A guinguette is a wonderfully unpretentious French gathering place—part open air café, part dance floor, part village living room—where people come together to eat, drink, listen to music, and enjoy the long light of the warmer months. In rural Brittany, a guinguette often blends with the spirit of a farmers’ market: local producers setting out their cheeses, meats, bread and cider, neighbours greeting each other, children running between tables, and musicians tuning up under strings of lights. It’s a space made for simple pleasures and shared moments, where the boundary between everyday life and celebration feels beautifully thin. Bilbo Baggins and friends would not be out of place at these events, enjoying a flagon or two of ale and a pipe of Old Toby!

🌿 May

May arrives with a sense of expectancy, as though summer is just out of sight but already warming the air. In Brittany it’s also the month of fériers, those scattered bank holidays that break the weeks into small, irregular pieces. Noise is frowned upon on these days—certainly after noon—so any work involving machinery must pause, adding to the stop‑and‑start feeling of the season.

With the return of sunshine, life spills outdoors. Lawns are cut, gardens tended, tables set for long lunches and easy evenings. We’ve had a run of dry days in the 20s, yet everyone remains mindful of the Ice Saints, the traditional mid‑May cold snap tied to the feast days of St. Mamertus, St. Pancras, and St. Servatius. Gardeners keep their tender crops tucked under cover until May 13 passes, just in case.

And then there are the fériers themselves—falling wherever they please in the week, often to the confusion of anyone newly arrived in France.

🌿Summer Term Class availability

🌿April in Review - what we’ve been creating.
🌿May Project.
🌿Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings.
🌿Opportunities

🌿Summer Term Class availability

I have some spaces for private sessions (Wednesday afternoons) - these are one off sessions for individuals or small groups who can’t commit to a longer course. Book here.

🌿April in Review — What We’ve Been Creating

It’s been a month of birds, Spring landscapes, elephants, architecture and Spring flowers. In class we’ve looked at artists as diverse as Georgia O’Keeffe, David Shepherd and Salvador.

🌿 May Project: Birds continued..

The bird project is going so well I have decided to continue it for a few more weeks. There are a few figurative tutorials in the pipeline and some different techniques upcoming.

Tutorial links - Song Thrush Woodpecker

🌿 Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings

• Musee des Beaux Arts, Rennes, 3500 - lots of events, talks and guided tours …all year.

• Hilma af Klint, The Temple Paintings (1906-1915) is at Grand Palais, Paris, 6 May–30 August

• Musee des Beaux Arts, Vannes, UNDA / Traversée spectrale. Elsa Tomkowiak - contemporary artist…all year.

• Salon d’Art. Association 11B annual exhibition, Guilliers. Until May 3rd

• RWS Gallery, London. From April 10th Permanent revolving watercolour showcase.

• Festival de la Bretagne - various events across the region May 14 - 24th.

Do let me know if you attend any of these — I’d love to hear your thoughts.

🌿 Opportunities

The British Art Prize 2026
Deadline: 7 September 2026

This prize offers exceptional national exposure and the chance for artists to sell their work to an audience of nearly a million art lovers and collectors. The prize fund includes significant cash awards, and shortlisted artists will exhibit at OXO Gallery, 21–25 October 2026.

🌿 It’s May! …

May means the growing season is truly upon us, and it’s not just the plants we carefully tend that are thriving. The weeds are doing spectacularly well too. As I spend hours tugging out invaders from beds and borders (and yes, I know—they’re only “weeds” because we’ve decided they’re in the wrong place), I can’t help but admire their sheer determination. A daisy pushing up through gravel, a dandelion punching straight through tarmac… they’re tiny acts of rebellion, quiet proof that life insists on happening even in the most unwelcoming conditions.

There’s a lesson tucked in there for us. We spend so much time trying to cultivate the “right” things—good habits, tidy routines, carefully planned projects—yet often it’s the wild, scrappy parts of ourselves that carry the most resilience. The part that keeps going when conditions aren’t ideal. The part that finds a crack of light and grows anyway. The part that doesn’t wait for permission.

So perhaps this season, alongside nurturing the plants we’ve chosen, we can also honour the spirit of the weeds: persistent, adaptable, unembarrassed by where they land. They don’t apologise for taking up space. They don’t wait for perfect soil. They simply get on with the business of living.

Be more weed—root where you can, grow where you must, and let your tenacity be its own kind of beauty.

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Elizabeth

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Read more

Every morning, a thrush sings from the treetops above my stables, greeting the day long before the sun fully rises. There’s something wonderfully sure and hopeful in his voice, and I wanted to capture that feeling in paint. This tutorial walks you through the watercolour inspired by his dawn chorus.

The Project

In this tutorial, I have used wet-in-wet techniques for most of the work, this creates soft edges and blends over which sharper details can be added when the surface is dry.

Please note; the background in the following process images appears to change colour - this is due to natural lighting changes while I was painting. It really is just Cerulean Blue.

Materials I used -

• Fabriano Acid free NOT surface 280gsm (130lb) watercolour paper 25 x 35 cms

• Winsor & Newton pigments - Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, Sepia, Payne’s Grey, Potter’s Pink, Sap Green, and Zinc White Gouache.

