by Emily & Katie, they combine extensive knowledge with a shared love of teaching, creating a supportive and stimulating environment full of exciting exercises to fire up your practice. You’ll come away with new ideas, fresh perspectives and plenty of material to explore long after the course has ended. This could be the start of something BIG!
Read on to find out more, or click on the buttons below to head straight to our website and book your place. |
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Improvisation in PaintMonday 9 November
Emily Ball & Katie Sollohub Seawhite Studio
£160 |
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| Image: improvisation painting , May 2024, Emily Ball & Katie Sollohub |
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“Improvisation is a skill that is essential for all artists, it is like a muscle that needs to be exercised. It is about being focused and curious. Through collaboration and repetition an exciting back and forth can start to flow, where the self-critical voice becomes quiet. You begin to trust your instincts.” ~ Emily
Improvisation in Paint is an investment in your practice – a kind of training for all the work you do in your studio. Emily and Katie will provide the materials, prompts and structure to help you explore, experiment and play. |
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| Image: improvisation painting , May 2024, Emily Ball & Katie Sollohub |
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Throughout the day, you’ll be encouraged to embrace a mindset of play and enter a state of flow. As you work, you’ll begin to notice patterns, coincidences and unexpected connections. These can become starting points for more personal, meaningful and poetic images and motifs. What might initially seem like a mistake can become an opportunity for invention, and a painting can blossom from the most unlikely beginnings.
“The aim is to always embrace ‘not knowing’ and find out as you work. Indeed, the ‘not knowing’ will helpfully slow you down to allow the work to grow, and for you to respond. What is important, personal and relevant to you will become clear. Your courage will grow and painting will be a joyful discovery; a way of seeing the world with fresh eyes." ~ Emily |
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Watch Emily & Katie improvise together |
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Click on the image below to watch a time-lapse film of Emily and Katie creating an improvised, collaborative painting on a large scale. Made in 2024, it captures the first time they painted together in this way.
Working freely and expressively, they used inexpensive acrylics on a roll of Fabriano cartridge paper, stapled directly to the studio wall. They allowed the painting to evolve, editing and extending it as they went, responding to both the work and each other. |
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By the end of Improvisation of Paint, you’ll have created a collection of large and small paintings to take away. Some may feel complete; others may spark ideas you want to develop further. You’ll also have a range of processes and prompts to bring into your own studio practice, helping you approach any subject with greater focus, curiosity and confidence.
There will be plenty of materials to experiment with, including acrylic paints and other mixed media, with paper provided in a range of sizes.
To find out more and book your place, click on the link below:
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Autumn Trees
Live Online with Emily Ball & Katie Sollohub
23–26 November (Mon–Thurs) £250
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| Image: Autumn Trees study, Emily Ball |
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“As a celebratory finale to the year, the colours and majestic shapes of Autumn trees illuminate the landscape.” ~ Emily
This four-day course is all about celebrating the beauty of Autumn trees through drawing and painting, capturing the colours, shapes and sensations of being in the landscape.
Painting outdoors is an enduringly rewarding experience, but it can also feel overwhelming. The kit! Where to start? How do you capture the experience in paint?
“All I can do with my marks, colours, scraping, excavating and layers of sensations is try and give form to my experience of being there.” ~ Emily |
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| Image: Autumn Trees study, Emily Ball |
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Autumn Trees offers a way in. The course has two distinct parts, beginning with a series of preparatory exercises to help you make the most of your time painting with Emily and Katie online. Part One: Making studies in the landscape Four weeks before the course begins, you’ll receive a new collection of films featuring preparatory exercises to explore different ways of making studies outdoors.You might have a favourite tree in your garden, or enjoy walking in the woods or parkland near your home. Wherever you choose to work, the aim is to look closely, gather inspiration and make rich, inventive drawings and colour studies that will provide the starting point for your paintings. |
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| Images: making studies in the woods, Autumn Trees 2025 (KatieSollohub) |
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These studies are an essential part of the process, helping you build up a wealth of visual material to work from when you return to your studio. If you’ve taken Autumn Trees before, you’ll know how valuable these preparatory films can be. This year, Emily and Katie have recorded an ENTIRELY NEW collection of films, offering fresh exercises and inspiration whether you’re joining for the first time or returning to the course. The films will be sent to you as soon as you book, giving you plenty of time to explore at your own pace. |
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| Images: Emily Ball & Katie Sollohub team-teaching live online at the Seawhite Studio |
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Part Two: Painting Together Online Over four days, Emily and Katie will lead live, two-hour morning tutorials, filmed at the Seawhite Studio. They’ll paint alongside you, showing you how to transform your studies into confident, vibrant paintings.
“Teaching online means I can revisit favourite places in my mind and through my work. It means each participant can bring their own magical space with them to the virtual studio.” ~ Katie |
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| Image: Katie Sollohub's work station during Autumn Trees |
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Through demonstrations and discussion, Emily and Katie will share their thoughts and decision-making as they work. You’ll have time to paint alongside them in your own studio, using your drawings as a starting point. They’ll offer suggestions and ideas to help you develop your work independently throughout the rest of each day.
All the Zoom tutorials will be recorded and sent to you, so you can revisit the demonstrations, absorb the ideas and return to the exercises whenever you need to. You’ll have access to the recordings for 30 days. |
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| Image: Woodland Weave, Emily Ball |
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By the end of the course, you’ll have a collection of paintings that celebrate your own experience of the Autumn landscape, along with the confidence and practical tools to continue to make meaningful studies outdoors and develop them into rich, dynamic paintings back in the studio.
To find out more and book your place, click on the link below: | |
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What students said about last year’s Autumn Trees Live Online |
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| Image: studies made by Frances Knight during Autumn Trees |
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“Having Emily and Katie in the studio with me watching them work was such a treat, and working alongside them. I loved watching them demonstrate the exercises. And then work with them. I love how they encourage one to be more courageous and have fun. They are both so generous with their knowledge and experience and are such a great team together. This was an extremely enjoyable course.” ~ Frances Knight |
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| Image: studies made by Cindy Tassel during Autumn Trees |
| “Highlight was the easy interaction between Katy and Emily and the reminder that art is meant to be joyful not too angst. Also the speed small paintings were fun and inspiring.” ~ Cindy Tassel |
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“I can already see an improvement in my paintings. I’m not so hesitant and realise doing loads of studies is very important. My four large paintings I’m working on at the moment are feeding each other with ideas I wouldn’t have thought of before. Very keen to get into my studio to work.” ~ Suzanne Lawrence |
| | Image: studies made by Suzanne Lawrence during Autumn Trees |
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For more Autumn Trees Inspiration |
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Listen to Katie’s words about autumn
Take a look at our recent Instagram post, featuring Katie’s spoken-word piece inspired by a visit to Sheffield Park in November. Created in collaboration with artists attending last year’s face-to-face Autumn Trees course, these words beautifully capture the qualities of the Autumn landscape.
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| Explore the online course gallery
Visit the Autumn Trees Online 2025 gallery to see the wonderful range and quality of paintings created by artists on last year’s course. | |
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