Presenting Rebecca de Mendonça
- 12 September - 19 September 2026
Pastels and mixed media
Pastellist Rebecca de Mendonça’s unique style is the result of a varied career in the arts. After gaining her degree in Theatre Design, she worked on projects ranging from Harrods Food Hall to the Phantom of the Opera.
As a pastel artist and teacher, she has an international following; she shares her enthusiasm for the media through her online teaching, and her writing. Her book ‘Pastels for the Absolute Beginner’ has been reprinted many times.
Rebecca is delighted to be returning to the Watermill, where she loves to share her enthusiasm for pastels with students in this beautiful and relaxed setting.
In this course she combines pastels with other media, and helps students to find their own style as they capture the wonderful locations we visit. She is very sensitive to the level of experience of each student, giving the appropriate guidance and support. Rebecca is also very aware of the challenges that working ‘en plein air’ presents, and has lots of tips and advice to help students gain confidence when working outdoors.
Rebecca’s friendly and generous approach to teaching helps her students to relax and really achieve their potential.
Course outline
Rebecca will demonstrate how to capture the architecture and landscape of the beautiful Watermill venues with a combination of materials. Soft pastels, pen and ink, Conte crayons and pastel pencils will be used separately and in combination to achieve lively sketches and finished pieces. She will show how we can vary our materials to suit the subject matter that we are observing and the size of our work.
From landscape and water, to figures and architecture, Rebecca will give informative instruction and demonstrations, showing how she draws and paints with life and atmosphere.
The course will include some en plein air painting, studio-based work and also trips out. Rebecca seeks to offer a new experience of using pastels outside and to introduce the joys of exploring how inspiring another country’s landscape and countryside can be. As ever the atmosphere will be relaxed with one-to-one help, demonstrations and lots of lovely food! Rebecca seeks to inspire you all to join her and to try something different.