• Rosemary’s Brushes - Golden Synthetic No 8 round, Short Flat Shader, fine liner/rigger.

• Faber-Castell - 9000 HB pencil

Step 1. Sketch out the image, editing out any unnecessary detail.

Step 2. Using my large flat shader I wet the whole page except for the bird and twig – take care around the paler edges of the bird. Working quickly, drop cerulean blue onto the wet surface, allowing it to run over the wet areas and ‘find’ the dry edges of the bird. Make sure your sky makes a neat edge around the bird and that it creates a consistent background between it’s legs etc. You could use any colour you like or perhaps more than one – but be careful if you use yellow and blue as a green sky may not be what you had in mind!

Step 3. When the background is completely dry, apply plain water evenly to the whole body of the bird and drop in Yellow Ochre, Sepia and a little Payne’s Grey to describe the form of the bird with soft-edged tone. Lift out* small areas if you need to. Sharp edged details are added later to a dry surface.

Step 4. When the ‘soft modelling’ of the bird is dry add some colour to the legs; I used very light wash of Yellow Ochre and then dropped in some Potter’s Pink and Sepia.

I used Sepia washes to add the darker areas to the bird’s body and eyes and for the speckles which were made with a fairly dry brush (round) in a dab stroke.

Step 5. As each layer dries, add more refined detail with Sepia – I added a little Potter’s Pink to the inside of the beak too.

Step 6. For the twigs I filled in the whole shape with a very light wash of Payne’s Grey into which I dropped a little Potter’s Pink. While still wet I added a drop of Sap Green here and there and pulled out some leaf shoots with a liner brush (rigger).

Step 7. Add more twigs using the same process, add a dot of Zinc White Gouache for the highlight in the bird’s eye and make any final tweaks. When completely dry erase any visible pencil marks.

* Lifting Out. This means using a clean, dry (hungry) brush to mop out small areas of still wet colour. To lift out dry colour use a clean damp brush to lift the colour.

🕊️ April

The clocks have changed, the days are drawing out and the weather is softening. Swallows swooped in this week, carried by blustery southwesterly winds. I’ve spent long hours in the potager preparing for the growing season; it has been a joy to connect with the earth, listen to birdsong, and begin sowing and planting. Longer evenings mean more time for evening rides among scampering hares and deer— a delight and an inspiration as the landscape shifts with the season.

🕊️Summer Term Class availability

🕊️March in Review - what we’ve been creating.
🕊️April Project.
🕊️Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings.
🕊️Opportunities

🕊️Summer Term Class availability

I have added some new dates for private sessions (Wednesday afternoons) - these are one off sessions for individuals or small groups who can’t commit to a longer course. Book here.

🕊️ March in Review — What We’ve Been Creating

Recent events caused some disruption to classes, especially Thursday groups, to whom I am truly grateful for their understanding and support.

In March we explored perspective — a foundational skill that underpins drawing and composition. We continued working with tone and studied artists such as Jan Both (1615–1652), Pieter de Molijn (1597–1661), and Filippo Brunelleschi (1337–1446), observing how they used depth, structure, and geometry to guide the eye.

🕊️ April Project: Birds

The soundscape of this time of year is unmistakably birdsong: the liquid notes of garden birds, a woodpecker tapping in Theresa’s old walnut tree, buzzards circling high above, and best of all a song thrush keeping watch from the top of an ancient oak. Our theme for April is birds.

This month I’m sharing bird watercolour tutorials, and I invite you to explore this theme in your own way. Consider how your materials and techniques can express speed, lightness, curiosity, fragility, or boldness. Birds offer endless possibilities for gesture, colour, and movement.

🕊️ Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings

• Musee des Beaux Arts, Rennes, 3500 - lots of events, talks and guided tours through April.

• Musee des Beaux Arts, Vannes, UNDA / Traversée spectrale. Elsa Tomkowiak - contemporary artist…all year.

• L’Homme qui vole – Hervé Walbecq - Le Triangle, Cité de la danse
  Boulevard de Yougoslavie, 35000 Rennes (until 26 juin 2026)

• RWS Gallery, London. From April 10th Permanent revolving watercolour showcase.

Do let me know if you attend any of these — I’d love to hear your thoughts.

🕊️ Opportunities

The British Art Prize 2026
Deadline: 7 September 2026

This prize offers exceptional national exposure and the chance for artists to sell their work to an audience of nearly a million art lovers and collectors. The prize fund includes significant cash awards, and shortlisted artists will exhibit at OXO Gallery, 21–25 October 2026.

🕊️ Spring Begins…

Spring is officially here. Whether you’re gardening, walking the countryside, or enjoying a coffee at a streetside café, there is so much to see, hear, and be inspired by. Use your sketchbooks to record ideas — even quick notes can become seeds for future projects.

Your experience of place is more than visual: it’s sound, movement, temperature, scent, memory. Let it all feed your creativity. Enjoy the birds and breathe in the blossom.

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A great place to start is to create a tonal scale. To create a three tone scale you will need paper (I used watercolour paper), a pencil, ruler, black paint (I used Ivory Black gouache) and scissors.

Step 1. Take a strip of paper and divide it into 3 squares, I use the width of a ruler for the strips and divisions.

Step 2. Fill in an end square with the darkest tone you can (I used black gouache).

