Archives for January 2020

Harmonious colours bring together the different elements of a composition into an efficient relationship, says Watermill painting tutor Mark Warner. He says: “It is the adhesive that ties all the elements of the painting together. Even though you may have the correct composition, the painting may not quite work because the colours don’t work together and lack vital harmony.”

Mark, who will be with us for another of his inspiring painting courses this summer, says: “I adore colour and experiment with colour application in numerous ways! I try to move the colour around the composition to bring the work together. This coupled with starting on a coloured ground or paper will aid the unity of the piece.

The acrylic painting above To the Malverns, demonstrates Mark’s point. He says: “I looked at placing complementary colours (opposite on the wheel) together. An example of this is the orange of the bracken next to the complementary blue colour. Another is the distant green with a thin layer of purple over the top. At the Watermill I will be looking to experiment with complementary colours within the landscape and this will form part of one of my daily demonstrations.”

We are delighted to welcome Mark Warner back to the international team of inspiring and sympathetic watermill painting tutors. His course next year is called Colourful Acrylics/Drawing/Pen & Wash and those are the mediums in which you will be working. Mark’s course will run from Saturday 11July to Saturday 18 July 2020.

And don’t forget that as well as its inspiring teaching, its beautiful setting, it’s delicious food and wine, and its warm and welcoming hospitality, the Watermill is also Cool and Green! All the bedrooms and public rooms have air conditioning, powered by our hidden array of photovoltaic panels, harnessing the sun’s energy to makes us self-sufficient in electricity generation.

Mark, from Shropshire in England, loves working outside – and he leads by example, creating a relaxed and encouraging environment for his students. He developed his passion for landscapes growing up in the West Wales and then moving onto the rolling hills of Shropshire enabled him to experiment further with colour, light and line. Mark says: “I adore using colour while interpreting the light, weather and a love for the materials. I work directly in the field (literally on many occasions!) and from sketches created outside as well as notes/photographs taken on location.” Here is a lovely demonstration picture, of the River Rosaro which runs beside the Watermill, made by Mark on his last visit here.

You can learn more about Mark and his course at the Watermill by clicking here.

Everything is included in the cost of your holiday at the watermill: tuition, accommodation, pre-dinner aperitifs, all meals and wines (including outings to charming local restaurants) and all local transportation. You get to Pisa, Italy, we do the rest!

Mark Warner
11 – 18 July 2020 – places available
Colourful Acrylics, Drawing, Pen & Wash
To learn more about Mark and his course at the mill, please visit his 2020 Profile Page.

If you enjoy watching a talented painter creating a stunning picture, look no further than Tim Wilmot’s latest YouTube posting. Tim is demonstrating how to paint indoors, often regarded as rather difficult, by creating a picture of the interior of the 19^th century Watermill here in Posara.

As you can see above, the end result is a great picture, and it’s fascinating to watch the whole process of how it’s built up. So, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, put your feet up and click here to enjoy the creation of a mini-masterpiece.

And why not join Tim and paint in and around the Watermill yourself? He will be back with us for another of his inspiring watercolour courses, from Saturday 3 October to Saturday 10 October. We would love to welcome you here. Here’s one of Tim’s paintings of the riverside gardens at the Watermill.

Tim Wilmot is an artist from Bristol in the South-west of the UK, specialising in vibrant watercolours, using tone and light to bring out the best in the medium. Tim paints in a loose, impressionistic style.

As well as an exciting artist, Tim is also an inspiring teacher. He demonstrates regularly in England and, has more than 15,000 followers of his demonstrations on YouTube. He loves personal interaction with his students: “There are all sorts of reasons for coming on a painting holiday — it might be to improve your drawing skills, loosen up your style, learn how to incorporate figures in a landscape — and it’s my job to try to find what your personal objectives are and help you achieve them. Oh, and have fun with like-minded people on the way.”

Some comments from some of Tim’s previous students: “I’m quite impressed with how you transform a dull image into an impressionistic and beautiful study of light and shadow. You’re a great tutor!”  “I really like your loose style.” “Like most, I struggle with too much detail. This will help me to “loosen up”. “I can’t help being inspired by the careful and wonderfully measured strokes of a genius” 

We already have eight people booked into Tim’s course, including one non-painting partner. So, we have room for three or four more painters (and their partners if they would like to join them).

Tim Wilmot
10 – 17 October 2020 – still a few places
Watercolours
To learn more about Tim and his course at the mill, please visit his 2020 Profile Page.

Many of our painting guests continue to enjoy the Watermill long after their week with us! They do so by painting at home pictures of the mill and its surroundings, based on photographs or sketches they made during their stay.

One such is Robert Christopher, who has been with us for a couple of painting courses and who, of course, is coming back this year. Robert has sent me another four of his charming watercolours, and here they are.

Above is a corner of the 19th century mill in the Watermill complex, complete with a millstone and the hopper through which the grain was poured. And below is the imposing bell tower of the nearby mediaeval walled town of Fivizzano, where our groups go to paint on market day on Tuesdays:

Below is an out of the way corner of the town, captured by Robert’s brush.

