Perfect your watercolour prowess, write your own memoir or pen a romantic novel

June 28, 2011 - PRLog -- For truly inspirational surroundings, The Watermill at Posara is hard to beat. Located in a beautiful Tuscan valley in the picturesque village of Posara, close to the medieval walled town of Fivizzano, the painstakingly restored 17th century grain, chestnut and olive mill hosts a wide-variety of painting and creative writing courses.  All courses cater for all levels, from beginners to accomplished artists and writers.

Four new painting courses are confirmed for 2012 and budding artists can choose from a variety of courses using watercolours, oils, acrylic and pastels.  New courses include a painting course with American artist Chester Kasnowski, who specialises in still-life figures and landscapes; the highly-acclaimed watercolour painters Milind Mulick from India and Roland Haas from Austria; plus Canadian artist Margaret Ferraro, who teaches using oils and soft pastel.Many of The Watermill’s favourite tutors will also be returning in 2012.

Two new creative writing courses will be launched in 2012: ‘How to write your memoir’ with British author Jo Parfitt, who will show you how to turn real-life experiences into a publishable memoir with the necessary pizzazz.  Also new, and ideal for budding romantic novelists, is a romantic fiction course led by the Mills & Boon author Kate Walker who has written over 50 best-selling books.  All painting courses include daily excursions into the Tuscan Hills, painting and sketching in ancient olive groves and mountain settings often with far-reaching views, trips to evocative villages and sightseeing historic local landmarks.  For the painting courses, basic equipment such as easels and portable chairs are provided.  

Both the creative writing and painting courses allow for plenty of one-to-one tuition and the group size is usually capped at 11 or 12.  Meals are taken both at local restaurants and at The Watermill itself where delicious, fresh produce is sourced from local farmers and even from the property’s own vegetable patch.  

LEAD-IN PRICES & EARLY BOOKING OFFER FOR ALL COURSES:
Courses start from £1,116 pp, and include transfers (Pisa), all tuition, seven nights’ accommodation (price is based on two sharing) at The Watermill, pre-dinner aperitifs, all meals (including lunches and dinner with wine both at The Watermill and at charming local restaurants), local travel and a midweek sightseeing tour to either Lucca or the Cinque Terre (five villages) on the Italian Riviera.  Flights (Pisa) are extra and start from around £45 return with easyJet/Ryanair.  All 2012 courses booked by 31 December 2011 will enjoy a £75 pp reduction in the price paid.

LATE AVAILABILITY FOR 2011:

• Annelise Pio Hansen leads a watercolour course (27 August – 3 September 2011) which includes daily excursions into the Tuscan Hills and closer to home, tuition in The Watermill’s delightful garden.
• Best-selling Mills & Boon author Jessica Hart leads a creative writing course (24 September – 1 October 2011) revealing the secrets of how to write romantic fiction that sells.
• Australian watercolour artist Charles Sluga will tutor a course this Autumn (1 - 8 October 2011)

For a full list of the 2012 courses, please see below:

2012 CREATIVE WRITING COURSES:

‘Writing romance’ (5 - 12 May 2012) with British author Sharon Kendrick – with over 80 Mills & Boon titles to her name, Sharon is an expert in writing romantic fiction.  

NEW: ‘How to write your memoir’ (15 - 22 Sept 2012) with  British author Jo Parfitt (who lives in The Netherlands) - Jo’s course will show you how to write compelling stories based on your own experiences and turn them into a publishable memoir that has plot, pace and pizzazz.

NEW: ‘Writing romantic fiction: beyond the hearts and the flowers’ (6 - 13 Oct 2012) with British author Kate Walker - a prolific Mills & Boon writer, Kate will explore the world of writing romantic fiction and give lots of practical advice.

2012 PAINTING COURSES:

John Christian - watercolours (12-19 May 2012): fun-loving British painter John has a renowned ‘wet-into-wet’ technique and he paints in a fast, spontaneous manner.

Jennifer Branch - watercolours (19 to 26 May 2012): an American modern impressionist painter who uses ‘transparent’ and vibrant watercolours to bring her subjects to life and is happy to teach with oils and acrylics, too.

Bob Henfrey - watercolours (2-9 June 2012): a British artist who likes to paint outdoors in watercolours and oils (often working from sketches) and who is accomplished at portraits.

g.a. Sheller - watercolours (9-16 June 2012): g.a. hails from New York and has received many accolades for her unique work and inspirational teaching over the last 30 years.

Liz Seward - watercolours (16-23 June 2012): British painter Liz is an inspiring teacher who is well known for her floral and landscape paintings using a combination of light and colour.  

Fabió Cembranelli - watercolours (23-30 June 2012): an international artist from Brazil who is famous for his landscapes and luminous floral watercolours, Fabió also teaches in oils and acrylics.

Guy Gruwier - watercolours (30 June – 7 July 2012): Guy is a highly-experienced painter from Belgium, with a realistic yet romantic style.

NEW:  Chester Kasnowski - oil pastels, acrylic, watercolours (21-28 July 2012): an American painter with over 30 years’ experience, Chester aims to give students the confidence to ‘paint anything, any time’.

NEW:  Milind Mulick - watercolours (28 July - 4 August 2012): Milind is an internationally acclaimed watercolour artist and is so well known in India that people substitute his name, ‘Milind’, for the word ‘watercolour’!

NEW: Margaret Ferraro - oils and soft pastel (18-25 August 2012): Canadian-born artist Margaret’s courses allow everyone, whatever their level, to develop at their own pace in a fun environment.

Annelise Pio Hansen - watercolours (25 August - 1 Sept 2012): Annelise’s watermill painting holidays are always extremely popular.  She paints in soft but bright colours, influenced by the landscapes of her native Denmark.

Laraine Simpson - oils, pastels and watercolours (1 - 8 Sept 2012) - Laraine likes to encourage her students to appreciate the relationships between line, tone, shape and colour.

NEW: Roland Haas – watercolours (22 - 29 Sept 2012): based in Austria, Roland has been teaching popular watercolour courses throughout Europe for the past 28 years.

Charles Sluga – watercolours (29 Sept - 6 Oct 2012): Australian artist Charles is a highly respected watercolour artist and teacher in both Australia and Europe.  

SELF-CATERING:
The Watermill has three self-catering holiday apartments (sleeping 2 – 5) that are available to rent throughout the year for couples, single travellers, families or groups wishing to explore the region’s range of attractions.

For further information contact The Watermill at Posara on 020 7193 6246; http://www.watermill.net

ENDS
28 June 2011

For press enquiries, press trips or photography: Contact Julia Farish or Helena Hamlyn, Travel PR, tel: 020 8891 4440, email: j.farish@travelpr.co.uk or h.hamlyn@travelpr.co.uk

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