Step 3. Use your visual judgement to find the mid-tone for the centre square - you are aiming for the midpoint between the darkest and lightest tones.

Now you have a three tone scale that you can use to help find tonal changes simply by holding it up to your subject. You could use a hole punch to make a hole in each square your subject and observe through the square of tone.

A Sweet in a Shiny Wrapper. Tonal Exercise 1.

Using the reference image above, or your own image, make a study in just three tones - your scale will help you find those tones. Do simplify, you will have to ‘round up’ gradient areas to the nearest tone and do experiment with different media; in the example at the top of the article, there are three examples rendered in paint, newsprint and toned paper.

Your Face. Tonal Exercise 2.

Take a black and white photograph of yourself, or someone else, and repeat the Sweet exercise, reducing the softer gradient tones of a face to just three tones. A good approach is to find (freehand or trace) the lightest highlight areas, then the darkest which will naturally describe the mid-tone area.

You will find that using different media changes the way you work; the limitations of each will force you to simplify.

The learning outcome is to observe the impact of tone in an image - even when simplified it will create form and dimension on the picture plane. Note how seemingly abstract shaped blocks of tone work together to suggest form. Learning to find these blocks of tone in any subject is key to producing quality art works.

March brings the unmistakable signs of spring: daffodils opening, hares darting across the fields, and birdsong returning to the mornings. Here on the small holding, the poultry have hit their stride, producing an abundance of eggs and the garden is full of new buds. The horses are still in their shaggy winter coats—mud included—but the improving weather means more time in the saddle and more chances to enjoy the changing season. Being outside right now feels like stepping into a slow unfurling of colour and life. Let these early signs of spring spark your imagination and encourage whatever creative work is calling you.

🌼February in Review - what we’ve been creating.
🌼March Project.
🌼Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings.
🌼Opportunities

🌼 February in Review.

As some of you know, we are a man down on the team here, so February has been a challenging time — big shout‑out to the French emergency and medical services, who have been excellent. There has been some disruption to classes, but creativity has flourished nonetheless. Here are some images of the work made in class during February.

We’ve taken inspiration from Norman Rockwell, John Blockley, and the Six Nations. Our Joan of Arc project inspired many of you to produce excellent work, replacing Joan with modern figures such as Greta Thunberg, Sinéad O’Connor, Dorothy Stang, and Paula Yates.

🌼 March Project: The Piper

The Piper.

If, like me, you grew up listening to prog‑rock supergroups such as King Crimson and ELP, you will already be familiar with the evocative lyrics of Peter Sinfield. I thought this gentle, dreamlike poem would make a wonderful starting point for an art project — something to lift us out of the dreary weather we’ve been enduring and into a world of imagination.

The Piper.

Beneath the tinsel twilight skies
A changeling child with cinnamon eyes
Wends his way to a secret glade
And plays his pipe in a serenade

In and out of the spectral trees
Between the starlight burnished leaves
He strolls the speckled toadstool way
To join the elfin court in play

The brown owl hoots upon the oak
The foxes howl and the green frogs croak
As through the wood to a marvelous moon
He blows the notes of an elfin tune

Towards the moss‑weed bridge he goes
Where burble‑pebble water flows
Across the meadow up the hill
And on the wind I hear him still…

(c) Peter Sinfield 1974.

You might choose to explore:

• natural elements from the poem

• take a line or phrase as a title/inspiration

• illustrate the whole poem

• another ‘piper’ .. the Pied Piper, Pan, the piper at the gates of dawn (Wind in the Willows/ Pink Floyd) etc

• political or cultural figure leading their followers like a modern day Pied Piper

• or any unexpected direction that emerges from your development work

Make good use of your sketchbooks for recording, experimenting, and developing your ideas.

🌼 Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings

• The Youth of Fine Arts, Rennes and its Artists, 1794–1881 – Musée des Beaux Arts, Rennes (Nov 28 – Mar 29, 2026)

• Micro-folie : micro-conférence : Frida Kahlo, portrait d’artiste - Les Carmélites, 4 Rue du Sénéchal Thuault, 56800 Ploërmel (March 7th, 15.00)

• Royal Watercolour Society Open Exhibition. - Bankside Gallery, London

  (27 February - 15 March)

• L’Homme qui vole – Hervé Walbecq - Le Triangle, Cité de la danse
  Boulevard de Yougoslavie, 35000 Rennes (until 26 juin 2026)

Do let me know if you attend any of these — I’d love to hear your thoughts.

🌼 Opportunities

• The British Art Prize 2026 - Deadline September 7th, 2026.

  The British Art Prize offers an unprecedented level of national exposure and the chance for artists to sell their artwork to a combined audience of almost a million art lovers and collectors. There is also a whopping prize fund which includes cash prizes, and shortlisted artists will be included in an exhibition at OXO Gallery from 21-25 October 2026.

🌼 March Begins..

As we step into March with its brighter skies and renewed energy, I hope you find small pockets of time to create, explore, and let your ideas wander. Whether you’re sketching in a quiet moment, experimenting with something new, or simply noticing the shift in the hedgerows, may this month bring you inspiration in many forms. I look forward to seeing what you make.

