Spring 2020 Art Dates with Claire Warner

(Tree: Ham Yard Hotel London)

In amongst all the festive festivities Claire and I have put together next term's Art dates!

Please email me if you would like any further information

February

Wednesday 26th - Watercolour "Tulips"

Thursday 27th - Pen & Wash "A Spanish Port"

March

Tuesday 3rd - Watercolour "Boats/Reflections/Mist in Scotland"

Friday 13th - Watercolour for Beginners & Refreshers

April

Wednesday 1st - Watercolour "Poppies"

Thursday 2nd - Pen & Wash "Down on the Farm"

Tuesday 7th - Acrylics "Under the Waves"

All our classes run from 9:30am - approx 3pm and cost £75 (acrylics and pen & wash cost £80)

All of your materials are included in this price along with a 2 course lunch with wine and refreshments throughout the day.

(Gift vouchers are available for a specific class)

Winter Scene Pen & Wash

Another day, another Winter Scene, but this time was a Pen & Wash class

Our artists spent a large part of the day drawing their scene from Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds

Before adding washes later on in the day

Some glitter to give a frosty atmosphere

One of our artists, brought in her home made cushions that were en-route to the Cats Trust, we managed to take half of them off her hands and monies into the charity's pocket, they were gorgeous.

That's the end of term folks, thanks for joining us this term and year, we look forward to seeing you  in 2020.

Claire and I will be sending out the new dates shortly, watch the blog dates page and you email inbox

Winter Scene Watercolour

A festive sparkly class today with Claire

The morning was spent drawing and masking

There were some beautiful washes created for the skies and water

Lovely reflections and bullrushes

and the addition of glitter!

Father & Daughter with their great paintings ready to become Christmas Cards!

I'm now off to hoover up the glitter before tomorrow's class!

Luxury Christmas Wreath Workshop

We had the lovely Lindsey from The White Horse Flower Company here today to run our Luxury Festive Wreath Workshop

This year was all about the eco friendly moss base and natural accessories.

We call this workshop the 'Luxury' class due to the incredible amount of stunning fresh foliage, ribbons, dried fruits, feathers and berries that Lindsey brings with her.  There is so much choice to create an amazing wreath.

Lindsey demonstrates how to prep and start making the wreath

We had a lovely group in today to work whilst the sun shone through the window

It was lovely to see so many variations of wreaths made from the same ingredients!

Just one section of foliage!

There were plenty of refreshments, cake and mulled wine served throughout the morning.

Below are the beautiful wreaths ready to adorn doors in Berkshire, North Hampshire, East Sussex, Gloucestershire, Surrey!

Below is Lindsey's finished Wreath that she started demonstrating this morning.

For all her floral love and inspiration you can follow Lindsey on instagram: @thewhitehorseflower

Fingers crossed Lindsey will be back to join us for another workshop around Easter time.

Christmas Aga with Sarah Whitaker

Christmas Aga comes around again so quickly!

Sarah was here today, showing us some great new ideas and recipes for Christmas, whilst showing everyone around the Aga, how to use it efficiently and effectively.

We discussed what can be made ahead and frozen for the festive period.

Talked about pans, trays, dishes

Sarah shared tips galore and answered some great questions.

Here is just a small selection of what Sarah managed to cook in just 2 hours!

Shredded stir fried brussel sprouts, delicious!

Courgette and carrot bake, perfect for vegetarians or as a side dish

Banana and pecan pudding cake

Here's the glorious slow cooked turkey, along with smoked haddock tart, chicken & apricot casserole, cauliflower souffle and everyday sides such as roast potatoes, rice, beans and gravy!

Sarah will be back at Treetops in the New Year.

Immune Support AromaYoga

We had a very relaxing evening last night with Rachel at our Immune Support AromaYoga class.

We enjoyed a mix of yin and hatha yoga, with some gentle restorative, whilst Rachel shared and spoke about essential oils, in particular those good for our immune systems at this time of year.

I love this rollerball I bought from Rachel about a month ago, it smells so good.

After our class we enjoyed some nibbles and warm almond milk chai lattes whilst still wrapped up in our duvets.

I made sweet potato falafels and stuffed chestnut mushroom, both recipes from Deliciously Ella, the falafels included turmeric and cumin, both good for our immune systems.

To finish with we had brownies and clementines dipped in dark chocolate.

Rachel will return in the New Year with some new AromaYoga classes.

Festive Papercutting with Lucy

Lucy was back for another Festive Papercutting workshop today, helping create beautiful lanterns, cards and gift tags.

Using very sharp blades against a soft craft mat it required lots of concentration!

The tree lanterns are lovely with small birds and rabbits amongst the tree trunks.

When fingers needed a rest from using the knives, Lucy taught everyone how to make little origami stars.

Thanks to everyone for coming.

Venice Watercolour

Another great painting day this week

Yesterday we held a Venice Watercolour class, it's always been a popular subject over the years.  Click on the links below for past years' work.

2017

2011

2010

Claire demonstrates in a step by step style, explaining the layout, the paints required and helps everyone throughout the day.

She was delighted with everyone's drawings yesterday

Our days are always great fun, especially yesterday with the naming of our gondolier Giovanni!

Below is our gallery of Venice ....

At the end of the day, Claire mounts the artwork and we have an exhibition, it's always amazing to see everyone's different version of the painting.

We enjoyed a lunch of salmon, goats cheese & basil, served with sesame broccoli and this superfood salad of rice, red rice, black rice, wild rice (!) red and white quinoa, with mixed herbs and veg.

Followed by a delicious apple crumble