About Our Tutors
Val Cansick
Tutor in oils, watercolour, and mixed media as well as acrylics and drawing for all abilities in each subject, Val caters to amateur or professional and semi-professional artists with her wide range of skills. Her drawing courses are a must for anyone interested in perspective or illustration, or simply wanting to learn about building ideas in a sketchbook for further development into paintings.
Val has a lifetime’s experience in art to bring to her workshops and courses, and loves to help people learn and improve their skills in a positive atmosphere.
Sketching with pencil or brush is included as part of the drawing courses. She also provides a ‘surgery’ for advice on your work. Please call the studio for more details as there is no set time for these sessions, you can book a mutually convenient time to call at the studio.
Val has been involved with art all her life, and after she showed drawing skills from as young as 6yrs old, she won coveted places at Plymouth College of Art to attend as a part-time junior student while still at school, later gaining a permanent place as a senior, full-time student. Her training was primarily in commercial art and her first job was working for a silk screen company, designing and producing industrial posters for local government and business agencies.
She then emigrated to Canada and worked for an English architect for 2 years, drawing artist impressions of designs of buildings and interiors while studying basic architectural disciplines. After returning to the UK, she worked on a variety of artwork for advertising and leisure industry companies producing and illustrating training manuals. In the late 90s, Val added mural painting to her skill set and produced a series of murals for private clients.
Regularly updating her skills to keep up with change and modern technology, Val understands the problems artists have with things such as perspective, colour mixing or when trying to improve or change mediums. Her enthusiasm for teaching and commitment to help students gain confidence and progress is an important part of her courses.
Sponsorships
Val has sponsored the CPRE (Hertfordshire Campaign for the Protection of Rural England) Children’s Painting Competition for the last 3 years, which aims to encourage children to paint their ideas about protecting the countryside environment. Most recently, she sponsored the exhibition at her gallery of the winners of the Hertfordshire Life Magazine Landscape Painter of the Year. She said: “The standard of work is wonderful and it is reassuring that there are still plenty of artists out there loving our British landscapes. It is a privilege to be involved in hosting the exhibition of finalists.”