Courses

Hugh likes to encourage others to develop their creative potential, as he has been fortunate in his life. He initiated a series of creative exercises while Artist in Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and subsequently developed these with prison inmates, homeless men & women, asylum seekers and refugees.

In the last 10 years Hugh has recently opened his new studio on the family farm outside Hayward’s Heath, with easy access from London & Brighton. There will be a growing range of courses offered here in the coming year, so watch out for developments.

If you would like to see the course archives please click here.

Online Wallpaper Workshop

In this series of 5 videos you will discover the elements of simple pattern and principles of turning a plant study into a design. Learn the theory of repeat patterns by cutting a block and printing a length of wallpaper by hand.

Price: £150 Book Online

Wallpaper Workshop News

Hugh will soon cease offering his wallpaper courses, showing how to design and make your own wallpapers by hand. He is doing this in order to concentrate on his paintings.

Over the winter of 2023/24, Hugh received his biggest wallpaper commission for a staircase in a private house in Scotland. When most homes order 8-14 rolls, occasionally up to 35 for mansions, this order was for 148 rolls of my Featherbed design – and in 4 colours. It was a very tricky job to do, but it enabled Hugh and his wife to get away to India on a design research trip. The drawings he brought home will keep him busy for years.

The production and distribution of his Handmade Wallpapers is being passed to Hamilton Weston Wallpapers, who have a wonderful web of agents throughout the world. They are based in the UK where they will still have the wallpapers printed by hand, as well as initiating a range of digitally printed wallpapers. See them all at Hamilton Weston.

Hugh will continue to design new wallpapers, so look out for some exciting developments, many of them inspired by his adventures in Rajastan.

In 2023, Hugh won a grant to make his online films of the Wallpaper Workshop. It came hand in hand with his being awarded an enormous medal by Prince Charles, the President of the Heritage Craft Association, for his maintaining and promotion of the endangered craft of handbocked wallpapers.

Some of the wallpapers are now part of the Permanent Collection at the V&A, and Hugh hopes they will soon have copies of his films to demonstrate to future generations the craft of making your own wallpapers by hand.

Discover the elements of simple pattern and principles of turning a plant study into a design. Learn the theory of repeat patterns by cutting a block and printing a length by hand. No experience or equipment needed.

This article will give you an idea of what the course is like. Read Article →, and if you would like to try printing your own wallpaper at home then read this article from Coast Magazine: Print Your Own Wallpaper with Hugh Dunford Wood

Contact Hugh to book your place.

Otherwise the workshop is available to buy on film online.

Travelling Sketchbook Workshop

Everything you need to know to master the art of keeping a sketchbook when you are out and about, or away from home.

A sketchbook is a very useful depository of fleeting impressions and notes recorded on the hoof. It is compact and the drawing tools are few and light. You will be amazed how much richer the impression of place or people is on your imagination when recorded in your own hand, rather than too easily snapped through a lens.

Price: £175 - All materials provided. Contact Hugh to book your place.

Cushion Design Workshop

Drawing on the tradition of block printed textiles from the mid twentieth century, you will develop and cut a lino block to print a single colour design onto natural organic Scottish linen.

You will be introduced to a spectrum of ideas from bold abstract to animals, or delicate florals to inspire your design. The merit of borders will be discussed, mark making and colourways introduced.

Before the end of the course you will print your block onto natural linen and be provided with backing enough to sew up your cushion cover at home. Natural feather cushion pads are available.

Contact Hugh to book your place.

Collino Workshop

The course is a marriage between the art of linocut printmaking and the art of collage. Lino is an easily accessible material to cut and print for quick results, defining simple drawings into bold prints suitable for this narrative medium. Individual elements will be combined to make up a strong composition, which will be complimented by common materials of collage.

Collinos are a combination of the observed, the imagined and the decorative, and these three elements will be explored individually and together. We can also use transfers, stencils, and rubber cuts in playing with image and design to arrive at a robust composition.

At the end of the course you will have new knowledge and experience of materials and process, developed confidence in composition, colour and texture, as well as working more intuitively to create collino prints.

Contact Hugh to book your place.

Lino Printing Workshop

In this practical and fun approach to Lino Printing, you will learn the fundamentals of lino prints, from drawing and carving your image, to the inking and printing process. This will include a variety of techniques and methods including transfer of your design, safe carving techniques, types of tools and the variety of papers, the printing process and an introduction to hand burnishing. The course is suitable for beginners to intermediates. Creating linocuts and prints need not be an expensive pastime with lots of kit required, so Hugh will show you the best options for becoming a home-based printmaker.

Contact Hugh to book your place.