• Artists looking to study the Atelier method

• Beginners with serious intent (no portfolio required)

• Self‑taught artists wanting structured foundations

• Art school graduates missing academic skills

• Hobbyists who want excellence, not just relaxation

• Returning artists who need a flexible schedule

• Flexible booking – Pay per session, buy a class package, or join a monthly/annual membership. Attend as little or as much as you like.

• Untutored studio time included – Practice is built into your membership (Atelier Pro/monthly commitment). Use our studio during untutored sessions to develop self‑reliance.

• Small capacity – Maximum 12 students per 3‑hour session. You get real feedback.

• No time limit – Complete the curriculum at your own pace. Most dedicated students finish a full Atelier programme in 3 years attending approx 10 sessions per week. But, here at the Schoolhouse for Art our studio doors are open 12 hours a day with a flexible timetable so you can complete part or all of this program in your own time.

• Accreditation - with CPD points per hour worked

How to book in for your Atelier ‘Art Gym’ Classes;

1. Take a look at the booking options (button below) and decide how much time you wish to commit to for Atelier Practice

2. Follow the booking steps for your chosen option

3. You will receive an email with a booking code

4. Click the BOOK IN button on the Atelier Refreshed page (below) to go to the class times (link HERE also for your convenience)

5. Click BOOK beside the class and times you wish to attend

6. Follow the booking steps to reserve your place in the chosen class and use your booking code to complete the booking

Once steps 1-3 are completed initially you will just continue with steps 4-6 as you wish to reserve your classes until your booking options runs out.

We recommend booking early as places cannot be guaranteed. If you don’t show up to class you’ve booked into, we cannot reimburse this class to your package. 

Please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you this upcoming term.

The Atelier is a structured, sequential programme in academic drawing and painting. It teaches you to see accurately, draw with confidence, and paint with control – using methods proven over centuries.

The curriculum is built around key projects of increasing complexity, with the objective of working from the life model in a full colour oil palette, while developing a solid foundation in drawing and design. Each project can be broken down into weekly goals and overall milestones, with a series of demonstrations for every stage.

This is serious training for students who want to build real skill.

You will work from Bargue plates, plaster casts, still life, and live models. You will learn sight‑size measurement, value rendering, grisaille painting, colour mixing, and portraiture.

The traditional atelier method is a cognitively sequenced curriculum that leads to automatic visual judgment. Modern educational research supports three key principles embedded in this approach:

1. Cognitive load reduction – You are not asked to handle line, value, edge, colour, and composition simultaneously. Each module isolates one variable, allowing deep mastery before complexity is added.

2. Deliberate practice with feedback – Each drawing or painting has a measurable right/wrong dimension (e.g., proportion, value relationship). Tutor correction creates rapid error detection.

3. Procedural memory building – Repeated, structured observation rewires hand-eye coordination. Skills become unconscious, freeing attention for expression later.

In short: the atelier method separates skill acquisition from creative expression. First you learn to see and render. Then you apply that fluency to your own vision. This is why virtually every major figurative artist before 1900 (and many since) trained in some version of this sequence.

Now, here is exactly what each project teaches.

• BARGUE 1-4

What you learn: Accurate sight‑size measurement. How to copy a two‑dimensional reference with precision. How to see value, shape, and proportion without your brain interfering.

Why it works: Beginners draw what they think they see. Bargue trains you to draw what is actually there.

• CAST DRAWING 1

What you learn: Drawing from a three‑dimensional plaster cast. How light describes form. How to block in shadow shapes.

Why it works: A cast does not move and has no colour. You learn form without distraction.

• CAST DRAWING 2

What you learn: A full head cast. Planar analysis. Advanced rendering of hair, ears, and anatomical transitions.

Why it works: The head is the most complex form. Cast drawing prepares you for portraiture.

• PORTRAIT DRAWING

What you learn: Drawing a live portrait in graphite or charcoal. Capturing likeness through proportion and plane changes.

Why it works: You apply cast drawing skills to a living, breathing human.

Grisaille is a monochrome painting technique using only shades of grey to establish light, shadow, and form before adding colour.

• GRISAILLE CAST PAINTING 1

What you learn: First oil painting – monochrome. Paint consistency, brush handling, maintaining drawing in wet media.

Why it works: Oil paint is difficult. Removing colour lets you focus on value and mechanics.

• GRISAILLE CAST PAINTING 2

What you learn: A more complex cast with exaggerated features. Larger value range. Edge variety in paint.

Why it works: A mask has clear planar breaks. You learn to paint confidently without the pressure of likeness.

• GRISAILLE CAST PAINTING 3

What you learn: Full head cast in grisaille. Subsurface shading. Advanced glazing and scumbling.

Why it works: After 150+ hours of monochrome painting, value judgment becomes automatic – ready for colour.

• MASTER COPY

What you learn: Copying a passage from a master painting (Vermeer, Velázquez, Rembrandt). Reverse‑engineering another artist’s decisions.

Why it works: You learn by recreating expertise. Short but intense.

• COLOUR STILL-LIFE (pear)

What you learn: Limited‑palette colour mixing. Colour temperature (warm light, cool shadow). Simple spherical form.

Why it works: A single pear is the "Bargue plate" of colour. Simple, subtle, and honest.

• COLOUR STILL-LIFE 2 (theme 1)

What you learn: A group of objects – cloth, metal, fruit. Composition. Colour harmony across varied surfaces.

Why it works: Different surfaces (matte, shiny, waxy) reflect light differently. You learn to see surface quality as colour and value.

