BLEUR Workshop series: [EMPOWERED] // Artist: Joanna Layla

Come explore the medium of watercolour and experience the power of creation in a hands-on, friendly and expressive workshop. This workshop aims to create a sense of empowerment by expressing your own artistic potential. Through a series of activities, you will learn key watercolour techniques and gain an insight into the construction of works on paper by building your own reference library of samples from wet on wet to lifting, gradation and mark making. You will leave the workshop with one finished watercolour artwork and an exploratory collection of smaller studies.

This event is part of the Bleur [INSERT FEELING HERE] campaign, an artist reflection on chasing our own emotions, the highs and the lows and making space for everything in between.

Price includes all materials needed for the workshop, a totes bag, refreshments and delicious snacks to fuel your creativity. Workshop participants will receive a 10% voucher from our partners Jackson’s Art Supplies.

As with all creative experimentations, things can get a bit messy so make sure you wear old clothes that you don’t mind getting paint on. Open to anyone, no previous experience required. Over 18s only.

About the artist

Joanna Layla is an illustrator whose unique style embraces the overlap of hand-drawn and digital. Through her fluid brushstrokes and minimalist design, her artistic practice encapsulates the beauty of the human form inspired by the worlds of fashion, literature and art. Joanna Layla is an Associate Lecturer in Illustration at University of the Arts London and runs Editorial Illustration Masterclasses at the prestigious House of Illustration. Shortlisted for the Prize for Illustration in 2017 and selected for PICTORIA: Best Contemporary Illustrators Worldwide 2019, she is regularly commissioned by well-known brands and institutions and has been mentioned in The Guardian for her ‘elegant graphics’.

How to find us

We are tucked away in the Old Biscuit Factory, a historical site which was once the heart of Bermondsey.

The entrance to the Biscuit Factory is at the junction between Webster Road and Clements Road. Search for the sadly permanently closed Shortwave cafe on Google maps, the entrance to our building is the opposite side of the parking lot. Go through the gated entrance as if you were local and look for the white double doors with a staircase at the end of the parking lot. Keep going up the stairs until the very last floor (those stairs never get easier). You will find Bleur Studios at the end of the corridor, Room 308.

We are very sorry but there is no accessible access to Bleur Studios at present. If you would like to attend, please get in touch with us.

We may capture some pictures and video of art in the making during the workshop. By registering for the workshop you confirm that you are happy for us to use this content for our distribution channels.