Paint a Monochrome Still Life Inspired by Vanessa Bell - Firstsite

Overview

Discover how light, dark, and subtle changes in tone can transform a colourful painting in this hands-on oil painting workshop inspired by Vanessa Bell’s Still Life (c.1933). You’ll reinterpret the composition using a restricted palette of white, black, yellow ochre, and brown, exploring how much you can achieve without relying on bright colour. You’ll leave with your own monochrome oil painting and a stronger understanding of how tone, contrast, and a limited palette can create form, depth, and variety.

What to expect

• The session will begin with a short introduction to Vanessa Bell and her ‘Still Life’.
• Followed by a demonstration showing how to identify light and dark areas, mix a range of warm and cool neutral tones, and use contrast to give objects shape and depth.
• You’ll then create your own monochrome painting, gradually building the different objects and surrounding space.

Dates and times

• Saturday 20 February 2027 | 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
• Length: 4 hours + 1 hour lunchbreak

Location

Studios, Firstsite, Lewis Gardens, High Street, Colchester CO1 1JH, UK.

Eligibility

This workshop is suitable for ages 16+ and is suitable for beginners as well as those with some experience of oil painting.

Fees

• Standard: £21
• Mosaic Member: £16
• Book 4 or more tickets to a £21 workshop and get 10% off.

Materials

Basic materials are provided.

About your tutor

Denisa Mansfield is an artist whose work explores expressive colour, movement, and emotion through the language of Impressionism and abstraction. She works primarily in oils, with a focus on how traditional methods can be reinterpreted in contemporary ways. Her practice celebrates curiosity, creative risk-taking, and the joy of discovery through paint.