Seek Art School

01/05/2026

A bit of inspiration from Matisse and Rothko at the Drawing & Painting Friday Class this week. Beginning with a strong colour ground, one is immediately in a colour wrestling match with the subsequent colours.

16/04/2026

Plenty to see, good chat, and the couch do a lovely bacon roll.

South Bank Studios artists are delighted to be part of York Open Studios once again this year.

Come and visit us over the weekends of 18th & 19th and 25th & 26th April. From 10am to 5pm each day.

We have EIGHT artists at one venue, plus an amazing cafe here too where you can refuel with delicious refreshments.

You''ll see so much amazing work here at the studios, including watercolour, textile art, jewellery, lino printing, drawing, oil painting, metalsmithing, letterpress, intaglio prints and more. Plus you can chat to the artists and makers in a relaxed setting.

🟡 We’re venue number 27 🟡
South Bank Studios, 97 Bishopthorpe Road, York

Artists selected this year here at South Bank Studios are:
Caroline Utterson Textiles and Embroidery
Donna Maria Taylor Donna Maria Taylor
Laura Duval Laura Duval Artist Designer Metalsmith
Susan Bradley Susan Bradley Design
John C Sparrow
Colin Black Seek Art School
Carolyn Coles Carolyn Coles - Artist and Illustrator
Jo Yeates Yeates Creates

We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone to the studios, showing you all our work and chatting to you too.

See you at the weekend!

01/04/2026

Started another series of pictures titled 'Dark Paths'. Inspired by walking in the Yorkshire Wolds at dusk/nighttime. I set the task of drawing, drawing, drawing, either with scalpel, paintbrush, fingers or roller, whatever it takes.

28/03/2026

It's only THREE WEEKS until the start of this years York Open Studios!

South Bank Studios artists are delighted to be part of York Open Studios once again this year.

Come and visit us over the weekends of 18th & 19th and 25th & 26th April. From 10am to 5pm each day

📒 The brilliant yellow guide books are available all over the city NOW! So you can plan your visits, and see all the amazing artists taking part. Or the interactive website is also brilliant for this too.

🟡 We’re venue number 27 🟡
South Bank Studios, 97 Bishopthorpe Road, York

Artists selected this year here at South Bank Studios are:
Caroline Utterson Textiles and Embroidery
Donna Maria Taylor
Laura Duval Artist Designer Metalsmith
Susan Bradley Design
John C Sparrow
Colin Black Seek Art School
Carolyn Coles - Artist and Illustrator


We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone to the studios, showing you all our work and chatting to you too
And we also have an amazing cafe too, so you can stop off for a refuel. Art, coffee and cake - what more could you want? ☺️

York Open Studios is an annual community arts event which represents the best of artists and makers living or working in and around York. There are 150 artists from all across York taking part this year, and entry is FREE as always.
We hope you’ll come and see some of our resident artists here at South Bank Studios, as well as exploring all across the city.

28/03/2026

This week the Friday Class were inspired by shells. I've always shied away from using them in an art project. The recollection of seeing shells decorating a picture frame or mirror has instilled a feeling of dread. But these re-inventions have shown me that they have so much to offer. The shell-ness of a shell.

18/03/2026

A wonderful morning taking a group to the 'Making Waves' exhibition on the Japanese Woodblock print at York Art Gallery. Special privilege to get Dr Eleanor Jackson (curator) to show us around. A year's work in getting it together with of course the Hokusai Wave print as a central attraction.

13/03/2026

It's not until one spends time really looking at something that one realises how fascinating it is. Fruit for example. A series of mono prints from the Friday Class inspired by the work of Euan Uglow.

13/02/2026

A morning of using a small sketchbook to create a series of drawings. 'Visual enquiry' is about exploring ideas by visual means. Inspiration from Pierre Bonnard, Patrick Heron, Antony Gormley and Pablo Picasso.

30/01/2026

Following on from last week's ventures in tonal colour mixing we took inspiration from Josef and Anni Albers and their 'Homage to the Square'.

27/01/2026

'An Arrangement in Grey and Black no1' was Whistler's description of his iconic painting of his dear old mum. Looking this week at the beauty of greys starting by mixing bright oil paint together and allowing the colour to cancel each other out to get muted tones.

21/01/2026

Still using piers and jetties as a theme to grapple with. A theme can sometimes become a rich vein of creativity just by sticking with it. These are small A4 pictures but take just as long to get right as the big ones.