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Elizabeth

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❄️🎨 A Fresh Start (Without Starting Over)

There’s something quietly hopeful about the hinge between years. Not the loud resolutions or the pressure to reinvent ourselves, but the softer invitation to return, more intentionally, to what already sustains us. On Christmas morning, when that brief spattering of snow dusted the fields and rooftops here in Brittany, it felt like a small benediction: a reminder that even the lightest shift in weather can make the familiar look newly possible.

So as we step into January, consider thinking less about “new habits” and more about refreshing the ones that have carried you this far. Picking up the watercolour brush (or other creative weapon of choice) with a little more curiosity. Letting pigments pool and wander again. Re‑learning the pleasure of slowing down enough to notice the way winter light falls across a mug, a hedgerow, a sleeping animal. Creativity doesn’t always ask for reinvention—sometimes it simply asks for our return.

As the painter Agnes Martin once wrote, “The adventure of our time is to find the thread of our true work.” January feels like a good place to pick up that thread again.

❄️December in Review - what we’ve been creating.
❄️January Project.
❄️Class News.
❄️Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings.
❄️Opportunities

❄️🎨 December in Review.

December’s classes felt like a gentle exhale at the end of a busy year—a chance to lean into quiet subjects that reward patience and close looking. In class, we painted a snowy lane, exploring how the palest washes can still hold weight and atmosphere, and how a simple shadow can elevate a whole landscape. Another subject was a misty winter landscape with a frozen lake, where students learned to let diluted washes do the storytelling. The stillness of that scene, all breath and chilly air, contrasted beautifully with our final project: creating a small tempera icon piece. Though still water‑based, the shift in technique slowed everyone down in a different way, encouraging patience, layering, and more contemplative mark making. Together, the three subjects formed a gentle arc through the season: from the outer world of winter to the inner world of coffee and craft.

❄️🎨 January Project: Joan of Arc

This month’s theme is Joan of Arc.

Your task is to create an original piece of work inspired by our iconic French heroine. Your interpretation can be as loose or as literal as you wish — the theme is simply a starting point. As always, you’re welcome to let your ideas wander and evolve as the project unfolds.

Most of us know the broad strokes of Joan’s story, but there is plenty of room for deeper research if that appeals to you. Art history offers a rich seam to explore: countless artists have depicted her over the centuries, and it’s fascinating to see how her image shifts to reflect the values and aesthetics of each era.

You might choose to explore:

• a historical depiction

• a modern-day “Joan of Arc”

• a contemporary female icon placed within a classic artwork

• heroines throughout history

• political or religious repression

• conflict in Europe

• or any unexpected direction that emerges from your development work

Use any water-based media — including pen, for those who prefer the written word — but do consider how your chosen materials support the meaning or mood of your final piece. And as always, make good use of your sketchbooks for recording, experimenting, and developing your ideas.

❄️🎨 Spring Term 2026.

Regular weekly classes will resume week beginning January 19th with day workshops commencing a little later in the year. Spaces are limited so make sure you are booked in.

Contact for availability artinbrittany@gmail.com or text 0674790904

Landscape Artist of the Year.

This popular art competition showcasing talented artists from across the UK and Ireland returns to our screens on January 14th. There is a new judge for this series, Eva Langret who joins judges Tai-Shan Schierenberg, Kathleen Soriano alongside presenter Stephen Mangan. Something to look forward to in the long January evenings.

❄️🎨 Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings

• ST-ART Rennes. Contemporary Art Fair. Couvent des Jacobins
  20 place Sainte-Anne
  35000 Rennes (24 janvier 2026 - 26 janvier 2026)

• From Heart to Work – Dobrée Museum, Nantes (until 1 March 2026)

• The Youth of Fine Arts, Rennes and its Artists, 1794–1881 – Musée des Beaux Arts, Rennes (Nov 28 – Mar 29, 2026)

• Sous la Pluie – Nantes Museum of Fine Arts (Nov 7 – Mar 1, 2026)

Do let me know if you attend any of these — I’d love to hear your impressions.

❄️🎨 Opportunities

There is still plenty of time to enter your work.

• Jackson’s Art Prize 2026 – £6,000 + £2,000 in materials. Deadline: Feb 11.

• The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Open Exhibition 2026 Mall Galleries, London. Deadline: Feb 3.

❄️🎨 Stepping Into the New Year With Open Hands

As the last of the holiday crumbs are swept away and the days begin their almost‑imperceptible stretch, I hope you find a moment to refresh whatever creative rituals nourish you—whether that’s a sketchbook page, a walk with cold air on your cheeks, or a few stolen minutes mixing colours at the kitchen table.

Fresh starts don’t have to be grand. They can be as small as that Christmas‑morning snow: brief, delicate, and enough to shift the whole landscape of a day.

Here’s to a year of gentle beginnings, renewed habits, and the quiet delight of creating.

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Elizabeth

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🍂 Introductory Note

As autumn fades into winter, November’s palette has been one of watercolour washes and seasonal imagination. In the studio, we’ve explored portraits, experimented with inks, and even translated AI imagery back into brush and pigment — a reminder of how fluid and adaptable the medium can be. As we step into December, the palette shifts toward festive greens and golds: wreaths layered stroke by stroke, mince pies reimagined in art, and exhibitions that invite us to see colour and form anew. Let’s look back at what we’ve created, and forward to the projects, gatherings, and opportunities that await.