• COLOUR STILL-LIFE 3 (theme 2)

What you learn: Greater compositional challenge – glass, flowers, patterned fabric. Atmospheric perspective. Personal expression within realist constraints.

Why it works: Colour is no longer intimidating. You begin making artistic decisions, not just technical ones.

• PORTRAIT PAINTING (head)

What you learn: First painted portrait from life. Limited‑palette flesh tones. Maintaining drawing while managing colour and edges.

Why it works: Flesh is the most complex colour subject. By focusing on the head only, you learn temperature shifts without distraction.

• PORTRAIT PAINTING 2 (head and hands)

What you learn: Full portrait including hands. Anatomical integration. Compositional portraiture – a finished picture, not just a study.

Why it works: Hands are the second most expressive part of the body. Painting both forces you to unify flesh tones across different forms.

• PORTRAIT PROJECT 3 (Self-Portrait)

What you learn: Painting your own face from a mirror. Applying proportion, value, edge control, colour mixing, and flesh tones to a single subject. Working at your own pace without the pressure of a live sitter. Separating visual fact from assumption.

Why it works: The self-portrait is the ultimate test of observational honesty. You cannot idealise what you see without immediately noticing the error. Working from a mirror removes time pressure and allows endless correction. It marks the transition from student to emerging painter – challenging, personal, and deeply rewarding.

What you learn: Sustained observation over multiple sessions. Applying cast skills to living flesh. Patience and attention management.

Why it works: The model is the ultimate test. Unlike a cast, the model breathes and shifts. The long pose format removes time pressure – you learn to check and correct over hours, not minutes.

Project 1: Bargue 1
Project 2: Bargue 2
Project 3: Bargue 3
Project 4: Bargue 4
Project 5: Cast drawing 1

While also completing 3 or 6 long poses with model 40 - 60 hours each

Project 6: Cast drawing 2
Project 7: Grisaille cast painting 1
Project 8: Grisaille cast painting 2
Project 9: Grisaille cast painting 3
Project 10: Master copy

While also completing 3 or 6 long poses with model 40 - 60 hours each

Project 11: Colour still-life painting 1 (pear)
Project 12: Colour still-life painting 2 (theme 1)
Project 13: Colour still-life 3 (theme 2)
Project 14: Portrait drawing
Project 15: Portrait painting 1
Project 16: Portrait painting 2
Project 17: Portrait painting 3

While also completing 3 or 6 long poses with model 40 - 60 hours each

Annual Programme over 40 weeks September 2026 - June 2027

What’s included:
Tutored sessions Unlimited (approx 720 hours)
Untutored sessions Unlimited (all types) (approx 480 hours)
Guaranteed working area once you decide your easel and project it will be reserved for you when book in

PaymentOption 1: Annual Programme (40 Weeks)
Total: One Upfront Payment €7,500

PaymentOption 2: Monthly Payment Plan (over 10 months)
Total 10 monthly payments of €820 = €8,200

Best for: Students who want to maximise their art practise with unlimited tutored sessions, flexibility + unlimited practice time.

How to book:
- Click the Booking information button
- Choose the option that’s right for you
- Follow booking steps
- You will be emailed a code
- Use this code to book in to the timetable for the sessions you wish to join

Attend the Atelier Annual Programme during the 40 weeks September 2026 - June 2027

What’s included:
Varies per option - see more information below

Option 1: Monthly Commitment
Total €400 per month
Tutored sessions with or without model (8 × 3hr sessions per month)
Untutored with model sessions (1 × 4hr session per month)
Untutored sessions Unlimited during the 30 day commitment
Contract 30‑day rolling – cancel anytime with 30 days' notice

Option 2: 10 Class Package (valid for 6 months)
Tutored with model (10 × 3hr sessions) €450
Tutored no model (10 × 3hr sessions) €400
Untutored with model (10 × 4hr sessions) €400

Option 2: Drop‑In (Pay Per Session)
Tutored with model (3hr session) €50
Tutored no model (3hr session) €46
Untutored with model (4hr session) Thursday mornings €46

Untutored no model is not available as drop‑in – exclusive to Atelier Pro & Monthly Commitment students.

Working space - priority is given to Atelier Pro students

How to book:
- Click the Booking information button
- Choose the option that’s right for you
- Follow booking steps
- You will be emailed a code
- Use this code to book in to the timetable for the sessions you wish to join

• Atelier Pro – Annual Programme (40 weeks)

  Best for: Students who are serious about their practice and want to maximise their time in the studio. If you attend 3–5 days per week and want unlimited tutored sessions, unlimited untutored practice, and a reserved workspace, this is your option. It gives you the lowest hourly rate and the most freedom to develop your skills without limits.

• Monthly Commitment (30‑Day Rolling)

  Best for: Students attending 2–3 days per week who want the flexibility to cancel with 30 days' notice. You get 8 tutored sessions per month, unlimited untutored no model sessions, and one untutored with model session per month. Perfect for those who want regular training without a long‑term contract.

• 10 Class Package

  Best for: Students who attend 1–2 days per week and only want tutored sessions (or untutored with model). You pay upfront for 10 sessions at a discounted rate and have 6 months to use them. Ideal if you prefer to pay in advance and avoid monthly commitments.

• Drop‑In (Pay Per Session)

  Best for: Students who attend occasionally or want to try the studio before committing. You pay per session with no contract and no upfront cost. Perfect for trying the Atelier for the first time, or for artists who can only attend irregularly.