Workshop Details

We make hundreds of decisions every day in our daily lives. Sometimes we delay difficult decisions and other times we make quick intuitive decisions.

Learn to explore through your painting practice how you make decisions.

Painting is a visual tool and language to translate how we experience the world. Every person sees the world from a unique perspective and as a result approaches a difficult problem differently.

Faced with a blank canvas, limited time, uncertainty, colour choices, mistakes, and changing possibilities, participants will begin to see their own decision-making patterns more clearly.

No painting experience is required. The purpose is not artistic excellence, but greater self-awareness.

What you will explore:

1. How to tackle a difficult problem like painting in practice and learning different ways to approach it from the start to finish.

2. Translating the practical exercise of painting back into every day decision making and finding different ways to approach both easy and difficult decisions.

3. Identify your default decision-making style under ambiguity and how decision patterns may help or hinder you.

4. Recognising how assumptions, risk appetite, emotion, and self-judgment shape your choices.

Hatfield House:

The workshop will take place in the very unique historic setting of Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.

The workshop will start in a conference room in the Old Palace of Hatfield House, which was built around 1485 by the Bishop of Ely, John Morton and is one of the foremost examples of medieval brickwork in the country.

After the initial introduction, participants will have the opportunity to go and explore the West Garden of Hatfield House to find their first painting spot for the day.

The West Garden is centred on the historic Old Palace, where Elizabeth I held her first council as Queen. At its heart lies the Lady Gwendolen Garden, an elegant parterre designed by Lady Gwendolen Cecil, featuring intricate planting, roses, clematis and sculpted yew topiary that reflect the architecture of the House. The garden leads on to the Sundial Garden and the Holly Walk, which extends into the peaceful Woodland Garden beyond.

Lunch will be provided in the Coach House Kitchen restaurant and afterwards participants will get more time to paint in the West Garden of Hatfield House.

Highlights of this workshop include:

• A whole day of painting and networking (9.30am to 6.30pm).

• A guest leadership coach will join for the discussion session.

• All oil painting materials are provided. You only need to make the time and come to the event.

• We will go through common decision-making techniques and how they translate into your painting.

• Participants will be able to create two paintings using different techniques.

• There will be plenty of opportunities to exchange ideas with other participants in a very unique historic setting.

• Maximum of 12 participants to allow for a good discussion.