Painting and creative writing courses under the Tuscan sun

With around 70% of The Watermill’s guests being solo travellers, it’s fair to say that this picturesque creative retreat is the ideal spot for single travellers of all ages. Equally geared towards seasoned painters and writers as it is to those just keen on dabbling in the arts, The Watermill at Posara in Tuscany holds week-long courses throughout the year, each headed up by esteemed artists and authors from across the globe.

Holiday alone, with the reassurance that you’ll be among like-minded people with shared interests. Perhaps you deserve a break, but don’t fancy lying on a beach? Maybe you’re keen to switch off and learn something totally new, or perhaps it’s just a case of making time for your hobby – without the day-to-day distractions of home?

From the moment you’re picked up at Pisa airport, everything’s organised for you, making a week at The Watermill a productive, yet relaxing, holiday. With glorious Italian food and wine flowing, and life at a slower pace, all you have to concentrate on is enjoying ‘la bella vita italiana’. All courses provide both one-to-one and group tuition and accommodation takes the form of single bedrooms, as well as double and twin rooms.

Here are three sample courses:

Be inspired by the Impressionists – Oils, watercolours and other media (Becky Joy: 7-14 June)

Students on American artist Becky Joy’s course won’t spend much time in the studio. Instead, they’ll be out and about sketching and painting in The Watermill’s charming gardens and the surrounding Tuscan hills. Becky herself is especially interested in colour, be it depicting the light first thing in the morning or at sunset, and much of her work is inspired by the Impressionists.

Painting in the Tuscan hills – Watercolours, oils and acrylics (Georgia Mansur: 16-23 August)

Georgia Mansur is a Californian (but Australia-based) artist, who likes to paint en plein air. Georgia’s experience stretches across a range of media, including watercolour, impasto acrylics and oils and her positive approach is ideal for artists of all abilities; she knows exactly how to make her students feel at ease.

Learn from Birds of a Feather’s script-writer – TV Comedy and Scriptwriting (Laurence Marks: 6-13 September)

British sitcom writer Laurence Marks – co-writer of numerous TV hits including Birds of a Feather and Goodnight Sweetheart – will lead a script-writing course this September. In the hands of an expert – Laurence was taught by world-famous writers including Alan Ayckbourn – learn to write scripts that stand out, with one-to-one tutorials and team-writing sessions, as well as studying films and TV series that have become ‘classics’. In Hollywood, Laurence wrote for Paramount Studios and he was also co-writer of the hit musical Dreamboats and Petticoats.

Each course costs from £1,399 pp including all tuition, seven nights’ accommodation, all meals (including local restaurants), drinks and aperitivi, transfers (to/from Pisa), local transport and a mid-week excursion. Flights extra.

For further information on the above courses, or about the many other courses available, please contact The Watermill at Posara on 020 7193 6246; www.watermill.net

ENDS                                                                          26 March 2014

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