We have a great international line up of talented, enthusiastic and sympathetic painting tutors for next year and over the next few weeks we  like to introduce you to them one by one.

And our first is an old favourite, John Christian, who is taking one of his renowned watercolour painting holidays at the mill from Saturday 14 May to Saturday 21 May 2011.

We are delighted to welcome John back to the mill in 2011. He has been several times before and he just loves the place.

Last year’s students wrote many lovely comments to us about john’s course this year. such as: “What an excellent holiday at the watermill. Everything was first-class, the venue, the group, the tutor, the food, the environment and of course, the wonderful Kerstin, who looked after all our needs. Thank you so much.”

John is such an enthusiastic and sympathetic tutor and his courses are full of fun. He works in ‘pure’ watercolour in a fast spontaneous manner, to capture emotion, with a large brush and a limited palette. His ‘wet into wet’ technique is acclaimed and widely admired. His favoured subjects are from nature – woods, rivers, moorland, hills, and skies – and he is an avid exponent of painting (and sketching) on the spot. John contributes to Leisure Painter and has held numerous one-man exhibitions.

Here’s John’s view of the mountains from the watermill:

You, too, could be enjoying this view  — on John’s or any one of our other painting holidays – and don’t forget our Early bird offer: If you book on any 2011painting holiday before the end of 2010, there’s a £75 discount. Use our Secure Contact form on the watermill website. Click here and then click on Contact Us.

Well, here we are at last!

It’s been a hectic month for us, driving family and dogs down to Italy, followed by the world’s biggest truck, full of furniture from castle (in store) and cottage (we were amazed that a small cottage could hold so much stuff). Like fishermen’s tales the length of the lorry seems to have grown with the re-telling and there are some who say it was 50 metres long, though in reality it was little more than 15. That’s still a lot — and the lorry was far too big to cross the little bridge into Posara, so everything had to be ferried down from the Fivizzano car park a mile-an-a-half or so down to the mill.  Local men, one Loris, two Danielles and a Paolo worked all day emptying, ferrying and unloading and at lunchtime reported that they still couldn’t see the far end of the big lorry. But all was done by five pm.

In the next week or so we had to redistribute beds, furniture, carpets, pictures etc. into the watermill, which was great fun but took time; Paolo Tre (the carpenter, so called to differentiate him from Paolo Due (the builder) and Paolo Uno, our driver and furniture-shifter as above) helped us put up mirrors and pictures while Lois decided what went where (and helped Bill to shift it — no need for the gym during those days.)

Then, a week or so ago, we moved into our Florence apartment, which is lovely. Up four flights of stairs mind you, in an old palazzo, but with a roof terrace where we can watch the sunset over the great dome of the cathedral at supper time. 

Last Wednesday the girls started at the International School and they are making new friends and working out what their ‘prajects’ are for this semester (Yup, it’s quite American).  They are also just starting at a new music school, continuing their trumpet, piano and singing lessons.

So we are just drawing breath and beginning to settle into a new rhythm, enjoying a morning and evening passagiata for a cappuccino or an aperitivo, shopping etc.  

Our dogs, by the way, are enjoying staying in a Posara friend’s large garden, sharing it with chickens (they haven’t eaten any yet), goats (safely enclosed, we hope), rabbits (in hutches), dozens of rows of vines (they have an arbour under one row). Bill’s just back from Posara, seeing them  – and painting course guests, a course-ful of happy Danes, four of whom have booked already for next year, so we must be doing something right.

The coming week should see us sorted and becoming proper Europeans by registering with the Italian authorities and becoming Friends of the Uffizi, this enabling us to go in by Entrance 2, avoiding the queues in most of the Florence museums. Cool, huh.

We’ve been working hard on watermill projects and we’ve drawn up a great programme of painting holidays and creative writing courses, and we’ll tell you about our lovely tutors in blogs over the next week or so.

Now we are in Italy, we shall certainly be visiting the mill during our courses, so we look forward to meeting you personally when you come for your holiday …

John has been invited to exhibit at the Windrush Gallery, Nr Burford, by the Pure Watercolour Society (www.thepurewatercoloursociety.co.uk).  John’s very excited as a number of other celebrated watercolourists are also exhibiting.  The show opens on Sunday 3 October and runs to Saturday 16 October 2010 (11am to 5pm), tel 01451 844425.

