City Church Portraits It’s a real privilege to paint a Portrait of a Friend. In 2014 I painted a series of portraits of City Church members. These were to hang in the atrium of the CastleGate. One of the portraits was of a gentleman called Leon Le Dune. He sadly passed away earlier this month. … Read more
Painting in Norfolk In September 2009 my wife and I went to Norfolk with our daughter and her two children to Norfolk for the week. Although it was a family holiday, I turned it into a painting trip. Every morning I would get up early before everyone woke up and I would go off painting. … Read more
Malta In November this year I will be 60 years old. We decided to celebrate this landmark birthday early, with our first trip abroad since COVID. Jet2 are doing direct flights to Valletta, Malta from Newcastle Airport. Susan thought that this would be a chance to enjoy some late Mediterranean sun and for me to … Read more
Covid 19 It’s with great sadness that we’ve had to cancel our Painting Holiday in Umbria this year due to COVID 19. Of course, the sadness is completely eclipsed by the news of thousands of deaths, not just in Italy but around the world. So many of us are at risk and have been told … Read more
Sketchbook from Italy If you would like to Learn to Paint then why not come on one of our Painting Holidays in Umbria, Italy. You will receive one to one tuition also in a group. Accommodation Our luxury accommodation is at Chiesa del Carmine located in Umbria described as the Green Heart of Italy. This short … Read more
Umbria Our first visit to Umbria was March 2002. It was a much appreciated break away from running an art gallery in Newcastle’s city centre. It was also an opportunity to spend time reflecting on what had been anxious year in 2001. Susan and I had major surgery together when I donated one of my … Read more
Painting Holiday, New Dates for 2019. Our Painting Holiday for June 2019 is fully booked. We have now booked a second week for another Painting Holiday, New Dates for 2019 September 21st – 28th. Already the spaces are filling quickly. Guests will once again have the opportunity to travel around Italy with Susan and I … Read more
Paintings of Italy One of the subjects I often get our guests on our Painting Holidays to have a go at is Painting an Olive Tree. The grounds of Chiesa del Carmine are full of them. They are not too difficult to draw compared to other subjects. It’s relatively easy for the guests to spend … Read more
I was Painting Piano Grande for the first time in September 2004. I’d seen spectacular photographs of colourful flowers growing in this vast plateau in the Sibillini mountains and hoped to capture them in watercolour. Of course it was completely the wrong time of year! I needed to return in late spring, early summer. In … Read more
Our next Painting Holiday at Chiesa del Carmine in Umbria in Italy is just a few weeks away. Once again we are fully booked. For some of our guests it will their fourth and fifth time with us Painting in Italy. Over the years we’ve enjoyed some wonderful trips out. We’ve visited many of the … Read more