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TALES OF THE MARVELLOUS AND NEWS OF THE STRANGE: Natural Marvels & Oddities ‘Aja’ib wa-Ghara'ib Starts 4 June | £249 | Online Book now TALES OF THE MARVELLOUS AND NEWS OF THE STRANGE CLASSES ‘Aja’ib wa-Ghara’ib Natural Marvels and Oddities: Natural magic and correspondences Did you know that zebras are really quite wild and impossible to tame so zoos have a hard time looking after them? Also, they are officially black with white stripes, not the other way round. Also, they are related to horses (but look like small punk versions of them). Deer on the other hand seem a lot calmer. In China, there is a legend of a gentle nine-coloured deer. Does are associated with femininity, and stags fertility. I wonder what would happen if a zebra met a deer in real life. Maybe Bambi and the beast… Borne from a desire to present a truly comprehensive picture of all miniature painting, and emerging from my latest ongoing research into the world of the 1001 Arabian Nights, these classes are like a cabinet of curiosities for miniature painting. The TALES classes comprise 3 strands: Characterless Characters, Objects and Ingenious Devices and our final strand - Natural Marvels and Wonders. # If, like me, you find stories and marvels irresistible, join me in painting a collection of marvels and wonders. We have covered the Vegetal and the Mineral - it’s time to address the Animal. Humans have found wonder in the tiniest fleas and the wide open seas and the far flung stars (and now we’re going to Mars). These things are the stuff of stories, the razm o bazm (fight and feast) of the Shahnameh and the magic everyday fabric that is the stock in trade of the Nights. The many varied and countless aspects of the world that was Shahrazad’s master plan: show them all to Shahriyar and present a picture of all life to him so he sees the nuances and not only the extremes, and comes to completion through her stories. Upcoming Sessions Dates: 4 June 2025 to 25 June 2025 Total of 4 sessions • Wednesday 4 June 7pm -8pm London time • Wednesday 11 June 7pm -8pm London time • Wednesday 18 June 7pm -8pm London time • Wednesday 25 June 7pm -8pm London time Book now

A Book of Scales and Feathers Starts 4 June | £399 | Online Book now Paint the outside bits of dragons and phoenixes. Focus on scale patterns and individual and group feathers. It’s nice to hone in on the small parts of these non-mammals; they are so different to us and worthy of study. (Also they don’t exist, so we will use fish and bird substitutes!) This does not necessarily need to take form as a book - you can use the drawings and paintings we make as loose sketches and inspiration to refer to when you next paint a full dragon or simurgh. Class includes a bespoke handmade leather cover to paint and free postage to anywhere in the world. Sent separately depending on production schedules. Make your own library of handmade Islamic style books! Upcoming Sessions Dates: 4 June 2025 to 25 June 2025 Total of 4 sessions • Wednesday 4 June 9pm - 10pm London time • Wednesday 11 June 9pm - 10pm London time • Wednesday 18 June 9pm - 10pm London time • Wednesday 25 June 9pm - 10pm London time Book now

Paint wondrous, flowing rocks in vibrant colours Starts 4 June | £199 | Online Book now Immerse yourself in the vivid colours, wondrous landscapes and marvellous rock formations in Persian Safavid and other Islamic miniature paintings. Explore Mughal and Chinese influences that synthesised along the Silk Road. Five courses will look at different elements - Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Ether. This first course, Earth, will focus on stylised rocks – joyous, animated and dynamic. Rocks are alive! And rocks do move - albeit slowly. They represent aeons of time. You will produce your own unique rock formations based on ancient masterpieces. We will look at various paintings including the greatest masterpiece of Safavid miniature rocks - the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp - as well as paintings that span the Islamic world from its origins up to the Mughal and Ottoman Empires. The stylised rocks style is broadly similar to both Safavid and Mughal painting and was influenced by Chinese rock styles. We’ll look at examples of Chinese Scholar’s rocks - oddly-shaped rocks - and the relationships to Chinese landscape painting. We will trace a continuum of rocks and use rock typology to discover classic iconographic forms as well as adding our own unique spontaneous anthropomorphic elements imbued with a sense of joy and play - animated rocks that look like animals or figures. These are spirited rocks imbued with a sense of fun and delight. Rocks can flow like molten lava, whirl into semi-spiral forms, mushroom into multifarious formations, skyrocket out of the frame or stand firm and strong as cliffs, providing support as mountains to other pictorial elements in a miniature, or they appear alone, as floating islands suspended in the landscape space. Rocks are full of latent energy and represent the variety of life. This course is especially suited to Beginners since there is no real wrong way to paint rocks. No previous experience is necessary and all courses work equally well as standalone courses that can be taken individually. However, to get the most out of them and to gain a thorough grounding in miniature painting, we recommend taking all 5 courses. Continuing students taking the cycle again may start a new painting or bring along works in progress to complete. The following courses will explore Air: Clouds; Water (lakes, rivers and seas); Fire (the Dragon, Phoenix and the Simurgh) and Ether: the Supernatural (Angels, Divs and Demons). Upcoming Sessions Dates: 4 Jun 2025 - 25 Jun 2025 Total of 4 sessions • Wednesday 4 June 6pm - 7pm London time • Wednesday 11 June 6pm - 7pm London time • Wednesday 18 June 6pm - 7pm London time • Wednesday 25 June 6pm - 7pm London time Book now