BUDDING artists will have the chance to work al fresco at a series of workshops being staged under expert tuition starting next month.

Artist and illustrator Linda Birch will oversee a programme of art classes for adults at the Durham Art Gallery, within the DLI Museum complex at Aykley Heads, Durham.

Weather permitting, she hopes to take the classes outside into the museum grounds, allowing students to brush up on their landscape work.

The theme for the May classes is spring and summer landscapes, followed by landscapes in pastel workshops during June.

Linda, whose drawings grace more than 150 children's books, will give tuition in both chalks and oil pastels.

She has written extensively on the subjects of drawing and painting and is the author of various books on art techniques.

Linda has also exhibited widely across the country, and has run art workshops for more than a quarter of a century.

Sessions begin on May 6, and run every Tuesday until June 24, excluding June 10, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm. The charge is £5 per session, on top of the normal museum admission fee.

Further information is available from the museum, on 0191-384 2214.