Progressive Painting Course (Acrylics)

Progressive Painting Course (Acrylics)

Level Up Your Creativity: Introducing Our Follow-On Acrylic Painting Course in February 2026

If you’ve completed our Beginner’s Acrylic Painting Course and are eager to take your skills to the next level, our brand-new Follow-On Acrylic Painting Course is the perfect next step in your creative journey.

Although designed specifically for returning students, but it is also suitable for anyone just wishing to progress with their painting skills.  This course builds on the foundational techniques you already know—colour mixing, brush control, layering, and composition.

Expect to explore richer textures, experiment with new tools and mediums that challenge and inspire you.

We will be looking at coastal scenes, sunset skies and a still life. We will follow on with using our brushes, palette knives but also introducing some new techniques.

Each session includes guided demonstrations, personalised feedback, and plenty of time to develop your own unique style. You’ll complete three  pieces on canvas throughout the course.

This course is £90 and will run in FEBRUARY OVER THREE WEEKS Wednesday 11th, 18th and 25th in the afternoons from 1 pm – 3 pm.

Whether you’re hoping to refine your technique, expand your creativity, or maybe just simply enjoy spending more time painting within a supportive group. 

Whatever the reason,  we can’t wait to see what you create next!

Learn to Paint Course in January 2026

Learn to Paint Course in January 2026

LEARN TO PAINT COURSE WILL BE OVER THREE WEEKS: WEDNESDAY JANUARY  14TH, 21ST AND 28TH
1 PM – 3 PM.
 
This acrylic painting course is Ideal for beginners! 
 
This course is £90 and includes all materials and tuition. Refreshments are also provided.
 
So are you ready to release your inner artist and be a creative?
Painting is not just about creating art; it’s a therapeutic journey that allows you to unwind, destress, and tap into the soothing rhythm of colours and forms. Connect with fellow beginners who share a similar passion.
 
No prior experience is required – just a willingness to embrace your artistic spirit!

Forget about the intimidating blank canvas or paper, I will be with you every step of the way. Step-by-step guidance is crafted for those who have never held a brush. You will discover the joy of expressing yourself through each stroke.

Throughout the day you will learn the basics of colour mixing, brush techniques, and composition in a supportive environment.
We will be using acrylic paints as these are one of the most versatile, especially for beginners.
 
Week 1: We will learn about colour theory, the colour wheel, mixing and blending colours. We will also look at which brushes to use.
Week 2: Once mastered the colour mixing we can move on to looking at skies, clouds and sunsets. How we apply the paint and which brushes to use. We will finish with painting a sky in an impressionist style.
Week 3: In this session we will look at the study of trees, again looking at how we apply paint and which brushes to use and introduce palette knives.
 
It is advisable to wear old clothes, but there are disposable aprons for your use. All materials are provided and you will go home with your finished painting at the end of the day on week 2 and week 3 
Franki Beddows | Bolton Artist

Franki Beddows | Bolton Artist

Franki Beddows | Bolton Artist

Franki Beddows

Franki Beddows

Artist

I paint to get lost. It’s the moment of flow—where shapes, shadows and textures start to whisper—that keeps pulling me back to the canvas. In those early layers of acrylic, faces, figures, and strange little creatures begin to reveal themselves. I never go looking for them; I just listen. My inner voice takes the lead, and I follow.

I use whatever’s needed—tools, brushes, even my fingers—to build the story. Every painting is a kind of emotional archaeology, where something hidden gets brought to the surface. Sometimes it’s a feeling, other times a full-blown narrative I never expected.

The subjects can feel eerie or unsettling, and I’m good with that. I’ve always had a love for the macabre. As a kid, I’d sneak downstairs to catch horror films with my dad or borrow all the ghost books from the school library. That fascination with the darker edges of life has never left me.

It’s all part of the human experience—the dark and the light. We carry both. My work is just one way of letting it all speak.

Memories Of Southport Sunset

 

Memories of a Southport Sunset holds a different kind of darkness – quieter, more contemplative. There’s no menace here, but a weight all the same.

The fiery sky, almost surreal in its intensity, glows behind the silhouetted treeline like something long remembered—vivid but softened by time.

That green foreground, layered and tactile, carries a sense of stillness and waiting, like a place you once knew but now only revisit in dreams.

