Folk Art: Stories in Paint

Discover the simple, expressive language of folk art and create your own small painted story.

Folk art has a wonderfully distinctive visual language: bold shapes, simplified imagery, decorative patterns, limited colour palettes and, often, a story hiding beneath the surface.

In this relaxed, beginner-friendly painting workshop, we’ll explore what makes folk art folk art before putting those ideas into practice on your own A4 canvas.

We’ll look at examples of folk art from different traditions and break down some of its key characteristics; from reducing complex subjects into simple shapes and symbols, to using repetition, pattern and colour to create a strong decorative style.

You’ll then develop your own folk-art visual vocabulary, experimenting with simple motifs such as flowers, animals, plants, people, houses and symbolic objects.

From there, you’ll choose a simple story, memory, place, creature or idea to inspire your painting. You’ll create a quick composition before translating your story into a finished acrylic painting using a deliberately limited colour palette.

You’ll finish the session with your own A4 folk-art painting, created entirely from your own story and visual ideas.

No previous painting experience is required; this workshop is about discovering your own visual language, not painting perfectly.

All materials are provided, including acrylic paints and an A4 canvas.

Come with an open mind, a willingness to experiment, and perhaps a little story you’d like to tell.