Our Teachers


art class, oil, acrylic and watercolour painting, North London

Paul Regan RWS - Director
Since founding Insight in 2001, Paul has divided his time between running the school, teaching, and his own painting practice. In 2016 he set up Studio Fridays where he mentors new and emerging artists. Paul is a member of the Royal Watercolour Society and exhibits regularly in London, including at the Royal Academy, the Bankside Gallery and the Mall Galleries.

Paul has a post graduate certificate in Art and Design Education from the University of London.

Michael Kirkbride NEAC - Teacher
Michael studied at the Royal Academy and is a member of the New English Art Club. He exhibits regularly in London and has recently won the Odgers Berndtson purchase prize at the Curwen Gallery and both the David Messum Prize and Doreen Mackintosh Prize at the NEAC Open. His paintings are about people, objects, styling and the subtle nuance of gesture. Michael also teaches Life Drawing for the New English Art Club and the Royal Academy.

Estelle Lovatt - Teacher
Estelle currently helps students make great paintings and drawings at Art Club! on Monday evenings. As well as being a highly experienced teacher, she is also known as an art critic, regularly appearing on BBC and Sky news as well as reviewing art and exhibitions for BBC Radio and art magazines.

Celestine Thomas - Studio Manager / Teacher
Celestine attended classes at Insight before studying for a degree in Fine Art at Middlesex University. She worked at Insight throughout her studies and now delivers painting and printmaking classes to adults and children, as well as holding the the position of Studio Manager.

Celestine has a studio in Barnet. Her own art practice focuses on colour, light and found objects, using a variety of media.

Rob Verrill - Teacher
Rob has had a career in state and independent education with responsibility for art planning and teaching. In 2019 he gained an MFA, with Distinction, in Fine Art at UAL. His work investigates our complex and often ambivalent relationship with the natural world, mainly through drawing, video, performance and installation. Rob has been part of major exhibitions, including at the Mall Galleries and the Bankside Gallery in London and the Weston Gallery in St Albans. He was also selected for the prestigious Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize in 2018.

Jenna Waldren - Teacher
Jenna is a painter who regularly exhibits across both London and Edinburgh. Having graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2021 with a First-Class Honours degree, Jenna spent two years at the artist-run Mutual Co-Op Studios, developing her painting practice and facilitating exhibitions and workshops. She is a figurative painter, who aims to document small passages of human connection between friends and loved ones. 

Karen Walters - Teacher
Karen teaches classes for adults at our Whetstone studio, and our 'home from home’ studio in Bricket Wood. She gained a degree in Fine Art from the University of Humberside (where she was awarded the Dean's prize for Endeavour in the field of Fine Art), and a PGCE teaching qualification from the Institute of Education in London. Previous to Insight, Karen worked in secondary, further and adult education. Karen's atmospheric landscapes are energised, full of emotion, and a direct response to the actual experience of being within the landscape.