This week I held a painting class in the beautiful woods at Bates Green Farm near Arlington. In Spring this wood is full of bluebells and open to the public, but now it is peaceful and quiet, a perfect escape after the busiest part of the year. Philippa and Michael Vine farm at Bates Green, and Philippa runs a cookery school where she cooks our delicious lunch with local seasonal ingredients.

First we settled ourselves into Philippa’s cosy, spacious kitchen while she started on the lunch. As it was raining, we stayed indoors while I talked about and demonstrated my approach to watercolour. Fortunately the rain stopped, so before lunch the group explored the woods, and chose places to paint.

Philippa’s seasonal paella followed by blackberry and apple crumble was so delicious that we had to remind ourselves about the painting, and the painters were gently encouraged out into the woods where September sunshine was now slanting through the trees.

They found themselves places to sit and were soon absorbed in the problems of light and shade… Although some were complete beginners, all had lovely paintings to show by the end of the day.

If you would like to join us for a day of painting in the woods with lunch cooked by Philippa Vine, the next class is Saturday October 5th. This will be a day of Autumn delights, with pumpkins grown on the farm and wild mushrooms growing in the woods. Inquire via my contact page or book here