Tutor: Cathy Thomas 

We asked you what you wanted, you told us, and we listened! 

We're thrilled to share this brand new 5 week watercolour calligraphy course for beginners - you're going to love it.

Creating watercolour calligraphy is easier than you might think, and we're excited to introduce you to the multiple ways to incorporate colour into your brush lettering. Come and join us and discover degrees of transparency, ombre effects and building up the depth of colour within your calligraphy, all using the humble paintbrush!

Not only does working with a brush open up unlimited colour options, but it also means that you're able to write onto all kinds of surfaces, from walls to wine glasses! The true freedom of brush calligraphy is that you can work at any size, on pretty much any surface.

You’ll be taught how to control the brush in simple steps so that we can build your confidence by gradually adding to your understanding of the techniques which make brush calligraphy so beautiful. We will show you how to blend colours, create ombré effects, and work with washes to create beautiful lettered artworks.

An online workshop is a wonderful way to learn calligraphy, as you are able to watch your tutor demonstrate up close on your screen so that every letter stroke and movement of the pen and hand is magnified and easy to follow.

This workshop is suitable for complete beginners — no experience is necessary. Your Zoom invite will come with your booking email confirmation, and we'll send it to you again 3 days before your workshop in your reminder email. After you've booked please check your Spam folder in case the email ends up in there!

Week 1 The Foundations of Brush Calligraphy and controlling the brush. An introduction to creating letters with a water brush and paintbrush. How hard to press and where to change the pressure.

Week 2 Mixing your colours, colour terms, experiments and using colour effectively.

Week 3 Creating background washes, wet on wet - wet on dry to work over with calligraphy. What colour to use and when to hold back.

Week 4 Combining calligraphy and illustration - borders, wreaths and decoration.

Week 5 Complete a final piece using incorporate a wash or a decorative element. Guidance with composition and colour choices.

Your Kit

Tickets for this live-streamed workshop include a water brush, paint palette, watercolour paper, layout paper and of course your worksheets and templates.

All of this will be posted out to you the week prior to your workshop. You only need to provide 2 jars of water, some kitchen paper and please protect the surface that you work on in case of paint splashes.

Included within this ticket price is postage to UK mainland only, no Islands or Highlands. For other UK and international locations, please email Emily at info@kirstenburke.co.uk with your name, address and the workshop/course title and date you would like to attend and she will be able to let you know the additional postage charge and eta for your kit via Royal Mail.

System requirement

This workshop will be hosted via Zoom. All you need is a PC, Mac, laptop or tablet that has video and audio capabilities and a good wifi connection. If you opt for using a smartphone with the Zoom app, you will need a holder or somewhere to place it throughout the workshop so that your hands are free to do calligraphy and you may find it trickier to view the demonstrations at such a small size.

You will need a good WiFi connection. You can find the full system requirements here.

PLEASE NOTE Once your kit has been posted, workshop tickets are not refundable. This does not affect your statutory rights.

If you do not receive your confirmation email after booking, please check your Spam Folder. If it isn't in there please contact us to let us know.