🍂November in Review - what we’ve been creating.
🍂December Tutorial
🍂December Project.
🍂Class News.
🍂Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings.
🍂Opportunities

🖌️🎨 November in Review.

The extended half‑term break meant only a couple of weeks of classes, but they were rich in exploration: portraits in watercolour, adapting designs for print, experimenting with inks, and even reverse‑engineering an AI image into brushwork. We also painted reindeer in the snow — a joyful nod to the season.

🌿🎀 December Tutorial: A Christmas Wreath.

This popular workshop, taught for over a decade, builds compositional skills layer by layer. Working in a particular order, artists respond to colour, form, and symmetry while shaping the wreath. For those who have painted it before, consider revisiting the project with new motifs that reflect your own interests. Full tutorial here

🥧✨ December Project: Mince pies!

A mince pie is a beloved British festive treat: a small, golden pastry filled with a rich mixture of dried fruits, spices, and a splash of brandy or rum. The filling is called mincemeat, a nod to medieval recipes that once included actual meat — but today it’s all about the fruit and spice.

Your project is to create an original work based on the theme of a ‘mince pie’. Feel free to interpret as you will or substitute for something equally emblematic of the festive season.

📚🖼️ Spring Term 2026.

January is just a few weeks away, regular weekly classes will resume week beginning January 19th with day workshops commencing a little later in the year. Spaces are limited so make sure you are booked in.

Contact for availability artinbrittany@gmail.com or text 0674790904

🖼️🏛️ Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings

• Echoverse – Tomislav Topić at the 3 CHA Art Center, Châteaugiron, Rennes (until 14/12/2025)

• From Heart to Work – Dobrée Museum, Nantes (until 1 March 2026)

• Ceci n’est pas qu’un paysage – The Chronograph, Nantes

• The Youth of Fine Arts, Rennes and its Artists, 1794–1881 – Musée des Beaux Arts, Rennes (Nov 28 – Mar 29, 2026)

• Sous la Pluie – Nantes Museum of Fine Arts (Nov 7 – Mar 1, 2026)

Do let me know if you attend any of these — I’d love to hear your impressions.

🌟📝 Opportunities

Why not enter your work and share it with the world?

• Jackson’s Art Prize 2026 – £6,000 + £2,000 in materials. Deadline: Feb 11.

• The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Open Exhibition 2026 Mall Galleries, London. Deadline: Feb 3.

🕯️🏡 December Notes from the Atelier

The clocks have changed, the nights are long and it is cold and wet outside. The potager is a soggy mess and an early (for us) frost has finished off the courgettes, peppers and other tender plants, but there is still plenty of veg for winter - we enjoyed our first swede on the last day of November. There have been a few glorious sunny days though, and it’s been a delight to get out into the countryside on the horses.

I am not long back from a trip to Southern England where I spent time with family and friends. I drove through my beloved Dorset countryside, passing Maiden Castle and speeding over Askers Hill, within sight of the sea and Colmer’s Hill (which we painted in class earlier in the year). Poole and Bournemouth were noisy and chaotic, the stores were crammed with shoppers buying Christmas goodies and the high streets smelt (pleasantly) of food cooking at all hours. Back in rural Brittany it is quiet, dark and the only food to be smelt is that which we cook at home (currently sour-dough in the oven).

The next newsletter will be in January 2026! So do enjoy your Christmas traditions whatever they may be and let’s celebrate making it through another year!

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Elizabeth

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Materials I used -

• Fabriano Acid free NOT surface 280gsm (130lb) watercolour paper 35 x 25 cms

• Faber Castell - HB pencil 9000

• Winsor & Newton - putty rubber

• Winsor & Newton pigments - Aureolin Hue, Cadmium Yellow, Winsor Red, Permanent Sap Green, Terre Verte, and Cinnabar Green.

• Lefranc & Bourgeois Deco Acrylic - Antique Gold.

• Rosemary’s Brushes - Golden Synthetic No 8 round.

Click here to download a printable templates

513KB ∙ PDF file

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Step 1. Sketch the first layer - stars. Aim for balance that looks random - consider the size and grouping of shapes. Use the templates provided or draw your own.

Step 2. Fill in the stars with a colour wash of your choice and while still wet, drop in a darker shade to one side. I’ve used Aureolin Yellow and Cadmium Yellow.

Step 3. Sketch some round shapes to represent baubles - you could also add candy canes, fir cones or any decorations you fancy. Apply a colour wash to your balls and lift out a highlight on one side. Lifting out is simply using a clean, almost dry (hungry) brush to remove an area of wet watercolour. Use the templates provided or draw your own.

Step 4. Now you can gather some ivy leaves (or use the templates provided) - choose leaves that are a suitable scale for your painting. Remove the stems and use the leaves as a template to draw around. Placement of the ivy leaves should underlap the stars and balls but not overlap each other - pencil in a simplified version of the veins. As before, you are aiming for a balanced wreath.

