The Roger Dennis Studio Painting Workshops began in Chudleigh in September 2006, with regular Tuesday gatherings of artists keen to develop their use of oil, acrylic and other opaque media. Aimed at those with some painting experience, the group includes some artists with art school training and professional art or design practice.

Roger, himself a graduate of Dartington College of Arts and an experienced tutor and exhibiting artist, is keen for his students to develop a personal response and an individual style in their painting. Recognising that many painters find themselves restricted and frustrated by lack of knowledge or understanding of technique, sometimes as a result of an art school education, he attempts to redress that balance by introducing techniques of paint, colour and composition, to give the facility and control of media that can ulitmately liberate creativity.

In his teaching Roger refers both to traditional and modernist approaches, from Constable to Monet where colour and brushwork captures light and atmosphere, and from Gauguin to contemporary artists where expression and interpretation are more evident.

"The painters in the group respond in their own individual ways to the various techniques, and their paintings go in very different directions. But each is informed by choices and creativity, rather than relying only on trial, error and inspiration."
Roger Dennis

"As a Devonian German with a background in graphics and animation, I enjoy being part of this inspirational group. It's allowed me to develop the free spirit of the painter in me."
Jutta Tew

"I am a printmaker who has just rediscovered painting, which has opened up a Pandora's Box!"
Marilyn Bailey

"When I paint alongside the group, it feels like playing an instrument within an orchestra. The paintbrush will never replace my beloved camera, but it has liberated me from the tyranny of pixels and digital gobbledygook. The conductor of our orchestra is Roger Dennis, a wonderful teacher who has gently opened my eyes to many aspects of image making with paint and brush."
Mei Lim

"One day I began to sketch at Bristol docks. The shapes and colours were a revelation. I was fourteen again, and something deep began to stir. That night I took up my brushes again. From that day to this my passion and interest have grown beyond expectation. I now regard painting as my true and first vocation."
Paul Tora

"Painting has been the one permanent backdrop in my life. I sometimes wonder what life would have been like without it? Probably more conventional, but the empty space would have been hard to fill, and there is so much to discover in the daily practice of painting. I have learned that I cannot paint in a narcissistic vacuum. I need the viewer to complete the process."
Sue Lethbridge MA

"My ideas come from the surroundings and environment where I live on the edges of Dartmoor. Whenever I go for walks, I always see something different. It may be the changing light on the heather-covered hills, or lichen growing on granite stones. The differing seasons create such a medley of colour and texture, and I try to capture these fleeting moments."
Beverley Green