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Introduction to ink at Petworth House

An introduction to the fluid and versatile qualities of ink, in collaboration with West Dean College. Learn to control and allow the ink to flow to produce a variety of exciting outcomes.

  • Booking essential

On this course you will be taken on a tour of the new Turner exhibition at Petworth House where you will see the landscape paintings he made when he visited this wonderful property.

The course will begin with a series of experiments that will form a mini sketchbook of techniques. You will learn about the properties of ink and how it behaves using a range of methods to encourage a variety of effects and mark-making outcomes. Ink is a fluid drawing medium and bridges the gap between drawing and painting. You will be working with black and white ink to discover how the ink behaves.

Once you have experimented, you will go outside into the grounds of Petworth House, and in the steps of Turner, you will sketch the landscape. You will start small scale, progressing to a larger scale (A2), gaining confidence with the expressive nature of ink and the variety of marks you can make. You will look at tone, line, form and composition and how to make a suggestion of the landscape you see through the marks you make.

At the end of the course, you will have produced a mini sketchbook of techniques and transferred these skills with direct observational drawings from the landscape at Petworth House and the inspiration of the Turner exhibition. You will have learnt about the joy of ink, its fluidity and unpredictability that leads to surprising results. You will have worked outdoors and embraced scale, through starting small and advancing to a larger more expressive piece of work.

Times

Prices

Event ticket prices

Ticket typeTicket category
All £183.00

The basics

Booking details

Call 01243 818300

Suitability

Not suitable for children

Meeting point

Please meet at Petworth House reception from 10am for a 10.15am start (the car park opens at 10am).

What to bring and wear

Please see the Course Materials section on the West Dean course information page.

Accessibility

It is a 10 minute walk from the main visitor car park to the studio at Petworth. There is a mobility vehicle for those who might find this walk difficult.

Other

Please be aware that in the event of extreme weather forecast, such as high winds, the site at Petworth may be closed. We will inform you the day before if a cancellation becomes necessary and refund the cost of the course in full.

Upcoming events

Event

Turner's Vision at Petworth 

For the first time in 20 years, a specially curated selection of JMW Turner’s artistic studies of Petworth will be exhibited in the very place that inspired him. These rarely seen works give a fascinating insight into Turner’s methods.

Event summary

on
21 Jun to 16 Nov 2025
at
10:30 to 16:30
+ 148 other dates or times
Event

Petworth Late: Summer Solstice & Turner's Vision at Petworth Exhibition 

Enjoy the summer solstice in the Pleasure Garden at Petworth, and see our new 'Turner's Vision at Petworth' exhibition.

Event summary

on
21 Jun 2025
at
19:00 to 22:00
Event

Archaeology in the Park Guided Walk 

Find out about some of the archaeological findings in the Park on this two hour guided walk.

Event summary

on
4 Jul to 11 Jul 2025
at
10:30 to 12:30
+ 3 other dates or times
Event

Changing Landscape Exhibition 

This exhibition tells the 900-year story of the landscape at Petworth, the people who lived and worked in it, and explores what landscape means to people now and in the past.

Event summary

on
7 Jul to 17 Aug 2025
at
10:30 to 16:30
+ 41 other dates or times