Step 5. The next stage is to fill in all the leaves with a soft yellow wash, no need to be too picky here as long as the veins are covered and patchy coverage is better for this stage. I used a pale wash of Aureolin Yellow but any pale ‘leafy’ colour is fine. When the yellow base coat is dry, (important because the next part requires crisp edges), fill in each leaf segment with a green wash leaving fine gaps where the yellow shows through to define the veins. This technique is called ‘negative painting’ .You are aiming for variation in the strength of green for a natural look. I’ve used Permanent Sap Green and Terre Verte. Note that I have added an extra small star (top left) for balance.

Step 6. The wreath is really taking shape now. The next layer is sketching holly leaves, I used cut out templates to draw around, adding guide lines for the veins - position them so that they emerge from behind the other elements but do not overlap each other. Colouring them is the same process as for the ivy leaves - start with a base layer, I used a light wash of Permanent Sap green, then add a darker, bluer shade for the segments between the veins

Step 7. Now to add a bit of bling! To finish off your wreath add curlicues of dot trails to add further balance. One of the most useful brush strokes is the humble dot. It is easily achieved by dipping the wrong end of (a suitably shaped/sized) brush into a puddle of colour and dabbing the upright brush on the paper - the first dot is the biggest , subsequent dots become progressively smaller as the paint runs out. I used this process with gold acrylic paint - it works equally well with glues to which you can add glitter if you wish.

When everything is completely dry rub out any visible pencil lines. This design is endlessly customisable - have fun with it!

I was sitting on the bench by the sheltered, south-facing tack room on a sunny but cold November day, listening to the sound of the North Wind. It struck me how different it sounded from the chattering South-Westerlies of earlier in the year.

Giving character to this boreal weather isn’t new—he features in many myths and traditions. Of course, I know the sounds are shaped more by what the wind encounters, bare trees, the back of the stables and lack of crops, than by the air itself. Still, it was fun to let my mind wander for a moment.

I thought of Wuthering Heights, Hardy’s remote Wessex roads, and Njord, the Norse god of wind and sea. I found some artwork inspired by the wind.

How would you creatively represent the wind?

Here is an opportunity to feature one of my very favourite pieces, an artist very familiar to any of my watercolour students, I am a big fan of Andrew Wyeth.

Another month and the first half of the Autumn term has passed as quickly as storm Benjamin blew through the channel! Here follows a roundup of what we’ve been up to as well as some interesting upcoming events and exhibitions.

🍂October in Review - what we’ve been creating.

🍂Monthly Project.

🍂Workshop Availability.

🍂Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings.

🍂Opportunities - Royal Watercolour Society - Open Exhibition

🖌️October in Review.

This past month in class, we took inspiration from portrait painting, castles and Breton women. I had a super day teaching in Ploerdut with a lovely art group there. We had fun painting Breton ladies in their traditional gear in a modern setting - proper Mamm Gohzs! The October ‘Harvest’ project, (home work) produced some stunning work - well done all! We painted castles, near and far, with the objective of describing economically rather than over painting, and an inspirational day in Dinan produced some urban sketches for further development.

🎨 An Introduction to portrait painting.

It’s always a pleasure to spend time with Les Amis de Ploerdut - but this portrait workshop was especially fun. I teach/demonstrate at various art groups in Brittany and England - do get in touch to discuss how I can work with your group/venue. artinbritanny@gmail.com

Here you can enjoy a Step by step Tutorial

🖌️ Class work and projects.

Painting Castles included Scottish Eilean Donan and our local Abbaye de Paimpont.

🎨 Dinan.

We went to Dinan for the watercolour exhibition - it was a sunny day so a little urban sketching was in order.

🌾 November Project:

Your project to begin the darker months is on the theme of Samhain. There are so many inspirational associations for this season (spooky or not) so feel to explore the theme in your own way. Full tutorial.

🏡 Workshop Availability: Autumn Offerings

Last opportunity to join me in the studio this season:

• Card Design for Print – A full-day workshop exploring layout, watercolour motifs, and preparing artwork for printing. Perfect for holiday cards or small-batch stationery. More info| Book Now

🧵 Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings

• Annonciations. An exhibition by Mike Schertzer. Until November 16.

  

  Poetry is disaster is the contemporary art studio-gallery of Mike Schertzer—a Franco-Canadian artist, poet, and scientist. Here, his creative universe unfolds before your eyes: paintings, book-objects, artist’s books, books, collages, and assemblages.

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Glaz Festival St Malo. November 13 - December 14.

Glaz is a festival dedicated to committed contemporary photography. This year, it welcomes more than 60 artists to Rennes and its region. For this first collaboration with the city of Saint-Malo, the 4th place welcomes Malo Legrand, winner of the 2023 Coup de Coeur Prize. His work explores the connection between man and nature. His project in Iceland testifies to a fragile and poetic coexistence with a changing environment. In partnership with the city of Saint-Malo and the financial support of the Banque Populaire Foundation and Crédit Maritime Grand Ouest.

There are several interesting upcoming exhibitions in Pléneuf-Val-André in the Salle des Régates…

• Exposition de Michelle Le Flahec November 3 - 9.

  Michèle Le Flahec, a passionate self-taught artist, has been working with oil painting for many years. Her works explore a variety of themes, notably seascapes and figures rendered in chiaroscuro. She skillfully plays with shadow and light, creating captivating compositions. Her artistic sensitivity is reflected in her canvases, which invite emotional immersion.

