The Watermill at Posara announces 2014 painting and writing courses

Sept. 27, 2013 - PRLog -- With eight brand-new courses – including painting and creative writing courses – confirmed for 2014, now is the time to think about pushing your creative boundaries.  Suitable for all abilities, courses are held at The Watermill at Posara, a beautifully-restored 17th century grain, chestnut and olive mill, surrounded by vineyards and sunflower fields, in rural, north-west Tuscany.

Here are the new painting and writing courses in 2014:

• French painter Olivia Quintin (10-17 May 2014) specialises in teaching watercolour painting and she recently exhibited at the Bienalle of Watercolours in Brioude, France’s largest watercolour event.
• Award-winning American watercolourist Frank Eber (14-24 May 2014) is primarily a plein air watercolour painter, and will no doubt make full use of The Watermill’s spectacular countryside setting.  Frank’s course also includes a three-day ‘Florence add-on’ taking in the city’s magnificent art galleries.
• Japanese-born Keiko Tanabe (24–31 May 2014) is a sought-after Californian-based artist who will share her methods and techniques to add light and atmosphere to watercolour paintings.
• Trevor Lingard (31 May –7 June 2014), from Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, is an internationally-acclaimed self-taught artist who specialises in watercolours.
• Oils, watercolours and other media all feature in the course led by Becky Joy (7-14 June 2014).  Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Becky aims to make her students’ paintings glow.
• American-born tutor Georgia Mansur (16-23 August 2014) will teach watercolours, impasto acrylics and oils in the great outdoors, at and around The Watermill.
• Award-winning artist John Wilson (20-27 September) is one of Australia’s leading oil painters and at The Watermill he will be running his first ‘Masterclass Workshop in oils and the landscape’ course.
• “Everyone has a book in them” according to writers Alex and Jude (26 April–3 May 2014).  The creative pair will help you discover what you want to write – whether it’s fiction or your own life story – providing helpful tips along the way.

The programme also features some of The Watermill’s most popular painting tutors, with many returning due to popular demand.  They include the world-famous Brazilian artist Fábio Cembranelli (14-21 June 2014), English artists Mike Willdridge (21-28 June 2014) and Laraine Simpson (31 August-7 September 2014) and Australian watercolourist Charles Sluga (27 September-4 October 2014). On the writing front, prolific Mills & Boon author Sharon Kendrick (3-10 May 2014) will be back for her sixth ‘Writing Romance’ course and Laurence Marks (6-13 September 2014), the writer from The New Statesman and Birds of a Feather will be returning by popular demand for his ‘TV Comedy and Drama scriptwriting’ course.

Guests at The Watermill enjoy daily trips into the Tuscan Hills, painting, sketching and writing in Medieval towns and sleepy hill-top villages, with magnificent mountain and valley views. There is also a midweek excursion by train to either Lucca or the Cinque Terre villages plus delicious meals out at charming local restaurants – all included in the price.  For the painting courses, basic equipment such as easels, boards, portable chairs and water bottles are all provided.  

As well as the glorious surroundings, the food at The Watermill is a real highlight, with special diets catered for and much of the produce grown either in The Watermill’s own garden or nearby by the Mill’s cook and gardener. Popular homemade dishes include freshly-baked lasagne, creamy risotto, local pecorino cheese with pears, figs and honey, gorgonzola soufflés, traditional Ligurian pesto using fresh basil from the garden and delicious desserts including tiramisu and Capri chocolate cake.

A week’s painting or creative writing course in 2014 costs from £1,310 pp based on two sharing. The price includes transfers (Pisa), all tuition, seven nights’ accommodation, pre-dinner aperitifs, all meals (including local restaurants), local travel and a mid-week excursion. Non-painting partners are given a £200 discount and pay from £1,110 pp. Flights (Pisa) extra.

Contact The Watermill at Posara on 020 7193 6246; www.watermill.net/painting-holidays or www.watermill.net/writing-holidays.  


For further information on the above courses contact The Watermill at Posara on (UK number) 020 7193 6246; http://www.watermill.net  

ENDS                                                                          25 September 2013

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