This is still unmistakably Franki – expressive, unpolished, emotionally honest but with an invitation rather than a challenge.

It’s a gothic nostalgia: something beautiful with a slight ache in its bones. The kind of painting that stays with you not because it shouts, but because it hums with memory.

Artwork Title: Memories Of A Southport Sunset
Artist: Franki Beddows
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 25cm x 30cm
Price: £75
Presentation: Unframed, ready to hang

Being Consumed

 

A visceral dive into the subconscious, Being Consumed captures that raw, chaotic edge where inner turmoil and haunting memory collide. The central figures distorted, ghostlike, and almost puppet-like in expression seem to be caught mid-sentence, mid-scream, mid-thought.

There is a sense of stillness and violence coexisting. Behind them, barely concealed in shadow, lurk creatures with glowing eyes—watching, waiting, whispering.

Franki leans unapologetically into the strange and the unsettling, bringing forward stories that many would rather keep buried.

This piece, like much of her work, doesn’t offer comfort  – it invites confrontation. It’s a mirror to the things we often ignore: the ache, the scream, the faceless watchers we carry around inside.

Artwork Title: Being Consumed
Artist: Franki Beddows
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 40cm x 30cm
Price: £95
Presentation: Unframed, ready to hang

Take a look at the others exhibiting this summer

Julia Uttley | Bolton Photographer

Profile image of Julia courtesy Don Tonge  Julia Uttley is a Bolton‑based photographer whose work reveals a deep connection to the region’s industrial heritage and moorland landscapes. Born and raised in Lancashire’s Fylde region, she was drawn back north in 2015,...

read more
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Janette Byrne | Featured Artist Summer 2025

Janette Byrne | Featured Artist Summer 2025

Janette Byrne | Featured Artist Summer 2025

Janette Byrne

Janette Byrne

Artist

 

Janette Byrne (Jb Art) is a local artist who graduated with a Masters in Fine Art at the University of Greater Manchester. She has exhibited widely in the UK and has had several works accepted to go through to the Royal Academy Summer exhibition … and has Sold there.                            
     Janette’s current work ethic is far removed from the detailed processes of completing Fine Art Degrees and by popular request she is enjoying painting frivolous flowers and animals… She hopes you enjoy her display.

Cyclamen

 

Cyclamen Sky is a serene study in poise and quiet beauty. The delicate, sweeping petals of the cyclamen unfold like ribbons in the breeze, their soft blush and ivory tones set against a vivid, sky-blue background.

There’s a gentle rhythm here. The graceful arcs of stem and bud dancing upward with a quiet, contemplative energy.

Painted in acrylics on canvas board and measuring 27 x 27 cm, this piece is framed in clean white that lifts the natural palette. Cyclamen, with their distinctive nodding blooms, have long been associated with inner strength, devotion, and understated grace. This painting captures that spirit perfectly — a sense of calm resilience held within soft, flowing forms.

Artwork Title: Cyclamen Sky
Artist: Janette Byrne
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Board
Size: 27cm x 27cm
Price: £45
Presentation: framed, ready to display

Floral Display

 

A joyful explosion of colour, this oil-on-board painting celebrates the abundant beauty of a freshly gathered bouquet. Janette Byrne’s expressive brushwork and bold colour palette evoke a spontaneous, almost celebratory energy—as though the flowers are still dancing from being placed in the soft blue background and rounded vase.

The art creates a calm contrast, allowing the florals to sing with life.

Artwork Title: Frivolous Flowers
Artist: Janette Byrne
Medium: Oil on Canvas Board
Size: 28cm x 33cm
Price: £70
Presentation: framed, ready to display

Fuchsia Tangle

 

An exuberant celebration of nature’s drama, Fuchsia Tangle draws the viewer into a vibrant undergrowth where oversized fuchsia blooms hang like whispered secrets among thick, wild grasses.

The artist’s expressive brushwork and bold colour palette turn this delicate flower into something untamed and defiant.

Each pink petal edged in crimson and softened with lilac pops against a backdrop of sun-soaked greens and flashes of aqua, suggesting a humid garden or lush tropical border alive with energy.