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• Exposition de Pierrick Menard November 10 - 11.

Arabesque and Kinetics Photography

Pierrick Ménard, a lifelong nature enthusiast, turned to naturalistic photography in 2017 after retiring. His style has gradually evolved into a personal artistic expression, particularly through the use of movement. His photographs, known for their aesthetic beauty, capture light and birds in motion in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc. Pierrick seeks to preserve the beauty of fleeting moments, offering viewers a striking immersion into the natural world.

• Exposition de Valerie-Anne Bertin November 17 - 23.

  Valérie-Anne Bertin, a passionate artist from Pléneuf, has been devoted to drawing and painting since childhood. She presents a collection of her works created in oil and acrylic. Deeply inspired by her Breton roots, she highlights the landscapes and marine scenes of Pléneuf-Val-André and its surroundings, as well as a variety of portrait reproductions.

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• Exposition de L’Art et la Matiere November 24 - 30.

  Christelle Schaefer et La Pharfelue

  Christelle Schaefer, photographer, captures light along the coast, immortalizing the ever-changing spectacle of the elements. Her snapshots—whether figurative or abstract, calm or dynamic—invite escapism.

  La Pharfelue, meanwhile, shapes raw materials, working with linen, wood, and slate to create elegant, handcrafted decorative pieces.

  Together, they offer a complementary immersion into the natural world

  Let me know if you’re attending any of these—I’d love to hear about your experience.

Reminder

Just a few weeks to submit work for the RWS Open 2026

Deadline: Friday 28th November 2025, 11.59pm GMT

Artists of all backgrounds at any stage in their career, based in the UK or internationally, are invited to submit artwork made in any and all water-based media on paper for the RWS Open 2026.

Why not enter your work?

I am currently in Southern England where there will be bonfires and fireworks in the next few days. I haven’t been in these parts at this time of year for at least a decade, my memories of this time were of random fireworks going off for weeks either side of the the 5th, but I’ve yet to hear any fireworks at all. Things have changed - for which I am very grateful!

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Portrait painting is always challenging. In watercolour, we can utilise the unique properties of the medium to suggest gentle contours - raising the face off the paper surfa…

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From October 19 to 26, 2025, the Place des Cordeliers in the heart of Dinan’s old town will host a rich and colourful program of demonstrations, discussions, and live sessions, featuring internationally acclaimed watercolourists including Janine Gallizia, Marie-Claude Lesage, and César Gordillo Aguilar.

🖌️ What to Expect

Each day offers a chance to dive into the art and technique of watercolor — from live painting demonstrations to conversations about creativity and the legacy of Impressionism. Highlights include:

• Janine Gallizia’s “Watercolor Live” sessions (October 19) – Watch the artist at work in both French and English livestreams.

• Daily demonstrations by artists such as Anita Denet, Laurent Russ, Larisa Anaya, and Nathalie Petit, exploring travel sketching and self-taught approaches.

• Inspirational talks on the evolution of watercolor and how artists create their own success.

Each session runs between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., offering visitors an immersive journey through technique, color, and creative expression.

🌿 Why Visit

• Meet internationally recognized watercolour artists.

• Experience live artistic creation in an intimate setting.

• Discover Dinan’s historic charm — its stone lanes, galleries, and riverside views — through an Impressionist lens.

Whether you’re an artist, collector, or simply curious about the world of watercolour, The Dawn of Impressionism promises a vibrant celebration of light, colour, and creativity in one of Brittany’s most beautiful towns.

🗓 Dates: October 19–26, 2025
📍 Location: Place des Cordeliers, Dinan, Brittany, France
🕙 Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. daily

(This event is organised by the Association for the Promotion of Visual Arts. Art in Brittany is delighted to spotlight this inspiring cultural moment.)

More info

In class we’ve painted and drawn studies of seasonal bounty.

These illustrations are not just nature studies—they’re invitations to notice, to gather, to remember.

🐿️ Folklore & Foraging

In rural Brittany, mast years were once seen as omens—of harsh winters, of good hunting, of divine generosity. Children gathered chestnuts for roasting, elders brewed infusions from hawthorn, and the forest became a pantry.

🌰 Folklore: The Chestnut Pact

In the forests of Argoat, it’s said that the chestnut trees once made a pact with the wind. Long ago, when winters grew cruel and food was scarce, the trees begged the wind to carry their seeds far and wide. In return, they promised to drop their fruit in years of hardship, so no creature would starve.

The wind agreed—but only if the trees kept silent in the years between. So, the mast years came like waves of generosity, sudden and abundant, followed by quiet seasons of waiting.

Old villagers would say, “Quand les châtaignes tombent en foule, l’hiver sera rude mais le ventre plein.”
(When chestnuts fall in crowds, the winter will be harsh—but the belly will be full.)

As the chestnuts fall and the mornings turn cooler here in Brittany, I’ve been reflecting on the quiet beauty of September—a month of golden light, shifting routines, and creative momentum. The Autumn term is now in full swing and, as always, I am delighted by the commitment and creativity generated in class. As the season deepens, the garden slows down and the nights draw in perhaps there will be more time for creativity. Starting this evening The Portrait Artist of the Year begins on Sky Arts - it is well worth watching for artistic inspiration and entertainment. If you’ve not seen it before, artists from around the UK create a portrait from a celebrity sitter in a range of styles and media - a good watch.

