Dear Friend,

The pictures above and below this introductory section were taken by Lois during a recent walk along the riverside. They show that spring is really springing, and remind us that our 2022 creative courses are not that far away.

It’s always a slightly anxious moment when we realise that we have only a few weeks to go, but we are happy to report that all is progressing satisfactorily, ready for the opening of the new season on 23 April.

We have installed new powerful Wi-Fi to ensure fast international communications for our guests; a man is coming this week to prune the ancient mulberry tree in the car park, so our minibuses can get in and out with ease; another man is making railings along the millstream, to ensure safe passage for those who, like Bill, are less steady on their feet than they used to be; Karsten is ensuring that everything is well maintained; Lois is briefing cooks and bottle washers; and Bill is, um, paying the bills.

(Left) Another reminder courses are not far away: exuberant Easter eggs in our local café/bar
(Right)Automated toast

Lois, a skilled and enthusiastic cook, has also been welcoming a new Magimix and a bread slicer – and we have a new automatic toasting machine: you just pop the slice of bread in one end, blink a couple of times, and out comes your golden toast at the other.

We’re looking forward to a full season of creative courses, in painting, writing, knitting and Italian language, with a record number of more than 250 guests so far reserving their places. Come and join us to enjoy inspiring tuition, warm hospitality, a beautiful setting and wonderful scenery, delicious food and the convivial company of like-minded people.

If you are already booked in, we look forward to welcoming you here; if you haven’t booked, we still have a few places left. There are details and links below.

In this month’s newsletter we also have stories on:

• Eleonora di Toledo and Federico da Montefeltro star in our ‘one-stop’ adventures
• Sketch everything and keep your creativity fresh
• End of term for the Watermill’s online sessions: come and join us for the ‘real thing‘ for your summer hols!
• If you can’t make the real thing, you can still spend a (virtual) painting week at the Watermill
• Featured painting tutor of the month, Paul Talbot-Greaves
• Writing is easy. Just cross out the wrong words!
• An Italian word we are glad to use

Happy reading!

“Here’s seeing ya at the Watermill, kid.”
The immortal
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall

Bring a partner:
there's plenty for them to do

They don’t have to participate in the course, but they will be able to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of the mill and, whenever they want, to come out with you to our beautiful locations.

We also offer a range of Alternative activities for partners on all our courses, as well as a generous £GBP 250 discount if they share a room with you.

Eleonora and Federico star in our latest ‘one-stop’ adventures

Portrait painting at its very best

You may remember that Lois and I are working on an idea to avoid the cultural overload that comes with trying to look at too many painting masterpieces in a short space of time, especially in Florence, Italy, where we live in the winter months. We call it the ‘One-Stop Uffizi.’ The idea is simple: one of us chooses a picture before we go to the gallery; we enter and walk briskly, glancing neither to left or right, until arrive at the painting we have chosen. We spend 10 minutes really looking at the picture. Then we leave briskly, glancing neither to left nor to right, resisting the temptations as we pass.

We started out with Filippo Lippi’s Madonna and Child with two Angels, one of Bill’s favourite paintings in the whole of Uffizi, and then Lois helped him to gain new insight into Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera. Our next two visits were to two of the best portraits in the gallery: Bronzino’s Eleanora di Toledo and her son Giovanni de’ Medici and Piero della Francesca’s The Duke and Duchess of Urbino. We’ve made a montage of Eleanora’s portrait and a close-up of the duke above.

(Left) Every detail sharp and bright. Picture: the Uffizi Gallery, Florence
(Right) Picture: University of Urbino

As far as the Duke of Urbino’s portrait is concerned, you are first struck by the overwhelming image of a powerful man with the crookedest of noses. Who is he and what’s with the nose? You can find out all the hows and whys in our blog at https://watermill.net/millblog/?p=79661,which contains this intriguing reconstruction of how the one-eyed Duke might have looked head-on.

We are having great fun with our one-stop adventures. Raphael’s extraordinary portrait of Pope Leo X should be next, although we are having difficulty locating the pontiff. He seems to have done a runner to the Pitti Palace. Catch up with him, and all our one-stop adventures on the Watermill blog by clicking here.

“Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh”

Pamme’s sketch
of a shady lady in a Venice,
Italy cafe—with
Aperol Spritz in hand

The quote in the headline above comes from John Singer Sargent, and was unearthed by Pamme Turner, a sketchbook fan, like many of the Watermill painting tutors.