And finally, for the moment at least, a delightful study of the loggia of an ancient convent where we go for a peaceful painting day on Thursdays.

Thank you very much for sharing these lovely watercolours with us, Robert. We look forward to meeting up again later in the year.

You too can enjoy the charms of a Watermill painting holiday, the memories of which will last much longer than your week with us. Our 2020 painting courses are filling fast, but we still have availability for the following weeks.

Painting course availability at 28 January 2020

Carl March
18 – 25 April 2020– one or two places
Drawing and watercolours en plein air
To learn more about Carl and his course at the mill, please visit his 2020 Profile Page.

Vicki Norman
20 – 27 June 2020 – a few places available
Oils and watercolours (and other mediums)
To learn more about Vicki and her course at the mill, please visit her 2020 Profile Page.

Mark Warner
11 – 18 July 2020 – places available
Colourful Acrylics, Drawing, Pen & Wash
To learn more about Mark and his course at the mill, please visit his 2020 Profile Page.

Mike Willdridge
29 August – 5 September 2020 – still a few places
Watercolour and drawing (also gouache and acrylics)
To learn more about Mike and his course at the mill, please visit his 2020 Profile Page.

Rebecca de Mendonça
5 – 12 September 2020 – still a few places
Pastels and Mixed media
To learn more about Rebecca and her course at the mill, please visit her 2020 Profile Page.

Maggie Renner Hellmann
12 – 19 September 2020 – places available places AND 19 – 26 September 2020 – places available
Oils, acrylics, watercolours and pastels
To learn about Maggie’s courses, please visit her 2020 Profile Page.

Mary Padgett
26 September – 3 October 2020 –  – places available
Pastels (and other portable media) en plein air
To learn more about Mary and her course at the mill, please visit her 2020 Profile Page.

Milind Mulick
3 – 10 October 2020 – still a few places
Colourful watercolours
To learn more about Milind and his course at the mill, please visit his 2020 Profile Page.

Tim Wilmot
10 – 17 October 2020 – still a few places
Watercolours
To learn more about Tim and his course at the mill, please visit his 2020 Profile Page.

These are the painting courses that are currently fully booked. But there are often cancellations and if you are keen to come, please let us know and we will put you on a waiting list.

Grahame Booth
25 April – 2 May 2020 – fully booked, waiting list open
Watercolours
To learn more about Grahame and his course at the mill, please visit his 2020 Profile Page.

Brienne M Brown – fully booked, waiting list open
16 – 23 May 2020
Watercolours
To learn more about Brienne and her course at the mill, please visit her 2020 Profile Page.

Sandra Strohschein
30 May – 6 June 2020 – fully booked, waiting list open
6 – 13 June 2020 – fully booked, waiting list open
Watercolours
To learn more about Sandra and her course at the mill, please visit her 2020 Profile Page.

Randy Hale
13 – 20 June 2020 – fully booked, waiting list open
Watercolours
To learn more about Randy and his course at the mill, please visit his 2020 Profile Page.

You can find out all about our fun-filled, sun-filled, inspiring painting courses by clicking here. We would be delighted to welcome you here and you will find that the memory lingers on…

Watermill watercolour painting tutor Milind Mulick, who will be joining us in glorious Tuscany, Italy this autumn, shows you how to create a stunning landscape painting, step-by-step. Milind used Daniel Smith watercolours for this picture and our thanks to them for the preparation of this blog. I also made one of those short, fun Facebook slideshows, which you can see by clicking here. The scene is the town of Valdemossa in Mallorca, Spain and the painting is a studio version of Valdemossa Light, painted from a photo reference.

Milind says: “Most of the time when I paint in-studio from a reference photo, I refer to some sketches done on the spot or rely on my memory of the feel of the place.” He adds: “As I had already almost a finished painting on the spot itself, the feel of the location was easy to recollect. The photo reference will give you all the information needed but I think the experience which we have with all our five senses … smells, sounds, etc. are also important. These things that we recall make a difference in the painting.”

Stage 1 – Pencil sketch

“I blocked in the major shapes of the scene. Usually my pencil work is quite random and more of a loose approximation. I am not that patient, so rather than spend a lot of time doing the pencil work, I prefer to focus on the general space division, a general movement, and interlocking of shapes in the painting.”

Stage 2 – Laying out my colours for the painting.

“Here I lay my colours in the palette…. though I have all the paints of my choice in my box , I still like to use limited shades for every painting in a separate palette. If I need any extra accents, I keep a standard box of paint alongside for easy access. The shades here are Cobalt Blue, Phthalo Blue (Green Shade), Phthalo Green (Yellow Shade), Permanent  Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna and Hansa Yellow Light.”

Stage 3 – Starting with basic washes.

“The basic wash starts from the top with mix of Cobalt Blue and a touch of Phthalo Blue (GS) blending with Burnt Sienna and bit of orange created by mixing Hansa Yellow Light and Permanent Alizarin Crimson. Below that I add a fresh green, obtained by Hansa Yellow Light and Phthalo Green (YS) in different  proportions. Further down I add hints of a reddish yellow and some neutral achieved by blending Burnt Sienna and Cobalt Blue.”

Stage 4 – Adding the background.

