The Masters · weekend workshops
Masterclasses in Milton Keynes
World-class art teaching, brought to our own community. Intensive weekend and week-long courses with highly regarded professional artists, without the travel.
Coming up
More of Andrew's work
Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 April 2027 10 places
Andrew James RP: Portrait Workshop
This two-day weekend workshop will be run by portrait artist Andrew James.
Working from live models, the course will focus on the fundamental skills needed to create a meaningful and balanced portrait:
- Simplification of portrait from basic structures to refined details.
- Developing observational techniques to better record information.
- Using colour creatively and structurally.
- The application of gestural mark making to help enhance likeness.
Alongside a demonstration from Andrew, there will be multiple exercises across the weekend, where you will produce several works based on various drawing and painting approaches. There will be one-to-one support for every participant throughout the weekend.
Best suited to painters with some drawing or painting experience.
- Time
- 10:00–16:00, with an hour for lunch
- Venue
- Swinfen Church Hall, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes. A listed building just off the high street, with free parking across the street.
- Price
- £240
Prefer to pay by bank transfer? Email hello@lifedrawing-mk.co.uk and we'll send you the details.
About the tutor
Andrew is renowned for capturing incredible likeness and energy of his subjects through his artwork. He is a member of the New English Art Club and The Royal Society of Portrait Painters, where he won the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture (the highest accolade for a British portrait) in 2024.
Andrew has taught art since 2006, working widely in the UK and across the world.
See more of Andrew's work at andrewjamesartist.co.uk and on Instagram @andrewrpneac.
Materials list
Oil paints (ideally artist quality): Titanium White, Lemon Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber. Besides these colours, do bring along any other colour you might like to work with.
Brushes: assortment of sizes of bristle brushes, including filberts, rounds and flats.
Also bring: solid palette, palette knife, jam jar with lid, one dipper, old rags, Sansodor or Zest painting medium.
Boards: oil painting boards or canvas, roughly one 16″ × 12″ and one 12″ × 9″.
Drawing materials: pencils, rubbers, charcoal, sharpener etc., and A3 cartridge pads.
Previous masterclasses
Friday 30 – Saturday 31 October 2026 Sold out
Anastasia Pollard RP: Traditional Academic Figure Painting from Life
A two-day workshop working in oils from an unclothed life model, in a single sustained pose. Starting with an accurate underdrawing, you'll build values, colour relationships, edges and form, with demonstrations at every stage and plenty of one-to-one guidance.
Best suited to painters with some drawing or painting experience.
- Time
- 10:00–16:30, with an hour for lunch
- Venue
- Springfield Centre, 45 Springfield Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK6 3JH. Free parking.
- Price
- £210
About the tutor
Anastasia Pollard is an elected member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP). She trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Florence Academy of Art, and her work is rooted in honest observation and strong structural drawing. She has exhibited widely across the UK, including several selections for the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery.
Materials list
Support: one canvas or panel, about 30 × 40 cm or 40 × 50 cm, primed and toned with a thin pale grey imprimatura.
Oil colours: titanium white (large tube), yellow ochre or transparent yellow oxide, cadmium red (light or medium), alizarin crimson (or permanent alizarin), ultramarine or cobalt blue, raw umber, ivory black.
Brushes: filberts in sizes 0, 2, 4 and 6 (bristle or synthetic), a few small rounds, and one larger brush.
Mediums: odourless mineral spirits, linseed oil or your usual medium, and two lidded brush pots.
Also: a palette and your usual painting kit.
The 2027 programme
We're working to bring more exceptional guest tutors to Milton Keynes. New masterclasses are announced to the list first, and places are small.
In the meantime, keep drawing with us at our weekly life drawing sessions in Milton Keynes, every Sunday evening.
Past masterclasses
October 2026 · Anastasia Pollard RP, academic figure painting from life
Be first for the next masterclass
New tutors go to the letters before they're announced anywhere else, and places are small. You'll also get course news and Sunday dates.