Our popular Australian tutor, Terry Jarvis, has just sent us this colourful watercolour,  inspired by the village of Terezano, where we take our students on one of their location painting days.

This village, high in the hills near the mill, is where Kerstin lives and it has spectacular views over the Alpi Apuane, the marble mountains of Carrara.

To celebrate us all surviving the deep freeze in the northern Hemisphere, we’re offering everyone a special Winter Warmer Allowance, of £50 off any painting holiday or creative writing course, if you book before the end of February. (Our picture shows Lois enjoying the Winter snow but, on the whole, sh’d rather be in Tuscany!)

That should help warm you up – as well as the anticipation of a week’s pampering at the sunny Watermill of Posara.   Email us on our secure Contact Form or call (UK number) 01888 568 375 and we’ll reserve your place.

Our watercolour tutor, John Christian, is having an exhibition of his paintings this month near his home in Devon.
 
It’s from 17 to 20 October at Church House, South Tawton, near Okehampton. The exhibition is open 11am til 5pm with free demonstrations each day at 2.15pm.  
 
Here’s a lovely picture John painted during a recent trip to Scotland, during which he and Teresa visited us in rural Forglen, where we enjoyed a sunny lunch on the lawn.  This is John’s picture of Mingarry Castle, Ardnamurchan in Western Scotland: 

And a quick reminder: John’s week-long course at the watermill, in watercolours, runs from 5-12 June 2010.

If you would like to come on John’s painting holiday at the watermill, or any other courses, now’s the time to book.

 Don’t forget:  if you book your place under the Tuscan sun at the watermill for a 2010 course before the end of the year, there’s a £75 ‘Early Bird’ discount. Just call us on (UK number) 01888 568 375 or email info@watermill.net  (quoting blog 1509) and we’ll make sure your place is reserved.

Freda Alschuler joins the 2010 Posara team

The team of tutors at the famous Watermill at Posara painting holidays has always been an international one. We have had tutors from Australia, the United States of America, Ireland, Denmark, Germany and, of course, from many parts of the UK.  And this year we welcome our first tutor from Switzerland, Freda Alschuler.

Her course in watercolours (and acrylics and mixed media) will run from 24-31 July, 2010.

Freda’s passion is figurative art in all media and her home surroundings in the Swiss Alps have also inspired her to paint vibrant landscapes. Her patient and encouraging approach will benefit beginners and advanced students alike. While her course will concentrate on watercolours, Freda is also happy to teach acrylics and mixed media. She demonstrates various techniques of watercolour that can be practiced immediately and, through individualized discussion and help, even beginners become competent in the basics of watercolour in a week.

Freda is a full-time artist and teacher, born in England and now living in Switzerland. She was trained first as a fashion designer and illustrator, which gave her a start in figurative work in watercolour.

She worked as a dress designer in Zurich in a fashion house for several years and later she studied various media at the Ottawa School of Art in Canada, after which she started teaching watercolour at the same school.

Freda has artwork in many collections in Canada, the USA, England and Switzerland. Her latest achievement is a winning painting, which is presently exhibited in the Saatchi Gallery, London. She has taught in art schools in Canada, Italy and Switzerland, as well as running painting holidays in France, Switzerland, and Greece.

On an Italian theme, here’s one of Freda’s watercolours, simply entitled Arches, but you’ll recognise the Ca D’oro on the Grand Canal in Venice:   

This is a deceptively simply picture and Freda says: “Simplifying the renaissance façade, reinforcing depth perception, and keeping lights and darks were very important.”

Check out our website if you would like to come on the painting holiday at the watermill with Freda Alschuler, or on any  of our other painting holidays. You’ll also be able to see more of Freda’s pictures by going to her Tutor Profile.

DON’T FORGET; ‘Early bird’ bookers save lots of money:  If you book your place under the Tuscan sun at the watermill for a 2010 course before the end of the year, there’s a £75 ‘Early Bird’ discount. Just call us on (UK number) 01888 568 375 or email info@watermill.net  (quoting blog 2709) and we’ll make sure your place is reserved.

Another great Irish artist to teach at the watermill in 2010

Trudi Doyle is acclaimed throughout Ireland and beyond for her vibrant paintings and also has a reputation as a calm, friendly and inspirational teacher. She will be teaching at the watermill in watercolours, pastels, acrylics and other media from 26 June-3 July, 2010.

Trudi has helped hundreds of students, young and old, complete beginners and experienced painters, to gain confidence in their ability to express their own creativity. She believes in giving lots of individual attention and is always aware of a possible lack of confidence. Watercolours are her passion; she thrives on the excitement, the challenges and the unpredictability working with watercolours brings, but she is also skilled in drawing, the use of pastels, acrylics and mixed media. 

Her subject matter varies widely from flowers to interiors to landscapes, from figurative work to experimental textural abstract, so if an art course for you is all about getting started and building confidence or if it’s a chance to explore new directions and techniques, wherever your creativity takes you, Trudi will guide you on the road with joy and enthusiasm.

