Curtis Tappenden

Curtis has worked as an illustrator for the past 20 years, drawing for magazines, books, advertising, newspapers and packaging. He has also been part of the design team for The Mail On Sunday newspaper. Curtis's watercolours are frequently exhibited in galleries and shows throughout the country, and many paintings are in international collections. For the past ten years he has been writing books, penning articles for the national art press and has published over 23 books.
Curtis is also a lecturer in Art in further education and higher education institutions.
Curtis is available for demonstrations, workshops and an inspiring and exciting array of talks, all of which are laced with his infamous and inimitable performance poetry and anecdote.

Offers: Demonstrations, Workshops, Talks, Online sessions

Media: Demonstrations: Pastel; watercolour; acrylic; mixed-media. Subjects include, landscape, seascape, urban, still-life; circus; live entertainment drawing; reportage. Drawing techniques, sketchbooking approaches and techniques, (not portrait or specific animal subjects). Monoprint; techniques of monoprint as an accessible and inclusive art medium.

Workshops: Watercolour, Pastel, acrylic, mixed-media, monoprint, collage, paper cuts (see above), creative writing and creative writing integrating imagery, illustration; developing your creativity and ideas. 

Subjects: Landscapes, Seascapes, Urban, Still Life, Circus, Reportage, Drawing techniques, Sketchbook approaches, Creative writing integrating imagery, Illustration, Developing your ideas

Talks: I work for circuses, so: An evening of the history of circus and its relationship to art, with demonstrations of drawing live at circuses. 

Also slide presentations/art historical talks on:

Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious and Tom Hennell

The Artists of Great Bardfield, Essex

The History of Watercolour

Illustration

Naive art

Sketchbooking (with demonstrated techniques)

‘Jack of all trades, Master of none’ Illustrated talk about my own current practice as an illustrator, painter, educator and journalist

Drawing with Scissors. An integrated, practical talk/demonstration/ workshop based on Matisse’s paper cuts. 

(Can also prepare bespoke lectures on a range of historical and contextual subjects in collaboration with club interests etc)

Will travel to: Ordinarily up to 2 and a half hours from Brighton but will consider Nationwide

Email: curtis.tappenden@gmail.com

Phone: 07754781204