Paint Bristol with artist Helena Traill in this small-group Impressionist plein air painting workshop for beginners and experienced artists.

Spend the day painting with artist Helena Traill in this relaxed, small-group Impressionist plein air painting workshop.

Beginning at Helena's studio in Willway Yard, Bedminster, the workshop combines an informal introduction to Impressionism with practical outdoor painting. Helena will share her approach to light, colour, tonal values, limited palettes and expressive brushwork before demonstrating her own plein air setup.

The group will then walk for approximately 30 minutes towards Bristol Harbour, where Helena will choose a Bristol city view for everyone to paint together. She will paint the same view alongside you, demonstrating her process and offering individual guidance throughout the session.

The aim is not to reproduce the scene perfectly, but to explore how colour, tone and brushwork can capture the feeling and atmosphere of a place.

Beginners are very welcome. A limited palette provides a straightforward introduction to oil or acrylic painting and helps build confidence with colour mixing. More experienced artists can use the workshop to loosen their approach, simplify their palette or explore a more expressive way of painting.

Everyone starts with the same landscape, but there is no expectation that the finished paintings will look alike. The focus is on observing, experimenting and finding your own response to the landscape.

You will leave with your own original painting of Bristol, Helena's limited-palette approach to take into your own practice and hopefully a slightly different way of looking at colour and landscape.

What you'll need

Please bring your own oil or acrylic plein air painting setup and a canvas or board around 8 x 10 inches, and no larger than A3.

A full kit list will be sent in advance. Helena can provide spares or missing items where possible, so please get in touch if you are unsure what to bring.

You will also need comfortable shoes and a bag that you can comfortably carry during the walk from the studio to the painting location.

Workshop details

Saturday 14 November 2026

10:30am–3pm

Starting point: Helena Traill's studio, Willway Yard, Bedminster, Bristol

£55 per person

Maximum 8 artists

Suitable for beginners and experienced artists

Description supplied by the event organiser.