About
The Ganges River flows over 2,500 miles through several states in Northern India. It is regarded as the holy personification of the goddess Ganga, and people bathe in its waters to achieve spiritual cleansing. Along with the Ganges, there are four other major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, all of which are extremely important to India. It’s no surprise that these expansive waterways are often featured in Indian miniature paintings.
In this course, we will explore depictions of the river itself, as well as the diverse animals, flowers, and people that thrive in or near the water. Students will observe scenes such as elephants bathing, women washing clothes, fish swimming, and beautiful lotuses growing in the water.
We will also learn how to prepare paper and techniques for staining and burnishing. Additionally, students will be guided through various painting techniques, including color mixing, flooding, and creating wave effects found in rivers.
Key Information
Who is this course for?
All levels of ability and experience welcome.
You must be aged 18 or over to participate in our online programmes.
What days/times do I attend?
Tuesdays, 27 May, 3, 10, 17, 24 June, 1 July 2025, 17:30 – 20:00
How do I attend?
This class will take place on Zoom, an online meeting platform. A link for joining the Zoom meeting will be sent before the start date.
What materials do I need?
- An H or HB pencil, eraser, and sharpener
- 1 x wooden board, approximately 15 x 12 inches
- 1 x roll of brown gum tape
- Ink, either Chinese ink or India ink
- A ruler
- A burnisher: You can use a wide gilders’ burnisher or a smooth, rounded agate stone, or even the back of a spoon. It must be perfectly smooth to prevent scratching your paper.
- Several A4 sheets of tracing paper
- Several A4 sheets of cartridge paper or photocopy paper for practice
- Several A4 sheets of hot pressed watercolour paper, 640 gsm (the tutor recommends Fabriano Artistico)
- Watercolour brushes, either sable or synthetic, in sizes 7, 5, 2, 0 and 000
- A clean palette with wells, either ceramic or plastic
- Chinese ink (either bottled or in a stick; you will need a grinding stone if using stick form)
- Walnut ink (this contains nuts; sepia coloured ink is an alternative)
- Tubes of gouache paints: black (any), white (any), burnt sienna, burnt umber, cadmium yellow (light or dark), Prussian blue (dark), ultramarine, cadmium red, orange (any), olive or sap green.
- A clean jam jar for water
Online Learning
What if I have questions during the workshop?
This will be a small workshop; Students will be able to ask questions via chat or unmuting themselves.
Students will also have access to our online learning platform, Thinkific, where we share supplementary content.
I live in a different timezone. Can I still attend?
We encourage you to attend the course in real time to really benefit from instruction; however, if you are unable to attend live due to the difference in time you can catch up via recordings on our online learning platform, Thinkific. These recordings are available for a limited time after the course.
Recordings cannot be purchased separately if the course is fully booked or if the course has already started.
FAQs
Do you offer concessions?
Yes, we offer concessions for full time students and Seniors/60+.
Concessions cannot be applied in retrospect. To receive a concession, please apply via our online form. We will then send you a discount code to use when booking your space.
What if I need to change or cancel my booking?
No refunds, unless cancelled by the School. If you cancel up to 1 week before the workshop starts, we can offer a transfer to another workshop of equivalent value, subject to availability.
Tutor Biography
Samantha Buckley is an Indian miniature painter who has designed work for The Highgrove Shop in Tetbury, and Traditional Arts in London. In 2010 Samantha contributed two painted elephant sculptures to Elephant Parade, an event in London raising money for the Asian Elephant. In 2011 she was invited by the renowned artist Dr Desmond Lazaro to undertake a one-year apprenticeship in India to extend her knowledge and technique of miniature painting, developing work for an exhibition in London at The Ben Brown Gallery. She completed her MA at The School in 2006, receiving a distinction for her studies in miniature painting.