December Newsletter
News, Exhibitions and Events...
🍂 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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