Peter can be booked to deliver his popular demonstrations, in person or via Zoom, for art groups and societies across the UK. Bringing with him a range of his work as examples, Peter will demonstrate his approach in an approximately 2 hour demonstration (with a break) whilst explaining his method, materials used and taking questions from the group.
Demonstrations can run flexibly according to your set times, venue and are charged according to your location. A 2hr Zoom demonstration is £150.
Peter can run the following demonstrations or talks;
Portrait Painting in Oils: Peter’s most popular demonstration. Painting a completed head-and-shoulders portrait in just under 2 hours, sharing his tips and suggestions on capturing a sitter’s likeness and character.
Expressive Portrait Painting in Oils: Similar to the above demonstration, Peter will paint a head-and-shoulders portrait using a more expressive and dynamic approach to mark making and use of colour.
Portrait Drawing in Charcoal: Peter will draw a head-and-shoulders portrait, sharing his tips and suggestions on capturing a sitter using charcoal.
Colour Theory & Mixing: A fascinating and interactive talk / demonstration where Peter explains how artists of the past and present have used colour to make their art really ‘work’. Part of the talk will also be given to a demonstration on achieving accurate colour mixing.
The Power of Composition & Design: An engaging talk/lecture discussing the many different elements of compositional design available to artists - ideal as a talk via Zoom. This talk draws examples from many of the greatest paintings created, as well as how Peter uses composition in his own work.
Landscape/Garden Scene in Oils or Acrylics: A simple yet enlightening demonstration where Peter will explain the full process of painting a landscape or garden scene in your choice of an acrylic or oil palette.
Impressionist Painting in Oils or Acrylics: Peter will explain, through a full demonstrated painting, how artists such as Monet and the other Impressionists produced their signature style, colour palette and techniques in their famous paintings.
Figures in Oils: Adding a figure into a landscape painting can really enhance a painting, but how to go about it? Peter will explain all in a painting (such as a market, cafe or seaside scene) where the main focus of the painting is people and figures.
Still Life in Oils: Peter will paint a still life scene of fruit, vegetables and/or kitchenware, paying particular attention to accurate colour mixing and compositional design.
Art Critique / Art Clinic: This is a chance to bring your own work in and have positive, constructive feedback and guidance on how to develop your work further. If run as a workshop, students can carry on with their own projects with Peter assisting where needed. Suitable for all painting and drawing medias.
To book Peter to run an art demonstration for your art group or society, please contact him via the contact page.
some of the testimonials from Art Groups Peter has worked with;
“Peter was probably the best demonstrator Rickmansworth Art society has welcomed for many years and certainly the best portrait demonstrator I have ever seen. Local Art clubs comprise of a huge range of abilities so the ideal demonstrator needs to provide practical instruction at all levels, to talk lucidly and informatively and preferably with humour about what he is doing, to answer random questions from the floor and yes, I almost forgot, to provide a piece of work that at the ‘ta-da!’ moment of completion, draws gasps of appreciation from the audience. To have ticked all these boxes with such élan is no small feat. If you book Peter as a demonstrator or attend one of his workshops I promise you won’t be disappointed and I guarantee you the quiet pleasure of witnessing a very talented man performing at the pinnacle of his game.”
— Rickmansworth Art Society
“One of the best demonstration evenings we have experienced for a long time. Not a word from the audience who were enthralled and entertained with Peter’s illuminating and inspired educative demonstration in producing a portrait of a member. A commitment to his talent, complimented with concise and informative explanation of his technique and style of painting in oil resulted in a brilliantly executed portrait in two hours.”
— Art In Herts Potters Bar, Hertfordshire
“Many thanks for yesterdays workshop - it was brilliant! When you left we were so fired up with enthusiasm it took a little while to calm down! All agreed it was a great session in which we learnt a lot and were able to feel pleased with our attempts at Impressionism.”
— Dunsmore Art Group
“Thank you for a superb workshop. I loved the way you planned the day out and everyone, even the most experienced oil painter, learnt a lot and your helpful comments as you went round were very reassuring. Best of all we came away with 3 finished paintings.”
— Wendover Art Club
“Thank you very much for the excellent charcoal portrait workshop you gave us today. I think you would have picked up the vibes, that everyone was very interested and enjoyed learning new ways of tackling a portrait, and the fact that people were coming and asking to get onto the next workshop in February because they felt you were a great teacher, should have given you real pleasure.”