“Here I’ve started with background cluster of distant buildings. If you notice it is one uniform variegated wash. I have used a transition of warm and cool colors, a warm mixture of Burnt Sienna, Hansa Yellow Light and Permanent Alizarin Crimson, and a cool mix mainly using Cobalt Blue and Permanent Alizarin Crimson. Permanent Alizarin Crimson being the common color in warm and cool, but not showing anywhere in an isolated hue. Care was taken in leaving the shining roof shapes alone.”

Stage 5 – Building up areas.

“At this stage there is a slow and deliberate build up of the shadow areas of the trees and foreground buildings and a mountain behind. While a transition of warm and cool shades, tonal variation is important here…. mostly leaving accurate negative shapes (or positive) of light areas is the most important thing here. Most of the painting is accurately built here and all that is needed further is the details.” 

Stage 6 – Final touches

“Tiny additions of dark windows and accents, with some sharp line work. Consciously keeping the economy of details and yet not making an understatement is the challenge at this stage. The darks are created using either Burnt Sienna and Phthalo Blue (GS) which is warmer or Phthalo Green (YS) and Permanent Alizarin Crimson for strong cool dark.”

We are delighted to welcome Milind Mulick, a watercolour artist from Pune in India, to the international team of Watermill painting tutors. Milind has gained a remarkable reputation in his own country and, increasingly worldwide, for his atmospheric paintings.

That is another of them below: Wildflower Fields.

And here is Milind’s take on one of the sensational seaside villages of the Cinque Terre, one of the venues for our Wednesday excursion during our painting weeks.

Milind has been painting in watercolours for more than 30 years. His artistic journey began in childhood, following his father, also a painter. As well as being influenced by the great British watercolourists like Edward Wesson and Edward Siego, Milind has absorbed the styles of Indian artists too. He has won many awards and written a dozen books on watercolour painting.

Milind has also been teaching for many years. “Teaching gives me great pleasure: I love meeting new people and helping them realise their artistic potential.” As a previous student says: “Milind pours his heart and soul into his paintings and believes in spreading his knowledge.”

Milind will be with us for his course, which he calls Colourful Watercolours, from Saturday 3 October to Saturday 10 October and already we have seven people booked in, so we have room for four or five more painters (and their non-painting partners, if they’d like to join them) this. You can find out more about Milind and his course at the Watermill by clicking here.

Everything is included in the cost of your holiday at the watermill: tuition, accommodation, pre-dinner aperitifs, all meals and wines (including outings to charming local restaurants) and all local transportation.

You get to Pisa, Italy, we do the rest!

This atmospheric painting by Watermill tutor Carl March, which we used in a blog and Facebook post a few months ago, proved so popular, especially on Facebook, that we make no excuse for using it again. It is called Gateway to memories and it certainly certainly seemed to evoke lots of fond memories among our fans and followers.

I have another, ulterior, motive for using it: tidiness! We only have one bedroom left for Carl’s course here this spring and I would love to fill it. We can take a painter on his/her own, or even more fun, you may like to bring a partner, whether or not he or she is a painter.

Carl’s course is called ‘Drawing and Painting for Pleasure’ and it will run from 18-25 April 2020. Eleven people are already booked in, so why not come and join us and make your own memories of the Watermill, its gardens and the stunning unspoiled countryside of rural Tuscany which surrounds us? Being spring, there should be plenty of daffodils:

Drawing and design are Carl’s passions: he likes to experiment with various drawing mediums, combining them with traditional watercolour painting processes to create distinctively subtle works. They are regularly to be seen at the Royal Academy summer exhibitions in London. Like most of our tutors, Carl likes to carry a sketchbook with him wherever he goes. Here a rural view. (I like the horse!)

Carl is also a great teacher. He says: “I love the genuine satisfaction in passing on my knowledge to others. For example, demonstrating a ‘step by step’ exercise, then witnessing students repeat the exercise for themselves. Suddenly the penny drops, and it all makes sense. Surely this is the real reward for any teacher.”

Here’s a comment from a previous student: “Carl has a gentle but effective way of teaching and we have learnt a lot from. Most importantly, however, under his guidance the class always becomes a very sociable and happy group. Quite simply, his classes are not only well planned and informative but also great fun.” 

And another says “When I went on my first painting holiday with Carl, I had never picked up a paintbrush other than to paint a ceiling. But within a day I had produced my first ever watercolour and the result was beyond my wildest dreams. Since then I have spent two further holidays under Carl’s tutelage, each time learning new skills as well as refreshing my knowledge of basic techniques. Thanks to Carl’s endless patience and encouragement I have become an enthusiastic watercolour painter and look forward to further enjoyable holidays led by this inspirational teacher.” 

Here’s a watercolour sketch by Carl, called Sarah’s Lilies, a study showing great spontaneity.

So why not help me tidy up my booking form, grab the last place(s) on Carl’s course and make your own springtime memories in glorious Tuscany?

Everything is included in the cost of your holiday: tuition, accommodation, all meals and wines (including outings to charming local restaurants) and local transportation. You get to Pisa, we do the rest!

You can find out more about Carl at his course at the Watermill by clicking here. We would love you to join us.