Dear Friend,

Dottoressa Breckon
in the heart of London
with Westminster Abbey as a backdrop

There is no denying that the highlight of last month was a trip to London with Lois, for her graduation as a Doctor of Philosophy from Goldsmiths, University of London – a celebration of many years’ diligent and dedicated study. The graduation ceremony was held in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in the very heart of London, with Westminster Abbey in front, Parliament Square and the Houses of Parliament to the left, and behind, St James’s Park. Our daughters, Lydia and Lara were with Bill in the front row, brimming with pride (and tears) as Lois was presented with her award..

Lois’ research into the music of nuns in the late 16th- and early 17th-century Florence led to a thesis which casts new light on their musical activities and included her wonderful discovery of a beautiful hand-written and illustrated antiphoner and hymnal. You can see a picture of one of the pages of the antiphoner below.

And, of course, we met old friends for laughter and good conversation, as well as catching up with the extraordinarily energetic musical Hamilton (still playing to a packed house in London) and the new film Poor Things (weird but rather wonderful).

Not that we haven’t been busy at the Watermill, both virtually and in reality. Lois has organised another of our short online teach-ins: On 8 February, Carl March will show you how keeping watercolour OUT of your watercolours will enliven your landscapes and refresh your flowers (See story below).

And our online, interactive Internet programme with Randy Hale and Mike Willdridge continues to draw an international audience to paint along with them in convivial and inspiring Zoom sessions. There are more of those to come, with Randy showing how you can turn a compelling photograph into an exciting painting.

The subject is a photograph of a recognisably classic American scene: a bareback rider on his horse (only just!) at a rodeo. This session is on 1 February, so you’ll have hurry to get registered. Details and a link below.

Mike returns (virtually) to the Italian seaside, with a source photograph of two girls drawing on the beach. In this interactive online session, on 15 February, you’ll learn more about the art of drawing figures. Again, details and a link below.

Meanwhile, back at the Watermill, our builders are now hard at work converting the old olive press into a glorious communal space. We are going to keep it under wraps, picture-wise at the moment, but we will tell and show you more before the grand opening in (hopefully) March. But here’s a ‘before’ picture:

Bookings for our world-renowned week-long residential creative courses continue apace. As we go to press, we have some 230 bookings for our painting, creative writing, knitting and Italian language courses. Our maximum capacity is some 260/270 places, so if you want to enjoy inspiring teaching, warm hospitality, delicious food and wine, stunning scenery and the convivial company of like-minded people NOW is the time to make YOUR reservation. There are lists of the courses, and current availability, in the appropriate sections below.

We were inspired last month by a quotation that we hadn’t come across before, but which we think captures the ethos of a ‘convivially creative’ course at the Watermill. It is usually attributed to WB Yeats, but we’re not quite sure if this is right. The sentiment, however, is spot on. ‘There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t yet met.’ More about this in Poetry Please!, in the Creative Writing section below.

The pictures above and below this introductory text illustrate how painters can be inspired by their own ‘backyards', in this case, the Watermill courtyard, seen through the eyes of tutors Pamme Turner (top left), Grahame Booth (top right), Maggie Renner Hellmann (bottom left) and Sandra Strohschein (bottom right). You can see a video here of Pamme's pop-up painting session 'painting in your own backyard' a couple of weeks ago.

“The food tastes even better
at the Watermill.”
 The Lady and The Tramp

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

Your partner doesn'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.

Landscapes need enlivening ? Rock-salt rocks! Carl will tell you why and how in our latest free online teach-in

Would you like your landscapes to be livelier? Adding rock salt to a wet wash creates intriguing abstract shapes, looking rather like starbursts or ‘sparkles,’ or giving a mottled effect to mimic sun-kissed or snow-covered foliage.

It is just one of the water-resist painting techniques Watermill tutor Carl March will show you in our FREE online teach-in on Thursday 8 February at 6pm (UK time). For more details and to register, just click here.

If you enjoy painting along with Carl online, why not join him for his sparkling painting week at the Watermill this spring? Here are the dates and a link:

Carl March
20-27 April 2024 - 5 or 6 places left
Drawing and watercolours en plein air
To learn more about Carl and his course at the mill, please visit the 2024 Tutor Profile Page.

