Places are limited and each course is carefully prepared. We encourage you to review our Terms & Conditions before booking. By booking, you agree to them and to the principles that shape our courses.
Seated lunch | Afternoon tea | Small-group
Led by Julia Blaker, Artist, with historical and botanical insights from Neil Crump, Founder of Asterion & Co.
Create a trio of expressive vegetable paintings inspired by the kitchen garden.
Explore colour, rhythm and composition through three connected acrylic works.
Take home a set of paintings shaped by balance, character and confident mark-making.
𐡷𐫱𐡸
Spend the day moving between kitchen garden, studio and still life in this immersive painting masterclass at The Old Vicarage.
Working from carefully selected vegetables chosen for their shape, silhouette and personality, you’ll create three distinct yet connected acrylic paintings designed to work together as a cohesive series. The focus throughout is not realism, but character: bold colour, simplified form and expressive composition.
Guided by Julia Blaker’s distinctive graphic style and intuitive approach to painting, you’ll learn how rhythm, repetition and variation allow multiple works to speak to one another. Working across all three paintings throughout the day, you’ll build a shared visual language while allowing each piece to retain its own individuality.
Asterion & Co. will open the day with a short Heritage-Inspired Learning™ session exploring the tradition of still life painting, from domestic symbolism and abundance to the contemporary kitchen garden as a living still life shaped by season, cultivation and care.
At the close of the session, framing options will be selected for professional finishing, with completed framed works available for collection or arranged delivery after the course.
What you will learn
Explore still life painting through vegetables, colour and form
Develop confidence in acrylic painting and expressive mark-making
Understand how to create cohesion across multiple artworks
Work with rhythm, repetition and visual balance
Build layered compositions through colour blocking and refinement
Create a resolved trio of paintings designed to work together
How the day unfolds
Warm welcome and introduction
Contextual session on still life painting and the kitchen garden
Introduction to composition, colour and subject selection
Morning painting sessions across all three works
Seated seasonal lunch and time to pause
Afternoon refinement, layering and pattern development
Framing discussion and final finishing touches
What you’ll leave with
Three completed acrylic paintings on paper
Professional framing preparation for all artworks
Greater confidence in colour, composition and series-making
A deeper understanding of still life and decorative painting
A thoughtful and restorative day of creative work
𐡷𐫱𐡸
Workshop Details
Date: Tuesday 13th September 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset
Price: £235 per person
Includes: Full tuition, all painting materials, professional framing preparation, refreshments throughout the day and a seated seasonal lunch
Booking terms
By booking, you are entering into an agreement with Asterion & Co. in accordance with our Terms & Conditions, including our cancellation policy and course guidelines.
This masterclass combines Julia Blaker’s distinctive artistic practice with Asterion’s Heritage-Inspired Learning™ philosophy, creating a day of observation, colour exploration and confident creative making.
About Julia Blaker
Julia Blaker is an artist whose work explores shape, repetition and the emotional resonance of everyday forms. Her practice is rooted in bold colour, simplified composition and an intuitive approach to painting that balances confidence with playfulness.
Known for her clarity as a teacher and her warm, encouraging approach, Julia helps guests move beyond hesitation and work with greater freedom, rhythm and expressive confidence.
Read more about Julia Blaker in The Asterion Journal.
Need accommodation nearby?
Click here for a list of places to stay overnight before or after your course that we know well and would recommend.
Places are limited and each course is carefully prepared. We encourage you to review our Terms & Conditions before booking. By booking, you agree to them and to the principles that shape our courses.
Seated lunch | Afternoon tea | Small-group
Led by Julia Blaker, Artist, with historical and botanical insights from Neil Crump, Founder of Asterion & Co.
Create a trio of expressive vegetable paintings inspired by the kitchen garden.
Explore colour, rhythm and composition through three connected acrylic works.
Take home a set of paintings shaped by balance, character and confident mark-making.
𐡷𐫱𐡸
Spend the day moving between kitchen garden, studio and still life in this immersive painting masterclass at The Old Vicarage.
Working from carefully selected vegetables chosen for their shape, silhouette and personality, you’ll create three distinct yet connected acrylic paintings designed to work together as a cohesive series. The focus throughout is not realism, but character: bold colour, simplified form and expressive composition.
Guided by Julia Blaker’s distinctive graphic style and intuitive approach to painting, you’ll learn how rhythm, repetition and variation allow multiple works to speak to one another. Working across all three paintings throughout the day, you’ll build a shared visual language while allowing each piece to retain its own individuality.
Asterion & Co. will open the day with a short Heritage-Inspired Learning™ session exploring the tradition of still life painting, from domestic symbolism and abundance to the contemporary kitchen garden as a living still life shaped by season, cultivation and care.
At the close of the session, framing options will be selected for professional finishing, with completed framed works available for collection or arranged delivery after the course.
What you will learn
Explore still life painting through vegetables, colour and form
Develop confidence in acrylic painting and expressive mark-making
Understand how to create cohesion across multiple artworks
Work with rhythm, repetition and visual balance
Build layered compositions through colour blocking and refinement
Create a resolved trio of paintings designed to work together
How the day unfolds
Warm welcome and introduction
Contextual session on still life painting and the kitchen garden
Introduction to composition, colour and subject selection
Morning painting sessions across all three works
Seated seasonal lunch and time to pause
Afternoon refinement, layering and pattern development
Framing discussion and final finishing touches
What you’ll leave with
Three completed acrylic paintings on paper
Professional framing preparation for all artworks
Greater confidence in colour, composition and series-making
A deeper understanding of still life and decorative painting
A thoughtful and restorative day of creative work
𐡷𐫱𐡸
Workshop Details
Date: Tuesday 13th September 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset
Price: £235 per person
Includes: Full tuition, all painting materials, professional framing preparation, refreshments throughout the day and a seated seasonal lunch
Booking terms
By booking, you are entering into an agreement with Asterion & Co. in accordance with our Terms & Conditions, including our cancellation policy and course guidelines.
This masterclass combines Julia Blaker’s distinctive artistic practice with Asterion’s Heritage-Inspired Learning™ philosophy, creating a day of observation, colour exploration and confident creative making.
About Julia Blaker
Julia Blaker is an artist whose work explores shape, repetition and the emotional resonance of everyday forms. Her practice is rooted in bold colour, simplified composition and an intuitive approach to painting that balances confidence with playfulness.
Known for her clarity as a teacher and her warm, encouraging approach, Julia helps guests move beyond hesitation and work with greater freedom, rhythm and expressive confidence.
Read more about Julia Blaker in The Asterion Journal.
Need accommodation nearby?
Click here for a list of places to stay overnight before or after your course that we know well and would recommend.
Image 1 of 28
Image 2 of 28
Image 3 of 28
Image 4 of 28
Image 5 of 28
Image 6 of 28
Image 7 of 28
Image 8 of 28
Image 9 of 28
Image 10 of 28
Image 11 of 28
Image 12 of 28
Image 13 of 28
Image 14 of 28
Image 15 of 28
Image 16 of 28
Image 17 of 28
Image 18 of 28
Image 19 of 28
Image 20 of 28
Image 21 of 28
Image 22 of 28
Image 23 of 28
Image 24 of 28
Image 25 of 28
Image 26 of 28
Image 27 of 28
Image 28 of 28
