St Michael’s Mount in Mixed Media — impasto, inks & texture

Spend a day painting Cornwall’s most iconic view — St Michael’s Mount — the way I paint it: bold acrylic mixed media, with real texture you can see and touch.

This is a hands-on day built around one piece: the painting in the picture. I’ll show you exactly how it’s made — impasto laid on with a palette knife, acrylic inks layered for depth and glow, and texture built up until the light starts doing the work for you. Then the toolkit is yours: same Mount, your own acrylic style. You’ll leave with your own St Michael’s — not a copy of mine — and the techniques to keep going.

What we’ll get into

• Impasto — laying confident, textured marks with a palette knife
• Layering acrylic inks over texture for depth, glow and atmosphere
• Building a surface: gesso, texture, and when to stop
• Composition and colour for the Mount — making the icon your own
• The “bold, fast and loose” mindset — energy over fiddle

Who it’s for

Everyone. If you’ve never touched a palette knife you’ll be fine — the techniques are forgiving by design, and that’s rather the point of them.

The practical bits

Wednesday 15 July, 10am–3pm at the Cornish Craft Barn. Small group of ten. All materials provided — boards, acrylics, inks, knives, the lot. Bring lunch or grab something from the café; tea and coffee flow all day.