— Marlowe Arts Sociey
“Peter demonstrated his technique of portrait painting in oils and his skill as an artist was complemented by his clear explanation of technique resulting in a fascinating, informative and most enjoyable evening. We have invited him back!”
— Wokingham Art Society
“Everyone thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s tuition, so thank you so much. I know you inspired us all, and one or two of the less experienced painters in particular said they gained new confidence from the day, which is absolutely great.”
— Pangbourne Art Group
“A big thank you for coming to our meeting last week and giving us such a great presentation. It was filled with great ideas and the members were able to take away plenty of practical hints and tips to use in their own endeavours. Not only was your presentation great but your ability to produce 2 terrific paintings in under 2 hours was amazing as well. We will be inviting you back to see us soon!”
— Watford and Bushy Art Society
“We had the pleasure to have Peter demonstrate a portrait of a child in charcoal and chalk. It was fantastic to see how fast the first recognisable marks appeared on the paper. With a very sure hand Peter carried on, at the same time explaining what he was doing and answering questions from the group. I can recommend Peter to all art clubs and we are going to have him again next year!”
— Cookham Arts Club
“Thank you so very much for the excellent portrait painting demonstration that you gave us last evening. It was terrific! There was a real buzz as the audience left and an enthusiasm to see more of you.”
— Stratford-upon-Avon Art Society
“On behalf of Clevedon Art Club I would like to thank you so much for your excellent presentation and Portrait demo via Zoom. We had an excellent turn out of 42 viewers all providing a lot of great feedback, especially on the use of unexpected bold colours for a portrait, and how the image gradually evolved and appeared as a face from your use of brushstrokes.”
— Clevedon Art Club, Somerset
“What a fantastic portrait workshop day our group had with Peter. He is an excellent tutor, describing his portrait process in a clear and expressive way, He has the knack of engaging with his students warmly, so that they feel enthusiastic and empowered. Highly recommended as a tutor and someone we will ask to work with our group again.”
— Network Arts
“What a lively, interesting and accomplished artist Peter is! We would highly recommend his demonstrations. Within just two hours he gave us a lot of information and tips whilst never losing the flow of painting. He brought to life a garden scene demonstrating the power of painting freely, ideas on composition and colour, and his own enthusiasm for paint. In his portrait demonstration he showed steps to achieve a remarkable likeness capturing one of our club members brilliantly. We enjoyed his talk so much that several members have attended his fabulous courses.”
— Kineton Art Group
“Our many thanks, so say all who thoroughly enjoyed your recent demonstration producing a superb still life painting in oil whilst enlightening us to your way of working. Your demonstration was considered to be one of the best we’ve had for a long time. Truly informative, inspiring and entertaining. Here’s hoping we can book you again for a future demonstration or workshop. ”
— Berkhamsted Art Society
“Peter gave a wonderful demonstration of his alla prima approach to portraiture. Many members commented it was the best they’d seen. The tips he gave e.g. the right brush sizes to use; the use and organisation of his palette; and going from dark to light without muddying were excellent. We’ll have him back! ”
— Crowthorne and Sandhust Art Society
“Thank you for another excellent workshop. You work us hard, but everyone enjoys the lessons you are trying to impart to us “oldies”! I think you could feel the vibes that everyone was pleased with the day, and felt that they had learned something important and lost some of their inhibitions.”
— Marlowe Art Group
“Many thanks for the wonderful demonstration provided for the Biggleswade & District Art Society last evening. A truly brilliant demonstration of a portraiture, together with good interface with audience, tips and information. I have received very good feedback from our Members saying how much they enjoyed the evening.”
— Biggleswade & District Art Society
“Thank you so much for a most excellent portrait demonstration. Everyone had a most enjoyable afternoon — said how much they appreciated the talk and how much they had learned — we were all quite
disappointed when the time came to finish!”
— Odiham Art Group
“Thank you so much for a very interesting, informative and entertaining evening yesterday. I think everyone agreed that the portrait of Jean was ‘just her’ and she obviously liked it so much that she bought it! I know many of us have been inspired to have a go so and we’ll see you at one of your workshops in the near future!”
— Marlow Art and Crafts Society
“Just a quick line to thank you very much for the demonstration yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did all those who attended, and could quite happily have watched you for another two hours!”
