More News from Devon

Returning to Devon in September felt like going home with the added bonus of meeting new friends to paint with and to enjoy the lush countryside surrounding Coombe Farm Studios together.

The sun had been out for us on our first day, so we made a tentative start and painted a few chosen spots near the courtyards and buildings incorporating various pots, gates and corners of the garden. We had much fun life drawing in the studio the next day and and it was great to be able to demonstrate my 'easy three colour' approach to portrait painting/sketching. Following on from gentle skin tones the day before we were ready to move on to flowers. Colourful arrangements with flowers freshly picked from the gardens were distributed throughout the studio and everybody could choose a favourite bunch or two. To capture those delicate tones of flower peddles and intense Greens of foliage is always a bit of a challenge, but the results after the days work were splendid.

The sun had been hiding behind some light clouds for a while just to returned to us on the last two days. Time to set off to paint the stunning scenery at the waters edge of the Dart Estuary from sculptor Gilly Suttons wonderful garden - another opportunity to discuss and demonstrate the mixing of Greens and introduce ways of capturing water, reflections and the subtle colours of a September sky.

So came a fantastic week to an extremely happy conclusion. With guitar playing and singing in the evenings, creativity and companionship, delicious food and and stimulating conversations, the week could not have been better. Naturally, everybody wanted to stay on at least another week! If only...

Now autumn really seems to have arrived and for me this means the beginning of work in my London studio and extra time to spend with family and friends in London and of course getting ready for painting course season in 2019.

A big "Thank You" to everybody at Coombe Farm studios and especially Lara Lloyd who looked after us so exceedingly well and to all of you who made the painting course so much fun,

Bettina