Photo-Encaustic Workshop

Photograph Horses · Create Beeswax Art

One-day workshop | £150 | Take home your artwork

One-Day Photo-Encaustic Workshop: From Lens to Beeswax

A hands-on creative day: photograph horses, create encaustic art

Join photographic artist Esther Towler for an inspiring one-day workshop where equine photography meets the ancient art of photo-encaustic.

In just one day, you'll photograph beautiful horses in the morning, then spend the afternoon transforming your favourite image into a luminous photo-encaustic artwork—layering beeswax, resin, and pigment to create a unique piece you'll take home.

This is the perfect introduction to both equine photography and photo-encaustic techniques—no experience necessary, just curiosity and creativity.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

MORNING: EQUINE PHOTOGRAPHY (2 hours)

9:30am - 11:30am

Work with a variety of beautiful horses at ( tbc) facility, photographing them in natural light and capturing their character and movement.

You'll learn:

  • How to photograph horses to capture emotion and connection

  • Composition techniques for equine portraiture

  • Working with natural light and movement

  • Selecting images with strong artistic potential for encaustic work

What's included:

  • Access to multiple horses in a beautiful setting

  • Guidance from Esther throughout the session

  • Opportunity to build your equine photography portfolio

LUNCH BREAK

11:30am - 12:30pm

Take a break to review your morning's photographs and select your favourite image for the afternoon's encaustic work.

Please bring your own lunch or enjoy the nearby cafés and pubs in [Town Name] (recommendations provided).

Tea, coffee, and refreshments are provided throughout the day

AFTERNOON: PHOTO-ENCAUSTIC ART CREATION (4 hours)

12:30pm - 4:30pm

Discover the magic of photo-encaustic—an ancient technique using molten beeswax to create artwork with extraordinary depth, texture, and luminosity.

You'll learn:

  • The history and technique of photo-encaustic art

  • How to prepare and embed your photograph in beeswax layers

  • Working with heat, resin, and pigments

  • Adding texture, colour, and finishing techniques

  • How to create museum-quality encaustic artwork

Hands-on creation:
Working with one of your photographs from the morning, you'll build layers of wax, embed your image, and add colour and texture under Esther's expert guidance.

Take home your artwork:
Leave with a completed photo-encaustic piece—a truly unique artwork that captures the spirit of the horse you photographed.

Person sitting on grass, petting a horse's face, with another horse nearby. The setting is an open field with trees in the background, under a clear sky.

What’s included

WHAT'S INCLUDED

Full day of expert tuition with photographic artist Esther Towler


2 hours photographing beautiful horses, location to be confirmed.


4 hours hands-on photo-encaustic workshop


All encaustic materials, tools, and substrates provided


refreshments, tea & coffee throughout the day


Take home your completed photo-encaustic artwork
Small group size (maximum 8 participants) for personalised attention


No experience necessary - suitable for all levels

WHAT TO BRING

  • Your camera and preferred lenses

  • Laptop or tablet for reviewing and selecting images

  • Comfortable clothing suitable for outdoor photography

  • Your creativity and enthusiasm!

Your Investment

£150 per person

Includes: Full day expert tuition, access to photograph horses, all photo-encaustic materials and tools, tea/coffee throughout the day, and your completed artwork to take home.

Group size: Limited to 8 participants for personalised attention

Payment plans available: £50 x 3 monthly instalments

One to One Mentoring

Individual Mentoring

I also offer one-to-one mentoring for photographers seeking personalised guidance on their work. Sessions include portfolio review, tailored feedback, and support developing your creative practice. Perfect for those wanting more focused, individualised attention. Contact me to discuss.

Testimonial!

Black and white photo of a woman smiling, wearing a white sweater with black stripes on the sleeves.

Thankyou for helping to increase my confidence with photography

“I’ve had such a great experience with Esther!”

“I had such a great experience with Esther, before my workshop she spent lots of time getting to know me and she tailored the day to focus on the aspects of photography that I wanted to explore.

She has been an amazing coach and has given me lots of invaluable advice. I had such an amazing and exciting day where I got to experience an equine shoot, get to grips with the camera and studio and also learned how to create photo-encaustic artwork. Esther’s knowledge and work are aspirational, making me feel welcome.

I came away having had a lovely day, feeling very inspired and motivated to carry on exploring my own photography. I will keep in contact with her and hope to work with her again in the future.

Thank you so much for all of your support and for helping to increase my confidence with photography. I couldn’t recommend Esther enough she is an amazing photographer and such a lovely lady xxx”

Esther Tower - horse photography workshops in the UK

ARTIST

MEET Esther

I’ve been photographing horses for over 20 years. They are my passion and drive for my photography artwork.

I’ve been photographing horses for over 20 years and have been a photographic artist for the last 10 years. My passion for horses and photography has enabled me to travel far and wide photographing wild, rare and domestic horses to create limited edition prints and commissions for horse owners, art collectors and commercial brands.

One of the ways I create my artwork is using a lovely technique called photo- encaustics that uses beeswax and dammar resin as a medium to encapsulate fine art photography printed on different papers, adding texture, natural elements, and paint to create a one-of-a-kind, emotive artwork that is full of texture and tones.

I love working with melted beeswax in the studio. As part of my fine art practice, each photo-encaustic piece's texture and refracted light have an ethereal feel. This ever-evolving creative process gives my work a deeper connection to the natural world, using nature’s gift of beeswax. My photo-encaustic artwork has been displayed in gallery exhibitions and purchased by art collectors across the UK. Horse owners also commission me to create one-of-a-kind artwork for their horses. This beautiful process has given my work a new creative, emotive depth. It has allowed me to use my photography and add a unique, expressive feel, which I wish to share with other photographers so they can experiment with and use within their photography practice  to create their own artwork inspired by horses and encaustics.