Sargent sketched every day of his life and Pamme recommends you do the same: “Sketching and drawing every day—if you can—does free your mind of conscious, pedantic thought and creates an aura/energy that can elevate your spirit. Always carry a small notebook and retractable pencil or Micron-style pen (better than an iPhone camera!) to record notes/ images/ideas/inspirations – they are the real nuggets of your later and greater creativity.”

Pamme will undoubtedly have her sketchbook in hand when she joins us for her first painting tuition week at the Watermill this summer. We have 11 people booked in for her course, two of whom are non-painting partners, so we have room for another couple of painters (and their partners, too, if they would like to come). You will find dates and a link below.

And don’t forget you will be Cool and Green at the Watermill: all our rooms, including the studio, have air-conditioning, powered by our hidden array of photovoltaic cells, which make us self-sufficient in electricity.

A double page from Pamme’s notebook.

Come and join us for inspiring tuition, warm hospitality, delicious food and wine, stunning locations and the convivial company of like-minded people. And don’t forget your sketchbook!

Pamme Turner - one or two places left
9 - 16 July 2022
Watercolour and gouache en plein air
To learn more about Pamme and her course at the mill, please visit her 2022 Profile Page.
 

End of term for the Watermill’s online sessions: come and join us for the ‘real thing‘ for your summer hols!

Our online visit to a secluded Italian monastery in March was the last in the current term of our Watermill interactive online sessions. We have created an international ‘painting club’ of people from all over the world who have enjoyed each other’s company as they painted along each Thursday afternoon with our tutors. And we will be back again with a new series this autumn.

Mike Willdridge was tutor for the last session, painting at the Convento del Carmine, a delightful 17th-century convent near the Watermill, now used for elegant Italian weddings. Our painting guests have exclusive use of the monastery on Thursdays during our painting weeks.

That is Mike’s painting above, made during the session and below, there is a montage of just a few of the paintings made by the participants.

Now we are taking a break online, why not come and join us this summer for real? You’ll not only be painting at that tranquil monastery, but also at a mediaeval castle, on market day in a walled mediaeval town and at a thousand-year-old village with spectacular views of the mountains of Carrara, to say nothing of the beautiful Watermill and its surroundings. We would love you to join us.

Even if you can’t make it for real, you can still enjoy a (virtual) painting week at the Watermill

Even if you can’t make it to the Watermill this year, you can still enjoy painting scenes from our lovely locations, in the comfort of your own home. Together with painting tutor Mike Willdridge, we have put together a seven-part video series to create 'virtual' Watermill painting weeks.

Each day for seven days you’ll paint along with Mike, learning about perspective, mixing colours, and drawing figures. You will learn how to break down your watercolours into four or five simple stages: composition, drawing, light washes, darker colours and shadows, and details. "I learned more in seven days with Mike than I had in seven years," said one student.

As well as painting at the Watermill itself, you will paint 'on location' in Pisa and the Cinque Terre, as well as at a deserted convent, an ancient castle fortress, a hilltop village with views of the Apuan Alps, and market day in a nearby town. There is also a pack of source photos and notes which complement the videos. You can find out more, and watch a trailer, by clicking here.

A still from the virtual week video

And there’s more! Following on the from the success of our first 'virtual' week in Tuscany, we hosted ANOTHER one. This second series of videos is also led by Mike Willdridge, and contains completely different location scenes, as well as new painting secrets to learn. As in the first video series, each day for seven days you’ll paint along with Mike, learning about perspective, mixing colours, and drawing figures. You will learn how to break down your watercolours into four or five simple stages: composition, drawing, light washes, darker colours and shadows, and details.

Comments from students include: "I have not painted since schooldays and I am so enjoying these classes." "So informative and inspirational." "Clever Mike: he persuaded us that figures are easy!"

Besides painting in hand around the Watermill, as in the first series, you will also paint (virtually) in Pisa and the flower market in Lucca, as well as at locations with views of the Apuan alps and cosy nooks for observing local life. Again, there is the pack of source photos and notes which complement the videos. Find out more about this second video series, and watch a trailer, by clicking here.

A still from the second virtual week video

And then, of course, you can join us for real in 2023. We now have a Preview of our 2023 creative courses on our Watermill website. You can see it by clicking here.

And it is never too early to book your place on one of our popular creative courses: a couple of dozen people have already signed up for next year!