Painted in acrylic on canvas board and set in a clean white frame with a subtle blush mount, this 5×7″ piece delivers colour therapy in compact form

Artwork Title: Fuchsia Tangle
Artist: Janette Byrne
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Board
Size: 13cm x 18cm
Price: £30
Presentation: framed, ready to display

Fuchsia Tangle

 

An exuberant celebration of nature’s drama, Fuchsia Tangle draws the viewer into a vibrant undergrowth where oversized fuchsia blooms hang like whispered secrets among thick, wild grasses.

The artist’s expressive brushwork and bold colour palette turn this delicate flower into something untamed and defiant.

Each pink petal edged in crimson and softened with lilac pops against a backdrop of sun-soaked greens and flashes of aqua, suggesting a humid garden or lush tropical border alive with energy.

Painted in acrylic on canvas board and set in a clean white frame with a subtle blush mount, this 5×7″ piece delivers colour therapy in compact form

Artwork Title: Fuchsia Tangle
Artist: Janette Byrne
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Board
Size: 13cm x 18cm
Price: £30
Presentation: framed, ready to display

Other works by Janette

Fauvism Lemons

Daisies

Fauvism Sunflower

Take a look at the others exhibiting this summer

Julia Uttley | Bolton Photographer

Profile image of Julia courtesy Don Tonge  Julia Uttley is a Bolton‑based photographer whose work reveals a deep connection to the region’s industrial heritage and moorland landscapes. Born and raised in Lancashire’s Fylde region, she was drawn back north in 2015,...

read more

Julia Preston | Featured Artist Summer 2025

Julia Preston | Featured Artist Summer 2025

Julia Preston | Featured Artist Summer 2025

Julia Preston

Julia Preston

Artist

 

Based in Bolton, Julia Preston is the artist behind SulikoSoul — a creative practice rooted in bold colour, layered texture, and emotional connection to place. Working across acrylic painting, mixed media, pyrography, and anodised aluminium jewellery, her work explores the seasons, the landscape, and cultural threads that tie us to memory and meaning.

Inspired by the moors of Lancashire and her travels through the Caucasus and beyond, Julia’s art often reflects a meeting point between wild terrain and intimate stillness. Her vibrant canvases shift between abstract and figurative, often echoing the mood of the land and the rhythm of nature. Whether painting a windswept hillside or crafting a statement piece of jewellery, she invites viewers to pause, feel, and reflect.

Julia works from Falcon Mill Studios and regularly exhibits across the North of England. Her pieces are available online and through selected galleries and independent shops.

Autumn Chill

 

is a richly textured, emotionally resonant acrylic painting that captures a moment of seasonal transformation in the landscape.

The piece draws you in with its layered brushwork and intentional colour shifts: vivid russets and golds in the foreground, whispering of turning bracken and crisp undergrowth, give way to cooler blues and silvery greys that build the distant hills and expansive sky. Her use of bold colour contrasts with subtle gradations, especially where land meets water, creates a rhythm that is both grounded and atmospheric. The whole image feels like it’s breathing, you can almost hear the wind whirling across the moor.

The textural depth suggests a strong physical engagement with the canvas kind of help feel the chill, but also the glow of the low autumn sun. It evokes reflection, transition, and that wistful stillness just before winter takes hold.

Artwork Title: Autumn Chill
Artist: Julia Preston
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Board
Size: 32cm x 32cm
Price: £240
Presentation: Framed, ready to hang

Lake View Storm

An electric expression of the land in flux, “Lakes View – Storm” crackles with the tension and magic of an approaching winter dusk.

The vibrant cobalt and ultramarine skies feel charged, not just with storm energy, but with the shimmer of something unearthly.

There’s a hint of the aurora borealis warming up backstage, ready to dance once the light drops low enough.

Sweeps of acidic green carve through the hills like veins of light, giving form to an otherwise abstracted landscape.

Julia’s confident, gestural marks lend drama and dynamism to the scene. You can feel the wind rising, the air thinning, the quiet before something spectacular erupts in the sky.