— MK U3A
“There were a great many positive comments and compliments passed on to me as a result of your wonderful demo and all the hints and tips that you so freely gave. The piece you produced was amazing - everyone was very impressed. Thank you once again for the truly brilliant and inspirational demo.”
— Maulden Art Group
“Just to reiterate the ‘thanks you’ received at the end of your Demo today. As you said, you never stop learning, and today we learnt a lot from your technique and approach. As well as the ‘art ‘side we appreciated the clarity of your speech. ”
— Napton Art Group
“As chair of the Bucks Art Society I have seen a number of demonstrations and I can safely say that Peter Keenan delivers one of the best. He delivers an outstanding performance both in terms of technique, and creativity. Peter gets all the salient points across with humour, simplicity and great clarity. Highly recommended!”
— Buckinghamshire Art Society
“Several of our members had seen Peter demonstrate.”We must have him “ they said “He’s brilliant”. We were not disappointed one bit. He produced a very accomplished charcoal drawing of one of our members in a bit less than two hours. He gave a running commentary about the drawing, his life history, what else he could offer us and everything in general. It was a very lively evening and we all loved it and him! We will certainly be booking him for an all day workshop in the future. Book him he’s worth every penny!”
— Little Gaddesden Art Club
“Many thanks Peter for providing PACS with our on-line ‘Colour Theory’ demonstration. Your captivating presentation about the colour wheel, tonal selection and learning to pick the right temperature colour was both fun and interesting. Even your simple tips about setting up your paints on the wall and placement of two colours (warm/cool) around the edge of the pallet was much appreciated. Hopefully, our members will be able to see you in person at a demonstration/workshop in the future soon. Petersfield Arts and Crafts Society.”
— Petersfield Arts and Crafts Society.
“Saturday’s portrait workshop was a huge success and I have had so much positive feedback from everyone that attended. Although portraits are not really my thing I thoroughly enjoyed it and really felt that I learnt a lot through your excellent tuition.”
— Woodley and Early Art Group
“We had waited for several weeks with great anticipation and I must say we were not disappointed. You inspired us with your enthusiasm and your willingness to share your knowledge. We have had great feedback from the group and a fervent request to ask you back again!”
— West Bletchley Art Group
“Peter’s stage by stage demonstrations were very useful and his individual comments to us were vital as we learned how to create an expressive portrait. Peter is an inspirational tutor and his enthusiasm is infectious. He always seems to bring out the best in our group, and makes the workshop both great fun and very productive. We can’t wait for him to come again.”
— Pang Valley Art Group
“Thank you for such a great talk yesterday. The demonstration of your portrait painting technique kept the whole group enthralled. Your presentation style was relaxed, full of technical details and very inspiring. We look forward to booking you for a workshop! ”
— Buckingham Art for All (BAFA) Art Group
“Thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable, if hard working, afternoon! We all found the workshop tremendously encouraging, constructive and great fun. We all felt we’d really learnt so much with you in such a short time.”
— Thursday Art Group, Northchurch, Hertfordshire
“Just to say again thank you very much for such an interesting, informative, and stimulating demonstration to us all this morning. As I’m sure you could tell from people’s questions, comments to you, and conversations, everyone found it a really enjoyable and worthwhile session, and we are most grateful to you for sharing your ideas and experience with us.”
— Cheddington Art Group
“I just wanted to say thank you so much for your demonstration and talk last night. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and clever method of working. ”
— Wendover Art Club
“Thank you once again for another excellent workshop. We appreciated the individual attention, encouragement and confidence you instilled in us all. We enjoyed the chance to do two paintings (one main and one smaller) within the day. As usual we found you both informative and entertaining.”
— Princes Risborough Art Group
“Peter demonstrated his technique of building up a picture without getting bogged down with detail. His presentation throughout the demo was both knowledgeable and informative, cheerfully undertaken and he generously shared many useful tips with us too. Everyone said it was the best demo we had ever had! We would have no hesitation inviting him back to our club on future dates.”
— Chiltern Art Club
“Many thanks Peter for providing PACS with our on-line ‘Colour Theory’ mini-workshop on the 1stOctober,2020. Your captivating presentation about the colour wheel, tonal selection and learning to pick the right temperature colour was both fun and interesting. Even your simple tips about setting up your paints on the wall and placement of two colours (warm/cool) around the edge of the pallet was much appreciated. Hopefully, our members will be able to see you in person at a demonstration/workshop in the future soon.”
Petersfield Art Society