Summer Botanicals Art Course. As the days grow longer and the colours of summer arrive, we’re delighted to welcome back local artist and tutor Julia Fonnereau for another inspiring Tuesday evening art course at Southern Maltings. This four‑week short course celebrates the vibrant energy of summer, drawing on themes such as sunlit botanicals, lush greenery, seasonal fruits, wildflowers, and the bright, bold palette of the warmer months — along with the wildlife that thrives at this time of year, including birds, butterflies, and other summer visitors. We’ll begin by creating our own concertina sketchbooks, before filling them with observational drawings inspired by the richness of the season. Throughout the course, you’ll explore a variety of sketching and painting mediums, including watercolour, gouache, fine‑tip pens, coloured pencils, and coloured biros, giving you the freedom to experiment and discover what suits your style. Each week introduces new materials and techniques to help your sketchbook develop with creativity, confidence, and flow. Expect to draw locally sourced, in‑season subjects such as summer blooms, seed heads, foliage, berries, and natural objects gathered from the landscape. If the weather allows we will go into the Malt Garden at Southern Maltings for an evening drawing en plein air! Whether you’re new to sketching or looking to deepen your practice, this joyful, summery course offers a relaxed and welcoming space to explore, learn, and create. This gorgeous seasonal four‑week course is suitable for all — a chance to unwind, experiment, and enjoy the simple pleasure of drawing and painting. Julia Fonnereau is a qualified art teacher, having taught art to all age ranges from primary to A level and BTec Art and Design. She currently works as a freelance artist and surface pattern designer as Julia Fonnereau Design, specialising in animals and botanicals, and she exhibits her work all around the country including at our Southern Maltings Art and Craft Markets. Julia has been teaching art workshops to children in the holidays at Southern Maltings and it is finally time for the adults to join in the fun too! Julia has a host of workshops and short courses in all forms of art including drawing, painting, watercolour, printing etc. Many of her workshops use interesting and original techniques including printing using a pasta machine! Her love is flora and fauna and she will share her passion for nature with you. Julia hopes to continue to run a continuous evening set of courses on Tuesday evenings which will be set into 4 week segments with a different theme for each. Additional Information: This set of 4 workshops is aimed artists of all levels including beginners and Julia will teach you techniques to get you started or to improve your art. Suitable for anyone aged 14+. The course is being run with a maximum capacity of 10 participants and will be from 7pm – 9.30pm at a cost of £90 for the course which works out to be £22.50 per workshop. Light refreshments to help with your creativity are included. The session will be held in our North Cowl, with entry via the Eastern End of the building. The four weeks start on Tuesday 9th June and will follow on 16th, 23rd and 30th June. Please check our website for other workshop options, as we have a variety of workshops running for both adults and children throughout the Spring and Summer. Southern Maltings is the trading name of Ware Arts Centre Limited and is a registered charity (Registered charity no. 276998). All events are run by volunteers and proceeds go towards developing the Southern Maltings into an amazing creative arts centre which will enable us to put on a wider and more frequent range of events and activities for the whole community.
