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Contact & Visit Us
How to Find Us
Our address is Porthmeor Studios, Back Road West TR26 1NG. We look out over Porthmeor Beach, near the Tate gallery, close to the main shopping centre. St Ives is very compact, probably no more than a 20 min walk from end to end, so wherever you are staying you should be able to walk to the studio easily.
PLEASE NOTE: Life drawing and Young Life is held at the Island Centre, TR26 1NT
Arriving by Car – Parking
Note: as you will be in a one-way system once you enter St Ives town, it’s best to think about whether you’d rather park further out of town and walk in. If you’d like to park in town – make the following changes to the directions above to arrive at any of these car parks:
Nearby car parks: Studio post code TR26 1NG
For more information – St Ives Parking – Taking the stress out of parking in St Ives (stives-parking.co.uk)
Island Car Park
– Long Stay
– 5 mins walk from School
– 129 Spaces
– TR26 1SY
Barnoon Car Park
– Long Stay
– 10 mins walk from School
– 124 Spaces
– TR26 1JF
Park Avenue Car Park
– Long Stay
– 15 mins walk from School
– 77 Spaces
– TR26 1QE
Trenwith Car Park
– Long Stay
– 20 mins walk from School, or bus from Royal Square
– 759 Spaces
– TR26 1DD
Station Car Park
– Long Stay
– 15 mins walk from School
– 106 Spaces
– TR26 2BH
Smeaton’s Pier
– Long Stay
– 5 mins walk from School
– 31 Spaces
– TR26 1PS
The Rugby Club
– Long Stay
– 25 mins walk from School, or bus from Porthmeor beach
– 250 Spaces
– TR26 2ET
Sloop Car Park
– SHORT STAY ONLY – Max 3 hours
– 2 mins walk from School
– 42 Spaces
– TR26 1LT
Porthmeor Beach Car Park
– SHORT STAY ONLY – Max 3 hours
– 10 mins walk from School
– 30 Spaces
– TR26 1JU
Directions by train
Travelling by train can be the most relaxing option, especially in the Summer months when parking is limited. The mainline train arrives at St Erth a 15 min taxi ride away.
There is also a park and ride car park at St Erth railway station, with 500+ spaces. You will need to buy a train ticket as well. The trains run approximately every half an hour (hourly in the evening). More info here – St Erth – Park & Ride by train for St Ives (greatscenicrailways.co.uk)
What to bring
All art materials are provided but you might like to bring a favourite set of brushes if you have them.
Remember to wear old clothes and think about comfortable shoes and warm outerwear if your course involves working outside.
Access to the School
What facilities do you have?
The School studios can be accessed by a lift from the ground floor. There is a disabled toilet on the lower floor accessed by the lift. If the front door is locked there is a bell on the bottom of the steps to let us know in the studio that you need access.
I would like to come on a course but I can’t walk far.
If you give us a ring in the office we can talk you through the different kinds of courses we have. Some of our landscape ones stay nearby the studio so might be suitable. Students in the past have hired a mobility scooter that helps them get around the town more easily. HSC Mobility (01736 755927) can drop a mobility scooter off for you in St Ives and collect at the end of your stay.
We also run many studio based courses covering still life and figure.
I’m sensitive to solvents, what do you use at the School.
Many of our courses are water based so these are ideal if you are sensitive to solvents. However if you would like to use oils we do use low odour spirit and we keep its use to a minimum. If you let us know about your sensitivity ahead of time we have an alterative non solvent product called Zest It that can be used.
I’m hard of hearing or deaf, will this be a problem?
We have had many students who are hard of hearing or deaf enjoying our courses. Some of the smaller courses with only eight students are ideal as there is lots of time for one to ones. We also have volunteers who can come in and scribe for students. This can be useful to follow group discussions and demonstrations more easily. Let us know beforehand if you think this would be useful for you.
Discover more…
Joan Eardley: The Forgotten Artist
Children from Glasgow’s slums, bleak seascapes, village fishermen at work … the vibrant visions of Joan Eardley are finding a new following. Written by Frances Spalding for The Guardian Joan Eardley, who died aged only 42 in 1963, is barely known in England. In 2007 the National Galleries of Scotland mounted a full retrospective, which attracted a…
Andrew Barrowman
Landscape painting in Cornwall, Andrew Barrowman paints en plein air and in the studio using oils as his chosen medium. He tries to convey the feeling and atmosphere of a landscape onto canvas for the viewer to have an idea of what it was like to be there. His paintings often start with ideas found whilst walking his dog.
Next Course
Artist Retreat Weekend – Autumn
Liz Hough + Ilker Cinarel
A developmental weekend working with two professional artists, combining 1-1 tutorials with a fun practical weekend of painting. Aimed at those developing an art practice.
St Ives School of Painting
Porthmeor Studios, St Ives,
Cornwall, UK , TR26 1NG