Classes — Tom Benjamin NEAC

Online Classes via WhatsApp Tuesday and Thursday mornings 9:30am to 12:30pm

Tuesday Online Class - 7th January to 18th February Booking by Bookwhen

Thursday Online Class 9th January to 20th February - Booking by Bookwhen

I run two regular online classes each week in rolling blocks of roughly 7 weeks at a time. The classes take place using WhatsApp groups. Students post photographs of their subject to start with and their painting or drawing as it progresses and I record feedback videos which I post back to the group. Students can watch all of the feedback videos and often find it helpful to learn from the advice from others. These groups have proved to be very popular. The cost is £30 per session, payable in blocks. Students who have to miss a class for any reason are welcome to join one of the classes on the alternative day.

Please e mail me if you’d like to go on a waiting list for either of these classes

5 Day Painting Holidays at Haddon Copse Farm in Dorset

This course has become a firm favourite with students over the past few years. The organic farm is full of wild flowers and wildlife as well as hens, geese, pigs, cows and sheep and in an idyllic location in Dorset's Blackmore Vale. Our hosts are farmers Tom and Mark who look after us all brilliantly.
These are outdoor painting courses and the farm offers you the chance to draw and paint a wide range of subjects within a short distance. We also have the use of a barn on the farm for dining and shelter.
Teaching takes place in groups working in the same location and individually.
Suitable for all levels of experience, my teaching takes account of your current ability and five concentrated days of intensive tuition can really take your painting forward.
23rd to 27th June  2025 Arrival midday on 23rd June Course ends 2pm on 27th June
1st to 5th September  2025 Arrival midday on 1st September. Course ends 2pm on the 5th September
Location: Haddon Copse Farm, Fifehead Neville, Dorset
Fee: £600 (Includes all tuition, home cooked supper on the first night and delicious lunches, and break time refreshments each day) A deposit of £100 will secure your place with the balance due 8 weeks before the start of the course.
Accommodation (not included in course fee): stay on the farm in a bell tent or retreat hut on a B and B basis, or in local recommended B and B's or Airbnbs (view list)
Book Haddon Copse Farm 23rd June to 27th June 2025 (Deposit)
Book Haddon Copse Farm 1st to 5th September 2025 (Deposit)

Landscape Painting Holiday Tuscany 2nd to 9th October 2025

A week long painting holiday based at the Verrocchio Arts Centre in Casole D'Elsa, Tuscany. Verrocchio Arts Centre is in the beautiful hilltop village Casole d’Elsa, located between Pisa and Siena. The Arts Centre is an old grain store housed within the medieval walls of the hilltop town and has a wonderful artistic heritage, being the home and studio of the late artist Nigel Konstam. Over the years many artists have taught and painted at the centre, including my tutor Graham Giles and it's full of their original artworks.

The lively and picturesque village and classically Tuscan landscape all around means that there is a wealth of subject matter within easy reach. We will be working within a short walk of the arts centre each day. We will also be travelling by taxi to either Siena, Volterra or San Gimignano for an afternoon of sight seeing or sketching

Staying in one place provides exciting opportunities for making series paintings or more sustained works to depict the glorious Tuscan light very specifically as it changes throughout a day. Temperatures in early October should be perfect for working outside. There will be lots of individual tuition and painting demonstrations.

Payment is in two separate parts: tuition (£400) and accommodation (Approx £942 - £1015)

Please e mail me to join a waiting list for this holiday