Our Painting Classes in Action
Trade the elegant colonnades of the Pantiles for palette knives and mountain landscapes at our Bob Ross painting studio.
Royal Tunbridge Wells earned its regal prefix from Edward VII, but the town's fashionable reputation dates back to 1606 when Dudley Lord North discovered the chalybeate spring that would transform a patch of Wealden forest into one of England's most elegant spa towns. The Pantiles, a colonnaded walkway of independent shops and cafes, remains the town's social heart and architectural jewel, its paving stones worn smooth by four centuries of promenading visitors. The common, a vast area of sandstone outcrops and woodland, provides wild green space right in the centre, complete with the extraordinary High Rocks formations popular with climbers. The town maintains a strong independent character with boutique shopping along the high street, a thriving food scene, and the Trinity Theatre and Arts Centre offering year-round cultural programming. The surrounding High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty provides some of southern England's finest countryside, with ancient woodland, wildflower meadows, and medieval farmsteads scattered across a landscape shaped by the iron industry.
Tunbridge Wells has attracted artists and writers since its earliest days as a spa resort. The town's cultural confidence is reflected in institutions like the Trinity Arts Centre and the annual Tunbridge Wells Art Society exhibitions, one of the longest-running art societies in the South East. The High Weald landscape surrounding the town has been painted extensively, with its distinctive pattern of rolling ridges, gill valleys, and ancient woodland providing subjects that shift dramatically with the seasons. Several professional artists maintain studios in the town and surrounding villages, while the nearby Groombridge Place has hosted sculpture exhibitions in its formal gardens. The Amelia Scott cultural hub, opened recently in the town centre, brings together museum collections, gallery space, and creative learning in a landmark building.
Tunbridge Wells residents have a well-earned reputation for appreciating the finer things, and there are few finer feelings than completing your first oil painting in a single day. The town's cultural sophistication means many locals have visited galleries and admired paintings their whole lives without ever picking up a brush themselves. A Bob Ross class breaks down that barrier with warmth and humour, proving that painting is not an exclusive skill but a universal pleasure. The journey from the Wealden hills to the Kent coast adds a sense of occasion to the day, and arriving home with a finished canvas is the kind of accomplishment that impresses even the most discerning of Tunbridge Wells neighbours.
Whether you are a complete beginner or have some painting experience, Mark’s classes are designed to be relaxing, fun, and rewarding. You’ll go home with a finished oil painting you can be proud of. View upcoming class dates or try an online tutorial from the comfort of home.
Tunbridge Wells occupies some of the most dramatic scenery in the South East — the sandstone outcrops of Tunbridge Wells Common and Harrison's Rocks, the ancient oak woodland of Fridge Forest, the broad views from Bowles outdoor centre across the High Weald to the Sussex Downs. These are landscapes of deep colour and strong form, ideal subjects for the bold brush strokes and rich palette of the Bob Ross wet-on-wet technique. In class you will learn to paint the kind of woodland and rocky landscape characteristic of the Weald: deep phthalo green tree masses built with the bristle brush, sandstone warm browns brought in with the palette knife, and the soft atmospheric haze that gives the High Weald its characteristic depth. Autumn is perhaps the finest season in the Tunbridge Wells area, and the class paintings that participants from this area produce often capture that dramatic palette of amber, russet, and deep viridian that makes the Weald so extraordinary between October and November.
Distance: Approximately 45 miles • Drive time: 1 hour 10 minutes
From Tunbridge Wells, the most efficient route takes the A26 north to Maidstone, joining the M20 eastbound and then the M2 towards the coast. Exit the M2 at junction 7 and follow the A2990 to Whitstable, where Seasalter Christian Centre is on Faversham Road. The journey covers approximately 45 miles and takes around 1 hour and 10 minutes. An alternative is to take the A21 north to the M25, then east to the M2, though this adds a few miles. By train, travel from Tunbridge Wells to Tonbridge, change for a Faversham service, then take a short connecting train to Whitstable — allow around 1 hour 30 minutes for the full journey. We recommend arriving by 9:30am for our 9:45am start.
Venue: Seasalter Christian Centre, Faversham Road, Whitstable, Kent CT5 4AX
To book call: 07736 204 441
Join Mark’s next Bob Ross oil painting class. No experience needed — just bring yourself and a packed lunch. All materials provided.
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