Trudi is based in Ballyconnell on the Carlow Wicklow border in Ireland. A prolific artist, her paintings are much sought after and are in the homes of private art collectors all over the world from Hong Kong to New York, and in public and corporate collections in Ireland. She has had many exhibitions.

Here’s a lovely Trudi Doyle watercolour called My summer Garden:

Trudi says: “I wanted to capture the atmosphere, the heady warmth and the light of a summer garden. I dispensed with any sense of realistic perspective in favour of creating a feeling of lushness, colour and teeming life. I achieved this by using a limited tonal range, and intense transparent colours. My own garden inspired this painting. I grew sunflowers and poppies and kept free-range Aylesbury ducks that spent their days foraging for slugs and snails among the plants.

“I love to watch swallows, our seasonal migrants, such a potent symbol of summer, constantly swooping across the sky, feeding on flying insects. The woman reading amid the vegetation is aspirational rather than realistic as I rarely had time to just sit and read but I did so in my imagination!

“I used complimentary colours adjacent to each other; Cadmium yellow against Cobalt blue, Hookers Green dark against orange (Alizarin Crimson and Lemon Yellow mixed); colours which are opposite each other on the colour wheel when used together in a painting add vibrancy and drama. The ducks were painted by cutting in around them with dark washes, the negative shapes creating the positive shapes of the ducks, the white of the watercolour paper shining through. I used blues in the shadow areas and negative spaces throughout the painting thereby unifying the piece and giving a tranquil feeling despite the predominant high key colours.”

If you would like to come on Trudi’s painting holiday at the watermill, or any other courses, see our website, www.watermill.net. You can see more of Trudi’s pictures there.

‘Early bird’ bookers save lots of money:  If you book your place under the Tuscan sun at the watermill for a 2010 course before the end of the year, there’s a £75 ‘Early Bird’ discount. Just call us on (UK number) 01888 568 375 or email info@watermill.net  (quoting blog2509) and we’ll make sure your place is reserved.

One of Belgium’s leading watercolourists joins the Posara team

Today we are proud to introduce Guy Gruwier, another new member of the team of internationally renowned teachers for the watermill’s famous painting holidays next year. He will be the tutor in watercolours on a week-long course from 19-26 June, 2010.

Guy is considered to be one of Belgium’s leading watercolour artists. He paints in a ‘realistic-romantic’ style and he passes on his insights and skills with love and patience. Previous students on Guy’s courses remember him as a gifted and very helpful teacher. He likes to nurture his students (beginners are welcome) by first identifying what makes a good subject and then building up for a ‘wow’ effect. He has taught at workshops all over Europe and in Australia and New Zealand.

Guy’s colours are very basic, but he applies them with a vivid and strong touch so as to achieve the maximum of contrast and depth in the final result. He has won several prestigious European awards for his watercolours, such as the 2008 Gold Medal for watercolour of the European Merits of Arts (MAEKV), and the prestigious 2009 Jury Prize at the Namur biennial watercolour exhibition. Here’s his lovely watercolour, Good morning, Bruges!

He says: “If you have never been to Bruges, a marvel of our small country Belgium, you will notice that ancient architecture can be quite unexpected, especially when the first rays of the sun throw whimsical patterns of light and shadow over the buildings.”     

You can find out more about Guy’s painting holiday at the watermill, or any of our other courses, on our website, www.watermill.net

Early-bird bookers save lots of money:  If you book your place under the Tuscan sun at the watermill for a 2010 course before the end of the year, there’s a £75 ‘Early Bird’ discount. Just call us on (UK number) 01888 568 375 or email info@watermill.net  (quoting blog2309) and we’ll make sure your place is reserved.

Celebrated watercolourist to return to the mill in 2010

We are delighted to welcome our colleague and friend John Christian back to the watermill this year. He’s been several times before and loves the place. 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.  John’s week-long course in watercolours runs from 5-12 June, 2010.

Here’s one of his paintings of one of the views from the watermill, with the peaks of the Apennines in the background:

John’s ‘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 relies on very little detailed drawing.  His favoured method is spontaneous and loose, merging his washes, working quickly with few brush strokes from a limited palette with a big brush.  He believes that a picture should express mood and emotion more than fact and detail.  “The subject is not so much the place but light and the emotion itself.  The emotion, whilst still one of recognition, is more of experience”.

There is a richness and strength of depth in John’s work and the results are exciting, pure, clean and spontaneous. His students love his painting – and the man, whose charm, care and sympathy make him an ideal tutor.

If you would like to come on John’s painting holiday at the watermill, or any other courses, now’s the time to book.

Don’t forget:  If you book your place under the Tuscan sun at the watermill for a 2010 course before the end of the year, there’s a £75 ‘Early Bird’ discount. Just call us on (UK number) 01888 568 375 or email info@watermill.net  (quoting blog 2109) and we’ll make sure your place is reserved.

A new member of the fabulous 2010 painting tutors’ team

We are really proud of the team of internationally renowned artists who are tutors for our painting holidays this year and we would like to introduce them to you individually over the next few weeks,

In strict chronological order of their 2010 courses at the mill, our first featured tutor is Fergal Flanagan, whose course runs from 15-22 May 2010.  He enjoys painting in oils but since Ryanair won’t let him bring oils to Italy, his course will concentrate on gouache, watercolour and pastel.

