Both Summer Courses 04 were very interesting and successful and everyone had a great time. I had two weeks here in Sussex and we did our first week of Figure painting at a lovely venue, Sackville College in East Grinstead. The College is an ancient Alms House built around a romantic courtyard and it was an ideal setting for the course. In our ‘antique’ course room we even had a chandelier – so I organised an ornate chaise longue to drape our model across matching the ambience perfectly. We had beginners and advanced students in the group and really good paintings were produced in these two weeks. It amazes me time and again how much someone who has not even painted before can achieve in a two week course.

The second week we spent on a beautiful, small, hidden lake, which offers a multitude of different plants, leaf textures, intimate corners and vistas – and not to forget the opportunity to learn about how to paint water and reflections. Everyone had their own little private spot somewhere around the lake which made working really relaxing and enjoyable. I was worried that the place is almost too picturesque – but no one fell into the trap of producing a cliché painting and really individual interpretations of what each one saw were produced.

Then I was off to Spain! Already the drive from Sevilla airport is amazing. Hills, valleys, dark purple earth, bright yellow ochre grass under dark silver-green Olive trees, cork oak plantations, with bright sienna peeled tree trunks against glimpses of pristine blue skies, layers of textured hills, with rows of sap umbrella pines and dark green patterns of other tree plantations on others.

Arriving at Cazalla de La Sierra is a surprise, a clean, white Spanish village – Spain how we think it should be, without tourists and the friendliest people I have ever come across in Spain. Mules trotting through town, horsemen in worn leather coming home on amazing Andalusian horses, all the ‘real’ stuff.

One’s excitement keeps rising as one drives out of the village, another couple of km into the mountains to finally turn into a tiny lane which leads through olive groves and an eucalyptus wood past a stream to suddenly open out into a distant view with the monastery right there, on top of a hill. Glorious sunshine, lightness of space, magnificent!

The monastery is wildly romantic. The right balance of creatively restoring parts of it but working empathetically with the ruins and creating something new without over-restoring and over-renovating the old. Everything is full of paintings and ceramics, the church, the chapels around the courtyards have been converted to galleries. They have all been built by the Carthusians from the bricks of the mosque that stood there before and of which one ‘chapel’ is left. Behind the monastery the plateau opens up out into space, the full panorama of the landscape visible, hills undulating hazily into the distance. To stand there, next to the ruins of the monks cottages and feel the history and aura of the place, feel the space, is an experience. To describe the clear, light and special atmosphere of the place is impossible in words and with photos… What a find, and what a place to run my courses! Ideal for art and artists.

The group from England and Scotland, all arriving with the same flight, arrived in the dark and were utterly amazed at the beauty of the place they woke up to in the morning. There were also people from Singapore, Honduras, America.

We had two intensive and very productive weeks and time disappeared into nothing as usual. In the first week we did figure work and used the large church which was nice and cool, so we wouldn’t have to stand in the sun too much. We had a moody and proud Andalusian model from the Sevilla art school but with the help of the soothing voice of the fiery-eyed, lovely and calm resident Mexican sculptor and ceramicist Allessandro (who could come and join the group whenever he wanted), we just about kept our model from breaking into a passionate Flamenco routine…adds all to the interest! One of the special moments was painting in the old, cool church, birds flying in and out – and a Spanish folklore group coming to rehearse for the concert.

The weather was glorious, hot at times, but very dry and therefore just the right holiday weather. The monastery is more than an hour north from Sevilla and therefore not as hot and the temperature really does come down from the middle of August.

Apart from producing a significant amount of work, the beginners made a great start into painting, already showing individual ‘style’, the advanced students and artists really enjoyed themselves in these surroundings away from it all. As always, I enjoyed the challenge of having a bunch of completely different people together and help each one along their own path. Whether it was thinking up a special programme for the individual inclinations of a complete beginner – or leaving the experienced artist alone to do his own thing as desired but being available at all times – everyone gets individual treatment.

And – not to forget – the dips in the natural spring pools at Siesta time, long talks at night with lovely wine after our dinners together and making friends, some people staying up enjoying themselves, others relaxing in their rooms and having a quiet time. Everyone was able to make out of this holiday what they needed…

Carmen, the owner of the monastery really went out of her way to give us an interesting time. We had three lectures of the fascinating history of the monastery and her discoveries of its secrets. Carmen has discovered that the famous Zubaran has painted there and her stories were fascinating; she is so passionate about this place and has invested her life in it. Carmen has also organised a concert for us especially. We had a lovely performance in the old church of a Folk music group before our party. After that a singer in the ancient courtyard. To our surprise there was a very professional little bar set up in the corner, complete with a bar man in bow tie! Just like a 5 star hotel!

We stayed on long after the singer’s performance, some guys sat down with guitars and we had our own jam session, singing and dancing. Carmen did look a bit perturbed when our Shane started to respond in his own brand of expressive dance to two of our girls, Kirstie and Karen, who had climbed high up on the balcony of the church tower, dancing to the music up there! Ah – Shane…he was also the one who painted the biggest canvas, suspended like a bird between heaven and earth on same said balcony, frantically finishing his painting on the last afternoon, when quite a wind came up and he was holding on for his life, hollering for help lest he would be sailing away! He was rescued just in time – and produced a lovely painting, that was even sold to another student.

Michael, - who kept walking around in an apparent daze and kept saying ‘ this is the best holiday ever’ – had a special surprise after our last dinner together: in anticipation of his birthday we had made him a card covered in cats and presented this to him with a cake. As you can see from the pictures and his awestruck expression, the surprise had really worked!

Two weeks of intensive work and learning, sun, space, nature and swims in the pool, laughing, partying (or not), talking and forming friendships, - many little anecdotes could be told.

So, thanks Kirstie, Karen, Ray, Gijs, Shane, Jose, Beth, Brendan, Pat and Martin and Michael, - it was lovely meeting you in all your diversity - and I would love to hear how you are getting on with your painting!