Artwork Title: Lake View Storm
Artist: Julia Preston
Medium: Acrylic on Paper
Size: 48cm x 48cm
Price: £320
Presentation: Framed, ready to hang

Take a look at the others exhibiting in the exhibition

Julia Uttley | Bolton Photographer

Profile image of Julia courtesy Don Tonge  Julia Uttley is a Bolton‑based photographer whose work reveals a deep connection to the region’s industrial heritage and moorland landscapes. Born and raised in Lancashire’s Fylde region, she was drawn back north in 2015,...

read more

Kirsten Todd | Chorley Artist

Kirsten Todd | Chorley Artist

Kirsten Todd | Chorley Artist

Kirsten Todd

Kirsten Todd

Artist

 

Kirsten Todd is a Lancashire-based intuitive artist and founder of Art at Vixen, known for her emotionally charged abstracts and divine feminine portraiture.

With a BA in Graphic Design and over 30 years in the creative industry, Kirsten has painted professionally since 2016, using expressive acrylics to explore connection, resilience, and the rhythms of nature.

Her Fragile Earth series captures vibrant, semi-abstract landscapes alive with colour and movement—celebrating both the beauty and vulnerability of the world around us.

Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and in 2025 she joins a curated selection of contemporary artists in the Harvest of Visions Summer Exhibition at BL6 Studios, Horwich.

Iconic John Lennon

 

In this bold and expressive portrait, Kirsten Todd reimagines one of music’s most recognisable figures – John Lennon. Painted in acrylic and layered with bursts of spray paint, his face is brought to life through an electric palette of pinks, purples, oranges, and blues.

Every mark is deliberate, yet full of energy, giving Lennon a vibrant presence that feels both modern and timeless.

The background hums with layered textures, symbols, and graffiti-like gestures — a nod to both Lennon’s rebellious edge and his message of peace. Look closely, and you’ll see moments of softness beneath the colour, especially in the eyes, which seem to watch quietly through the chaos.

Artwork Title: Iconic John Lennon
Artist: Kirsten Todd 
Medium: Acrylic & Spray Paint on Canvas
Size: 40cm x 40cm
Price: £400
Presentation: Unframed, ready to hang

Iconic Prince

 

Bringing the Purple One to life with electric colour and commanding presence. Painted in acrylic and spray paint, the portrait glows with bold contrasts, all layered with rhythm and intent. The expression is intense, direct, unmistakable.

The background is a controlled chaos of pattern and movement, echoing Prince’s fearless creativity and genre-defying sound.

His eyes hold your attention — sharp and full of fire — while the textured bursts behind him pulse like the beat of a song.

A visual tribute to individuality, confidence, and raw, undeniable talent.

Artwork Title: Iconic Prince
Artist: Kirsten Todd 
Medium: Acrylic & Spray Paint on Canvas
Size: 40cm x 40cm
Price: £400
Presentation: Unframed, ready to hang

Rural Pathways

 

A celebration of movement, memory, and the wild joy of colour. This isn’t a quiet countryside stroll—it’s a rush of wind through the trees, a blaze of late-afternoon light slicing through the land, paths twisting with purpose and energy.

Bold, expressive marks pull you forward—ochres, tangerines, sky blues—all crashing together in a way that feels both raw and joyful.

There’s something unfiltered here. Not just a landscape, but the feeling of being alive in it. Of remembering somewhere you’ve never been.

Artwork Title: Rural Pathways
Artist: Kirsten Todd 
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 50cm x 50cm
Price: £275
Series: Fragile Earth
Presentation: Unframed, ready to hang

Ploughed Chalklands

Ploughed Chalklands is a vibrant, rhythmic exploration of farmland energy. Part dreamscape, part memory, seen through the unmistakable lens of Kirsten Todd’s Fragile Earth series.

With bold gestures and mosaic-like brushwork, Todd conjures the essence of cultivated fields under a lively sky. The winding furrows, painted with warm peach, terracotta and turquoise, feel almost musical as they sweep across the canvas, guided by rows of trees under a wild pastel canopy.

It’s a celebration of agricultural land — not as a static scene, but as a place alive with colour, motion, and humanity’s enduring relationship with the soil.

Artwork Title: Ploughed Chalklands
Artist: Kirsten Todd 
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 50cm x 50cm
Price: £275
Series: Fragile Earth
Presentation: Unframed, ready to hang

Take a look at the others exhibiting this summer

Julia Uttley | Bolton Photographer

Profile image of Julia courtesy Don Tonge  Julia Uttley is a Bolton‑based photographer whose work reveals a deep connection to the region’s industrial heritage and moorland landscapes. Born and raised in Lancashire’s Fylde region, she was drawn back north in 2015,...

read more