Buongiorno vs ciao
With the Italian word ciao in almost universal use as a friendly greeting, it is tempting to use it in Italy with almost everyne you meet: passing acquaintances, business people,…
Category Archives: General
‘Life itself stirring vigorously in the stone’
Celebrating Italian artists who inspired Watermill bedroom names: 4: Donatello The Watermill’s bedrooms are named after famous Italian artists* and we thought it would be fun to tell you more…
Si monumentum requiris, circumspice*
Celebrating Italian artists who inspired Watermill bedroom names: 3: Brunelleschi The Watermill’s bedrooms are named after famous Italian artists* and we thought it would be fun to tell you more about…
“We are rich and in charge, and if our clothes break the sumptuary laws, so what?”
The Watermill’s bedrooms are named after famous Italian artists* and we thought it would be fun to tell you more about them in a series of short articles. We’ll also…
Looking down occasionally can be truly amazing
When entering the Duomo, the cathedral of Santa Maria Fiore in Florence, the natural tendency is to look up, into the soaring space of the dome, the capolavoro of my…
Inspiring thoughts from an Indian holiday and from a Watermill guest
Lois and I were very moved by an email this week from Mary Jane Colley, a guest on a Watermill creative course last year, full of thoughtful insights about…
Michelangelo’s Tuscany: Artistic Inspiration for Your Painting Holiday
Why does Michelangelo’s Moses have horns? Similarly, why do the four evangelists not mention an ox and a donkey in the Bible, even though Nativity scenes show them? These…
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…
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…