Our art tutors
Our art tutors are not only experienced at teaching students, they are also professional working artists. We've included some short biographies on this page so that you can find out more about them.
Barbara Dorf
Barbara is a well-known, professional watercolour artist. She exhibits mainly at the Maas Gallery in London and also at The Royal Academy and the New Grafton Gallery. She sets very high standards for herself and encourages these from her students on the course. Of one of her shows, Sir Hugh Casson wrote:
"To introduce an exhibition by Barbara Dorf is rather like opening a door to a lyre bird, the pin sharp eye, alert and decisive, the hint of foreign parts, the beguiling colours and patterns and, above all, the elegance."
Barbara studied at the Slade Schools and is also a distinguished art historian. Her paintings are in the collections of Dame Iris Murdoch, Dame Judi Dench, Alec McCowen, Gyles Brandreth and many others. Sir Ernst Gombrich also owns some of her paintings and has written:
"The unobtrusive skill of her slightest sketch enlists attention."
Elaine Honigman
Elaine is a graduate from Reading University, where she also completed a teaching qualification. She has taught art to students of all ages and at all levels, in many different media. In her own work she uses acrylic paint and mixed media, primarily in large, abstract paintings full of luminous colour.
Richard Parkinson
Richard was trained in Art and Design and Printing Methods at Folkestone Art School, and has a sound appreciation of colour, design and technique in all media. In addition to having been a tutor with us since 1967, he has also taught at Heatherley School of Fine Art, and his ability to communicate his skills to his students has gained wide recognition and respect; he has been a judge of the Royal College of Art’s Ensign Prize since 1988.
Coming from an artistic background (his late father was Managing Editor of the magazine The Artist), Richard Parkinson is a highly talented artist who has exhibited no less than 22 times at the Royal Academy, as well as having had several one-man exhibitions in Britain and abroad. Many of his paintings are in permanent, private and corporate collections, and some of his work can always be viewed at the Art Gallery he runs with his wife Susan, in Wye, Kent.
As well as being an artist, Richard has been a councillor for many years and has since been elected to Sheriff of Canterbury for 2004/5.
At the College
You can find out more about the people that work for the College on our staff page.