Ride ‘em, cowboy! How to turn a stunning photograph into a compelling picture, in Randy’s online interactive session

Yee ha! Head out West with us for an American adventure. Randy Hale’s next painting session features this dynamic photograph of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco. Randy will show you how to convert this into a stupendous painting, capturing movement, energy and excitement in every brushstroke. Randy will concentrate particularly on how to develop the centre of interest, and how to create a sense of depth.

1 February 2024, 5pm UK time
Randy Hale
Cowboy up! Converting a stunning photo into a stupendous painting
To learn more click here, and to register click here.

Start time:
6 pm Florence, Italy
5 pm London, UK (Greenwich Mean Time)
Noon from Maine to Florida, USA
10 am in Denver (Mountain Time Zone) USA
9 am from Los Angeles to Seattle, USA

Not only will you savour the flavour of the American West, you’ll also join an international community of like-minded people, enjoying painting and each other’s company.

And, unlike many online painting tutors, Randy will not expect you to ‘look over his shoulder’ for a long demonstration, and perhaps be allowed to ask the odd question or two. No, you will be painting along at more or less the same time, trying out, step-by-step what they have shown you. Randy will demonstrate a tip or technique for only a few minutes before you start painting the same subject at home. Then, after you have had your turn, they will move on to the next part of the process. Lois will be on hand to feed your questions. The session will last two or three hours.

When you have registered, you will be provided with two links. The first is the Zoom link for you to join the session. Please double check the start time in your own time zone.

The second link is where you can download a source photograph of the scene that your tutor has chosen for you, his practice painting to show you where you are heading, a simple line drawing (and guidelines on how to create your own from the photograph), and a list of materials (including paper, paint and brushes) that he suggests you may need for the session.

Randy’s bucking bronco line drawing

It will be useful to prepare a line drawing yourself before Randy’s session, but don’t be daunted - Randy's instructions take you through the process.

After the event, you are invited to add your painting to an online gallery and to view paintings by fellow students. Randy will give a short critique of every painting that is posted within seven days of the end of the session. We will also send you a link to an edited video within 48 hours of the end of the session, that will enable to you revisit the tutor’s step-by-step teaching.

When you have painted with Randy online, why not join him for real at the Watermill next summer? We would love to welcome you here. You can find more details of Randy’s week-long course, which runs from 8 - 15 June 2024,by clicking here.

(Randy’s course is currently fully booked, but there are often cancellations, so if you’re keen to come, please let us know via our Contact Form by clicking here and we will put you on a waiting list.)

Randy Hale
8 - 15 June 2024 - fully booked, waiting list open
Watercolour
To learn more about Randy and his course at the mill, please visit the 2024 Tutor Profile Page.

Paint these girls drawing on the beach in our latest interactive, online session with Mike Willdridge

In his next Watermill Zoom session, Mike Willdridge invites you to make a drawing of this drawing of people drawing – and then paint it!

The subject is the two young people (right), drawing on the beach. (It’s actually in Vernazza, in the Cinque Terre in Italy, but that’s by the by: it’s the people we are interested in.) Your task, guided by Mike, is to produce lifelike and interesting figures on your page. When you register for Mike’s session we will give you, as usual, a copy of his preliminary drawing (below, left), but this time we’d like you NOT to make your own drawing before the session begins, because it’s really a ‘draw-along,’ rather than a ‘paintalong.’ Only at the end will we add colour (below, right).

Join us to draw and paint along with Mike on Thursday 15 February. To find out more, click here. To register, click here. Figuratively (ahem) you will be part of an international community of like-minded people, enjoying drawing, painting and each other’s company.

There is no need to make your online drawing before the session, since Mike will be giving advice on drawing techniques during the session.

As with Randy's session, after the event you are invited to add your painting to the gallery and to view paintings by fellow students. Mike will give a short critique of every painting that is posted within seven days of the end of the session. We will also send you a link to a video of the session within 48 hours of the session ending.

15 February 2024, at 5pm UK time (please check your own time zone, as with Randy's session)
Mike Willdridge
Drawing on the beach (Drawing people, then painting in watercolour)
To learn more, click here. To register, click here.

When you have painted with Mike online, why not join him for real at the Watermill in Tuscany Italy next summer? We would love to welcome you here. (Mike’s course is almost fully booked, but we do have space for a couple or friends sharing in our Vasari suite or the Gentileschi bedroom.)

Mike Willdridge
7 - 14 September 2024 - 1 or 2 places left
Watercolour and drawing (also gouache and acrylics)
To learn more about Mike and his course at the mill, please visit the 2024 Tutor Profile Page.