The Latest Calendar of Workshops with Mel Hills

There’s nothing quite like a workshop that invites you to slow down, observe, and reconnect with the world around you.

Artist and teacher Mel Hills, well-loved for her warm teaching style and passion for nature, brings her creative energy to two inspiring outdoor art experiences.

Whether you’re curious about nature journalling, love the quiet mindfulness of sketching, or want to explore plein air painting, these workshops offer the perfect chance to capture the natural beauty of Tasmania in your own unique way.

Sloping Main Reserve: A Natural Escape Workshop 

This special event is part of “A Natural Escape”, a creative collaboration between the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) and the Tasman Council.

Set amidst the spectacular salt marsh of Sloping Main Reserve, this workshop offers a rare opportunity to experience one of Tasmania’s most unique ecosystems through art and ecology.

Guided by Mel Hills, alongside a knowledgeable TLC ecologist, participants are invited to explore this remarkable landscape with their sketchbook in hand.

The salt marsh is alive with texture, subtle colour and shifting light — an artist’s dream and a conservationist’s treasure.

As you wander the reserve, you’ll learn to observe with both an artist’s eye and a naturalist’s curiosity, translating the details of grasses, waterways and birdlife into expressive marks on paper.

Drawing and Painting in Nature Workshop

In this nature-based art workshop, Mel Hills invites you to explore the joy of drawing and painting outdoors — where creativity meets curiosity.

Inspired by the traditions of plein air painting and nature journalling, this workshop encourages you to slow down and truly see the landscape around you.

Hosted at Koonya Hall and its scenic surroundings, participants can choose to work indoors or venture outside, depending on the weather and their preferred creative flow.

You’ll bring along your own materials — perhaps a sketchbook, writing pad, pencils, charcoal, or watercolours — and your sense of adventure.

Some participants might capture wide vistas, while others might focus on the intricate lines of a leaf or the shimmer of light on water.

There’s no single right way to make art here — just the encouragement to explore, play and respond to what inspires you.

Suitable for adults at any skill level, this workshop combines artistic freedom with gentle guidance.

Mel’s approachable teaching style and passion for the natural world make it easy to relax and create with confidence.

You’ll leave not just with sketches and paintings, but with a deeper connection to nature — and to the quiet joy that comes from observing and creating in the open air.

Workshop Supplies

Bring your own art materials or purchase an Art Kit at checkout.

Tea, coffee and morning tea included. Numbers are limited and Mel’s workshops always sell out quickly.

Workshop Details

Workshop Date: 19th October 2025

Workshop time: 9:00am to 12.30pm

Workshop price: $20

Workshop Address:

564 Nubeena Road, Koonya, 7187 Tasmania

Workshop organiser: A Natural Escape

How to book:

Book online by 17th October at https://events.humanitix.com/drawing-and-painting-in-nature

About the Artist

Hello, I’m Mel Hills, a Tasmanian artist with a love for the natural world.

Growing up on the spectacular East Coast of Tasmania, I developed a fascination for all forms of wildlife, and early on, an obsessive interest in birds.

Led by my fascination with wildlife, I studied Zoology at the University of Tasmania. Followed by a Graduate Diploma in Wildlife and Scientific Illustration from the University of Newcastle.

While a need to explore, discover and understand led me to link studies in both art and science, it is the bringing together of the two that gives me most pleasure.

For me, there is no boundary between the two disciplines; both require observation, analysis and experimentation. They’re very complimentary.

I’m just a kid who likes to say “hey, look at how cool THIS is” all the time.

I’m so lucky! The entire process is so much fun, exploring, observing, problem solving; just the thought of picking up a paint brush makes me want to jig!

My hope is that my love for the natural world shines through my work, irrespective of the medium, subject or location.

I hope that you too, find inspiration and delight as you explore my work.

Find Mel’s work on her website on Facebook and Instagram as well as on Redbubble and Bluethumb.