ChatGPT versus the artist’s mind. Can AI be truly creative?
We ‘creative types’ have been struggling for some time now to assess the impact of Artificial Intelligence on our creativity – and our livelihoods. These new AI programs not only…
Artistic insights, food for thought, and recipes
Those were the days…
Facebook Memories just sent us this charming picture of Bill and our two daughters, Lydia and Lara, from 2018. Since then Bill has become older and more wizened, so he…
More food for thought. George Orwell’s warnings about totalitarianism and technology are even more relevant today
≠BBC ArchivesGeorge Orwell, one of the most perspicacious and influential authors of the 20th century, died 75 years ago this week, As an old BBC hack, I love to read…
Which male artist will have the bedroom next to Sofonisba? Discover the charm of our artist-themed rooms during your art holidays in Tuscany.
While Lois and the Watermill team ponder on the renovation and refurbishment of the new guest bedrooms we are creating on the first floor of the 17th-century Watermill, Bill has…
A Scottish Skating Minister and Winter Inspiration for Painting Holidays in Tuscany
We’ve chosen this delightful image of an 18th Century Scottish Presbyterian minister ice skating gracefully on Duddingston Loch to send our Season’s Greetings to all our Watermill friends and…
The Watermill in Tuscany’s Contribution to Clean Water Initiatives
As you probably know, we are Cool and Green at the Watermill. Our hidden array of photovoltaic cells, as well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions from conventional power stations, makes…
Naming Our New Tuscan Bedrooms
When we put the new roof on the 17th-century part of the Watermill at Posara in the next month or so, we are going to take the opportunity to create…
…in a saucy hat! Donatello’s David
When putting the finishing touches to the first draft of my new historical detective story The Illusion of Reality, I marvelled again at the extraordinary vivacity of Donatello’s incredible bronze…
A serendipitous sunny Saturday
Lois and I were in the vibrant Sant’Ambrogio food market near our apartment in Florence on Saturday on a marvellously warm and sunny morning, enjoying the shops and stalls, buying…
A magical mill morning
An atmospheric photograph of a spider’s web in the Walled Garden, from Watermill painting course guest Bettina Winkler, And another of a sparkling morning dew on the lawn. Bettina says:”Morning…
Another intriguing Watermill artwork: Modern working heroes
The Watermill bedrooms and public rooms are stuffed to the gunwales with original artworks, most of them paintings of the Watermill and of the unique splendour of the surrounding countryside…
A time-travelling conceit in the Fra Angelico bedroom
Travel in time and space! Come and meet a cool 1960s girl in a mini-dress in Toulouse-Lautrec’s Paris studio (in a Watermill bedroom!) What would Fra Angelico, the Dominican…