painting a swan in watercolour
8 September 2025
Watercolour tutorial — how to paint a swan and its reflection (step-by-step). A graceful white swan, softly lit and mirrored in still water — this step-by-step watercolour tutorial shows how to pa...
watercolour Clear tags
old dinghy in watercolour
27 August 2025
I have such a soft spot for this little old dinghy. I first found it in a photo on Unsplash, and I’ve painted it so many times - changing its mood, colours, and surroundings. This time I kept the bo...
paint a small town in the pyrenees
13 August 2025
Here's a scene from very close to home. So close, in fact, that's our house there at the back - the one with the new roof. Back in spring I sketched this scene, when the meadow was full of pretty, whi...
shop update
22 July 2025
The summer vibes continue! This time with Californian poppies. These ones are a reminder of summers in New Zealand, where these poppies grow as a riot of colour along our stoney lakeshore. I worked fr...
a vineyard in watercolour
20 July 2025
Painting Summer Vines and an Old Barn in France This super pretty scene is painted from a photo taken by Elysia on our second day sketching on location during last month’s painting holiday in France...
bold poppies in watercolour
3 July 2025
Looking for a bold, expressive watercolour painting project? In this week’s video tutorial, we’re painting a vibrant red poppy bursting with colour—set against a fun, abstract background that gi...
recap! our painting holiday in france, june 2025
25 June 2025
How do you sum up ten unforgettable days of painting, exploring, and connecting in one blog post? It’s almost impossible to choose just one photo to represent each day — every moment held somethin...
why go on a painting holiday? the benefits of immersive art travel
23 June 2025
I've just returned from another magical 10-day retreat at Perigord Retreats in France—and I’m still smiling. My sketchbook came home with pages of sketches in it, but my heart feels even fuller: w...
waterlily ponds
24 May 2025
In order to advertise next year's painting holiday in France, I took a trip down memory lane through the hundreds and hundreds of photos I've taken on the last 3 retreats, looking for the perfect phot...