*Photo at Hugo Burge Foundation in 2025
Enjoy two days of botanical painting in Dukes of West Barns dedicated studio space, and relax in their café and gardens.
Marianne will coach you in botanical drawing & painting.
Begin the observation process looking at structure, colour and texture, with drawing and preparatory paint work on day one, and painting on day two.
£180 per weekend
There are two sets of dates:
Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 August 2026
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Dukes of West Barns, 5 Duke St, Dunbar, EH42 1UR
8 places available
Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 September 2026
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Dukes of West Barns, 5 Duke St, Dunbar, EH42 1UR
8 places available
Materials are included to use in the workshop, you may bring your own if you wish.
Lunch:
We can reserve a space for you in the café, please advise if you would like this or prefer to bring a packed lunch. Participants with packed lunches, will have space to eat in the workshop area, or in the gardens outside if the weather is good.
Getting here:
Car – A1 to Dunbar, N or S, take the A199 turnoff to Dunbar, then proceed onto the A1087
Train & X7 or 120 buses – from Dunbar Train Station walk up Station road, take a right onto Countess Road, to the bus stop.
Parking:
Blue badge parking is available in the small parking area directly outside Dukes. There is also a public car park across the road, behind the stone wall. Additional overflow parking can be found at the West Barns Bowling Club (less than half a kilometre walk along Edinburgh Road). Please be mindful of local residents when parking close by.
Staying locally:
What will you be doing?
Marianne will talk (briefly) about the history of botanical illustration, give you some insights into her artistic journey and practice, and take you through some basic steps to get started with your own botanical art piece, with watercolours and equipment provided.
She will then show you how to make preparatory sketches, you will discover how to closely observe your specimens, to learn about their structure and botany, and how to transfer your refined sketches onto watercolour paper. You will colour-match to your specimens, working with watercolour to match shades and tones, and then you will begin to paint.
Each day’s activities will be accompanied by examples of Marianne’s botanical artworks.
We expect each day to last about six hours (incl lunch). Accurate botanical illustration is a slow, careful and meditative process, so expect to take your painting home to finish.
Make a provisional booking below with the form, Marianne will then send you payment details to confirm your booking.
Workshop booking form
Draw on day one, paint on day two
On day one we will be drawing our specimens, working with measurement and scale to get accurate representations of our plants. On day two, I will show you how to colour-match to your specimen, working with watercolour to match shades and tones, and then you will begin to paint.
