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Who we are...
We are Adam and Liddy and together we are "Something Less Boring".
With close on 20 years of experience between us coaching, teaching and working with people of all ages. Our aim is to bring art and sport to everyone by creating a safe, friendly, inclusive and entertaining environment. You’ll find us in pubs, cafés, canal boats, cider farms, a huge Swedish furniture retailer and village halls
When Covid-19 struck and the subsequent lockdowns curtailed our real life activities we began offering live online art workshops and activities via Zoom, which still continue to this day.
Liddy's passion for art was ignited at an early age, following her dream of creating art, Liddy achieved BA Hons in illustration and subsequently went on to complete a PGCE in ART Teaching. Liddy has taught all ages over the past 12 years gaining a wealth of experience in many disciplines. Liddy's passions are papercut art and abstract painting, she'll consider commissions in both techniques.
Her art has sold on Etsy and Not on the High Street over the last three years and was featured on ITV television show "how to spend it well at Christmas".
Liddy loves nature and delights in long walks in the country, she's also a big fan of folklore.
Adam loves football and has played football socially for the best part of 35 years and coached ladies and junior football in the Milton Keynes are since 2012. An FA Level 2 Qualified coach also with FA Youth awards 1 & 2 specializing in developing young players. Adam has also coached and facilitated futsal in Northamptonshire gaining Futsal level 1 coaching qualification also. He supports Leeds United, which has it's ups and downs!
Adam also loves indie music, from The Smiths and Sugarcubes to The Strokes and Sprints and of course whatever band is currently up and coming, a veteran of many festivals and gigs, he loves to be down the front watching live music. He's also a big fan of birds and birdwatching too
We've also won a Small Business Award from Theo Paphitis and been accepted on the prestigious Nat West Entrepreneur Accelerator Scheme...go us!
Nicole joined us in early midway through 2024 to support us with a few workshops, but now has responsibility for the sessions at IKEA, The Old White Lion and The Cock Inn. aswell as being our ambassador for children's parties. An excellent artist Nicole is a qualified in digital media and can effortlessly create fabulous logos, icons and emojis. She also specialises in watercolour pet portraits and is a keen photographer too.
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All our SLB representatives are DBS checked.
What we do...
At Something Less Boring our main drive is to provide interesting, fun, diverse activities for you to enjoy in safe, welcoming and quirky venues, and if you happen to learn some new skills then all the better!
Our online offer, follows much the same path. We'll offer a wide range of subjects in different media, both live (on Zoom) and in the form of recorded videos, standalone sessions and courses too.
See what a Something Less Boring art evening looks like here
Sip & Paint
Our very enjoyable social art sessions at pubs and bars in the Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire area. Each month we will follow a different theme and with drink in hand after just over two hours you'll have a lovely piece of wall worthy art to take home. We mix up the media so you'll get to use acrylic, watercolours and occasionally pastels
Join us at The White Hart Sherington, Brewpoint Bedford, Cod & Waffle Leighton Buzzard, The Ship Inn Oundle, The Black Lion, Leighton Buzzard, The Old White Lion Wicken, The Cock Inn Potterspury, Wharf Distillery Towcester, Revolucion de Cuba Milyon Keynes, Residence Bar & Kitchen, Milton Keynes. The Compasses Greenfield, Shoulder of Mutton Little Horwood, Eight Belles Bletchley, The Royal George Stevington, The Sun Inn Hardingstone and Brampton Halt Chapel Brampton.
Paint, Coffee & Cake
A variation on Sip & Paint, as much fun and so social too, enjoy a morning or evening of creativity, coffee and cake!
You can paint with us at Motte & Fig in Higham Ferrers. Weekly morning sessions happen at IKEA on a Monday morning. We have a creative lunchtime at Eight Belles in Bletchley on Tuesday, we are at The White Hart Sherington on a Thursday morning with another morning session at Brewpoint in Bedford on Fridays
National Trust
Currently we offer regular creative events at two National Trust properties. National Trust Dunstable Downs and National Trust Lyveden. Ranging from Introduction to Watercolour day courses to Needle Felting.
Remote Art Club
Run online using Zoom, the Remote Art Club sessions are generally two hours long with a wide range of different subjects. You'll need only a small simple selection of materials to join in. Primary colours, watercolour or acrylic paints three or four brushes and something to paint on, canvas, paper or cardboard.
Paint Like...
Paint Like... grew out of a need to offer something during the pandemic lockdowns. We nervously tried to guide folks to replicate some of the great artists work. That tentative experiment has grown to become a really popular online event. From Van Gogh and Turner to Beatrix Potter and Basquiat we've done lots, check out our booking system to see who's up next!
On Demand
Can't make our live events on Zoom? We have over 100 videos of our favourite Remote Art Club and Paint Like sessions in the On Demand library, for just £5 a month we think it's a bargain. Two new videos are added every month too.
Introduction to Watercolour Course
The Introduction to Watercolour course is designed for beginners and improving artists who want to develop their watercolour skills and techniques
Covering the basics through into completing your own projects. You'll follow Liddy's gentle, clear and informative instructions , picking up tips, tricks and techniques as you go.
This watercolour course is suitable for anyone who would like to learn how to paint with watercolours, you will be amazed at what you can achieve with the right direction. We offer this at various venues including National Trust and Keko Studio Newport Pagnell
Video Courses
Follow Liddy's gentle instruction and learn acrylic and watercolour skills in your own time from the comfort of your own home. Take a look here
Introduction to Acrylic Paint
During this day course we will introduce and practice a wide range of acrylic then move on to applying them in a selection of practice works
We'll cover equipment, preparation, resources, sourcing materials and of course techniques, tips and tricks.
The small group course is designed for beginners and improvers, but no experience is expected. We will provide all the materials you will need and as always gently guided in Liddy's relaxed style.
We do quite a bit of other stuff too, from Macrame to Mandala Workshops and Printing to Life Drawing. But these events tend to be a bit less regular. You can catch up with our latest events by signing up for our Newsletter, checking out our Facebook page. We also offer private Sip & Paint events at various venues, details are on our booking system. Liddy will also offer private online courses in drawing, painting and illustration too. Liddy will also do commissions, she specializes in illustration and papercut artworks along with large scale abstract work in acrylic and oil. See details on the Liddy Parry Art page. Phew....that's it!