Kerstin’s lunchtime picnics for our painting guests when they are out on location are world-renowned. Many of our guests single them out specially for praise. Here are Kerstin, tutor Fergal Flanagan and some of our guests enjoying their lunch on the ramparts of the nearby town of fivizzano, before settling down for a quiet afternoon’s painting of the valley and the hills

Sheena Guz, one of our students from a few of years ago, has just won the Writers and Artists Yearbook short story competition with her story, A Grain of Sand.  Take a look at http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/2010/03/winner-of-the-2010-short-story-competition/#more-6672.  Well done, Sheena!

One of our tutors at the mill, Bob Henfrey, has just sent us a great oil he did of the little street leading from the mill to the village.  Bob will be running another week-long course at the mill in 2012 (we’ve pencilled in the dates 2-9 June 2012 just in case you are interested and would like to make an early booking!)

Sharon’s course finished last Saturday and already the accolades are pouring in - not least because the watermill setting provides such a great background for a truly inspirational week.  But don’t just take it from me - look at the comments:

http://www.iheartpresents.com/ and http://sharonkendrick.blogspot.com/2010/05/wild-orchids.html

We’ve already had a few repeat bookings for Sharon’s course next year (7-14 May 2011) so don’t wait too long if you want a break which will nurture your soul and boost those old grey cells!

Just heard from our writing tutor, Sharon Kendrick, that she can officially be described as a ‘USA Today bestselling author’!  Congratulations, Sharon.  And if you would like some of her glitter to rub off on YOU, then come on her course at the watermill, 8-15 May.  We have one or two places still available, but hurry!

Now that it’s March and the end of the cold weather is in sight, everyone’s thinking about their 2010 breaks.  In fact, there’s been such a flurry that we’re going to have to hang up the FULL sign on a number of our courses very soon.  So if you have a particular tutor or week in mind, call us on 01888 568375 to reserve your place, or email us using the secure contact form on our website.  We look forward to you joining us in sunny, warm Tuscany!

…..coming on her fifth visit to the mill

This year we are delighted again to welcome Laraine Simpson for her fifth visit to the watermill. She’s proved to be one of our most popular tutors, with her courses always full.

During the week-long painting holiday, which runs from 4-11 September, Laraine will be tutoring in oils, pastels, watercolours etc.

And, as always, Laraine’s partner Paul will be on hand to help entertain you and to inspire your painting with a little gentle guitar playing on location.

Laraine is a Fine Arts-Painting graduate of Central School of Art & Design (now Central St. Martins), London.  She is highly regarded as a perceptive, patient and encouraging tutor working with beginners and advanced students alike, her main aim being to teach people to ‘see’ the relationships of line, tone, shape, colour etc which are fundamental to drawing and painting.  Laraine works in oils, pastels, watercolours, and a variety of drawing materials.  Her main inspiration is the wonderful interplay of light on surfaces, particularly the human form and landscape, and also animals and architecture. 

Here’s a rather nice oil Laraine painted in the UK, called Hawnby Summer Heat. It was executed en plein air using palette knives.  Laraine says: “It was a very hot day and having quickly blocked in the main shapes of the composition with washes, the use of the knives speeded up the painting process and created luscious textures. The simple arrangement of the tree line and subtle changes of the rich greens in the landscape are complemented by the inclusion of strategically placed reddish ochres.”

And here’s a painting of the nearby castle of Verrucola, painted by one of Laraine’s students:

If you’d like to see the castle yourself and enjoy the unique delights of a famous Watermill at Posara painting course, now’s the time to book. We already have six students booked in, so places are filling up.

To recap, Laraine’s painting holiday with tuition oils, pastels, watercolours  and drawing runs from 4-11 September.

If you would like to come on Laraine’s painting holiday at the watermill, see our website to find out more.

Don’t forget:  If you book your place under the Tuscan sun at the watermill for a 2010 course before the end of February there’s a £50 ‘Winter Warming Allowance’ discount. Just call us on (UK number) 01888 568 375 or email us using our secure Contact Form (quoting blog 2001) and we’ll make sure your place is reserved.