This newsletter gathers the threads of recent projects, upcoming events, and a few local gems worth exploring.

September in Review - what we’ve been creating.

Monthly Project. Harvest.

La Gacilly. Photo exhibition.

Workshop Availability.

Artist Spotlight: Adrien Hervé

Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings.

Opportunities - Royal Watercolour Society - Open Exhibition.

Inktober - sketching prompts for the whole month.

🖌️ September in Review.

This past month, we took inspiration from domestic rituals, garden life and urban scenes. Highlights included:

• A workshop featuring animal skulls.

• Working on the Strawbales project in class

• Urban sketches from Mauron and Vitre, capturing some late summer sunshine.

• Painting a Swallowtail caterpillar in class.

If you missed any of these, they’re archived on the blog —thank you for your kind messages and shares.

🌾 October Project: “Harvest”

This month, your challenge is to create a watercolour inspired by the theme of Harvest. What does harvest mean to you?

You might be inspired by:

• Gathering produce from the garden

• Foraging sloes or hedgerow berries

• Watching squirrels stash nuts for the colder months

• Farmers working the land in golden light

• Baking bread or cakes with seasonal produce

Interpret the theme in your own way—whether through abundance, preparation, or quiet celebration. I can’t wait to see what you create. My piece features windfalls from the garden on their way to becoming a Devonshire Apple Cake. There is a is a step-by-step tutorial for this piece here.

Step-by-step tutorial

📸 La Gacilly Photo Festival – “So British”

This year’s La Gacilly Photo Festival unfolded under the theme “So British”, celebrating the rich diversity of British photography—from pop stars and excess to gritty urban portraits. The open-air exhibition meanders through gardens and picturesque lanes, with large-format images displayed all around the town. We enjoyed the images of Britain past and present; I felt that there was a sense that Britain’s glory days were in the 60’s and there didn’t seem to be any optimism for the present or future. That’s just my response, you should go and decide for your self! There are also many other themed displays featuring nature, the environment and climate change. Always thought provoking and an enjoyable day out and it’s free!

If you’re nearby, it’s well worth a visit before it closes mid-October.

🏡 Workshop Availability: Autumn Offerings

Just a few opportunities to join me in the studio this season:

• Card Design for Print – A full-day workshop exploring layout, watercolour motifs, and preparing artwork for printing. Perfect for holiday cards or small-batch stationery. More info| Book Now

  • Private Class October 15th– Only one Wednesday afternoon slot remains for a bespoke watercolour session. More info| Book Now

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🔥 Artist Spotlight: Adrien Hervé, Glassblower

This month I’m thrilled to highlight Adrien Hervé, a local glassblower whose studio is just down the road in le Coudray Baillet. L’atœll is a workshop dedicated to creation around the craft of hand blown glass. Located in Bretagne near the Brocéliande forest, it gives life to the old classrooms of a school in a hamlet. Highly recommended for anyone curious about fire arts - classes for individuals and pairs.

🧵 Upcoming Expos & Creative Gatherings

Here are a few happenings I’m excited about:

• le Dinard Festival du Film Britannique & Irlandais

  Dinard - 1st to 5th October 2025

  Who will win the Golden Hitchcock award? Every Autumn, the same wave of suspense grips Dinard’s version of La Croisette in Cannes. Caesar can keep his César, the British Film Festival has Hitchcock for a mascot, and this is one festival where you won’t need subtitles!

• Yaouank

  Rennes - 6th to 18th October 2025

  A fabulous mixture of Breton, world and contemporary music, the Yaouank festival is famed above all for its last night, considered by many to be the biggest fest-noz (traditional evening of Breton music and dance) in the world. But it’s so much more….

• “L’Art au Jardin
  Locmariaquer, Oct 19.

  Garden installations and plein air sketching. Presented in exceptional locations, surrounded by nature, our approach is to integrate art into your daily life—and why not make it yours?

• Quai des Bulles Festival

  Saint-Malo - 24th to 26 October 2025

  The last weekend in October is when some 400 comic strip artists get together at the Quai des Bulles Festival in Saint-Malo.

Let me know if you’re attending any of these—I’d love to hear about your experience.

Submissions to the RWS Open 2026 are now open

Deadline: Friday 28th November 2025, 11.59pm GMT

Artists of all backgrounds at any stage in their career, based in the UK or internationally, are invited to submit artwork made in any and all water-based media on paper for the RWS Open 2026.

Why not enter your work?

Inktober 2025!

ANYONE CAN DO INKTOBER,

JUST PICK UP A PEN AND START DRAWING.

Jake Parker created Inktober in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year. There is a drawing prompt for everyday in October - you are encouraged to make a drawing each day or each week and share with other artists (if you wish).

on Substack

Wishing you a gentle start to October, with time for tea, sketching, and noticing the small things. As always, thank you for being part of this creative circle.

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Elizabeth

Stay Connected ✨
You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram

At this time of year, gardeners and smallholders are busy gathering and preserving produce for their winter stores. I recently collected a generous haul of windfall apples and used a few of them to bake a Dorset Apple Cake, (always popular in our house!). The contrast of colours and textures struck me as a compelling subj…

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