Fergal is a leading Irish artist working in County Wicklow and you can see some of his work on his website www.fergalflanagan.com.

Fergal studied at the National College of Art in Dublin under Henry Healy RHA and Desmond Carrick RHA and has been painting on a full time basis since 1986. He has had seven major exhibitions in this time showing works from Ireland and lately from around the world. His world trip in 2003 resulted in an exhibition showing paintings of Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada. Opened by the Australian Ambassador it was his most successful exhibition ever. In 2006 his exhibition of paintings of Thailand and Laos showed these countries landscape in warm vibrant colours. His exhibition of 2009 showed local Irish scenes of the area where he lives and works. 

Fergal works out of Glendarragh Studios in County Wicklow, set in a rural environment, which is very conducive to creative work. (Just like the watermill!) He teaches painting at the Burren Painting Centre in County Clare, as well as on painting courses abroad, and is known as an accomplished and sympathetic teacher.

Here’s one of his delightful Irish pictures of the Ballyconnelly coast:

Fergal says: “This oil painting captures the incoming tide on an Irish beach showing the rock formations and the source of the light highlighting the shadows on these rocks. The distant headland gives a feel of space to the painting allowing the eye to move through the scene.”

If you would like to come on Fergal’s painting holiday at the watermill, or any other of our painting courses, now’s the time to book.

Don’t forget:  If you book your place under the Tuscan sun at the watermill for a 2010 course before the end of the year, there’s a £75 ‘Early Bird’ discount. Just call us on (UK number) 01888 568 375 or email info@watermill.net  (quoting blog 1509) and we’ll make sure your place is reserved.

Save £75 off your holiday by reserving your place now!

One of the watermill’s Australian tutors and our friend, Terry Jarvis, has just sent us this lovely picture he painted of the church clock in Fivizzano, the peaceful walled Medieval town near the watermill.

Nothing much earth-shattering happens in Fivizzano: life continues in the same quiet rhythms, with the market on Tuesdays, Mass on Sundays and the occasional dance or extravaganza in the main square.

So it is entirely appropriate that in this painting by Terry of the church tower in the centre of town the hands on the clock are eternally still.

Our painting holiday guests come the mile or so from the mill to Fivizzano to paint among the ancient narrow, car-free streets and along the city walls, looking out on fields of sunflowers and the grapes ripening under the Tuscan sun. And in the evening they’ll come up to town on a couple of nights, to sample the home cooking at the Caffé Elvetico or the Ristorante il Giardinetto …

Now is the time to organise joining them next year and to reserve your place on one of our famous painting holidays. You’ll take advantage of our generous Early Bird deal: If you book your place for a 2010 course before the end of the year, there’s a £75 ‘Early Bird’ discount. (Please quote promotion code blog1409 at time of booking.) We’ve a fabulous line-up of painting and creative writing tutors next year and, of course, everyone will enjoy the renowned hospitality of the Posara team.

Don’t forget the watermill holidays are a wonderful example of an all-exclusive deal: from the moment you arrive at Pisa airport on your first Saturday to the moment we drop you back again a week later, you’ll be spoilt rotten and you won’t have to spend any money at all during your stay. (Postcards and the odd extra drink or snack are up to you!)

Yes, everything is included in the cost of your holiday: accommodation (including all linen and towels), pre-dinner aperitifs, all meals (including dinner with wine at charming local restaurants), local transportation (including transfers to Pisa airport; an excursion by train to the marvellous walled city of Lucca) and tuition. All taxes paid. No supplements. No hidden extras. All you have to do is to get to Pisa and we do the rest!

So come on Early Birds! Get your booking in now and take advantage of our special offer. You know it makes sense and that you deserve it!

Email now us at info@watermill.net or call us on (UK number) 01888 568 375.

Lunch in Lucca

Due to a cancellation (one of our Canadian guests has been called out to help in the upcoming general election there), we have an unexpected place on Charles Sluga’s painting holiday at the watermill, from Saturday 3 October to Saturday 10 October.  And, since it’s such short notice, we are offering a £50 discount to anyone who books this place before 1 September. What a great opportunity!
 
And when you’re there, one the Wednesday you’ll enjoy lunch in our favourite Italian city, the walled town of Lucca, birthplace of Puccini, after a leisurely train journey though the beautiful regional park of the Appuan mountains and their river valleys. Maybe you, too, will paint a picture called ‘Lunchtime in Lucca’, like this one by Charles.
 
Charles is a highly respected and sought after artist and watercolour teacher in Australia. His friendly and enthusiastic approach, and eagerness to impart his wide knowledge, is reflected in his popularity as a tutor and the waiting lists for his regular classes. He has gained a reputation for his versatility in both his technique and choice of subject matter. He is a regular contributor to Australian Artist magazine and is currently writing articles for the International Artist magazine and the British magazine Leisure Painter and working on his first book on watercolour painting.  You can find out more about him on www.sluga.com.au

If you want to book, you’ll have to hurry. Email us on info@watermill.net or call (UK number) 0188 568 375.