Creative Short Courses with West Dean at Petworth House
This summer, discover creative short courses hosted across the beautiful estates of West Dean and Petworth House in this collaboration celebrating our shared artistic heritage. West Dean and Petworth House share a rich history of influential patronages from JMW Turner to Salvador Dalí and remain committed champions of the arts to this day. Places can be booked through the links below.
Atmospheric Landscape Painting in Oils - Inspired by Turner at Petworth House
Delve into the world of Turner in this oil painting course that takes you through skills and techniques to build and create atmosphere in landscape paintings. Run in conjunction with a visit to Petworth House, you'll have the opportunity to study British masterpieces and explore the grounds of Petworth and West Dean to create your own emotive landscapes.
14-17 August, £620 per person.
Painting the Landscape - Turneresque at Petworth House
This course will take its inspiration from Petworth House Gardens and Turner's paintings held in the permanent collection at the house. Explore the use of acrylic paints to evoke atmosphere and space in your paintings.
28-30 August, £423 per person.
Watercolour Painting Influenced by Turner at Petworth House
Paint with watercolour in the style of Turner at Petworth House. Learn how to capture the essence of light and atmosphere, collective tonal shape and composition. Learn how to explore the narrative, and how to draw the viewer in to engage their interest. The emphasis will be to suggest and imply rather than on detail.
11-14 September, £635 per person.
Chalk Pastel Landscapes at Petworth House and West Dean Gardens
Immerse yourself in the landscape at West Dean Gardens using chalk pastels to create expressive, large scale drawings that are shaped by colour, observation and your personal response to place.
25-28 September, £611 per person.
You might also be interested in
Expressions in Blue: Monumental Porcelain by Felicity Aylieff
Expressions in Blue invites visitors to see Petworth through the lens of these monumental works in porcelain. The exhibition will be on show at Petworth House and Park from 23 May to 27 September 2026. Entry is free after normal admission to the house (free for National Trust members).
The collections at Petworth House and Park
From famous pieces of art and sculpture to decorative arts and furniture, explore some of the most important collections in the National Trust.
Things to know before you visit
From the medieval interiors of the chapel to the rooms of the historic kitchens, find out what you can see on a visit to the house at Petworth.
