Bottled Light: Painting Luminous Glass in Watercolour

Join award winning watercolourist Mike Radford for a concentrated three-week workshop devoted to the drama, precision, and luminous beauty of painting glass. Known for his extraordinary attention to detail and rich, colourful darks, Mike will guide students through the unique challenges of capturing transparency, reflection, and refraction in still-life painting.

Working step-by-step, Mike will demonstrate how to read light inside glass forms—breaking down complex patterns of highlights, shadows, and distortions—and how to build depth through thoughtful glazing, skilful use of masking fluid, and confident layer-by-layer development. Students will discover how to create convincing, dimensional glass while preserving the fluid glow that defines watercolour.

This workshop offers a chance to slow down, refine technique, and deepen observational skills. By the end of the course, students will have completed at least one glass-focused still life and gained practical tools for incorporating dramatic lighting and subtle detail into their future work.