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Saturday, 9 April 2022

Claire the Colour Conoisseur


The SAA stands for 'supporting all artists', one of the benefits of membership with them is the monthly magazine "Paint" full of paintings, competitions, artists and news.

Claire has used their products for years, we use their student quality paints and brushes at our classes at Treetops.

They have recently put together an Advisory Team of Professional Artists, to assist them in understanding and continually improving their membership and services, bringing their ideas, knowledge and expertise to the SAA.

And our Claire is one of the 12 chosen!

Watch this space!


They have also described Claire as a "Colour Connoisseur" and have let her create a mix of 8 watercolour SAA paints along with a guide that she has written which shows you how you can create 25 colours from these paints.

If you are already a member of the SAA you can buy the tin, paints and guide for £46 (RRP £59.99)

Click here for The SAA


Wednesday, 6 April 2022

Treetops is OPEN! Classes have resumed .....

I have so much news to share with you, Spring has definitely started and Treetops is starting to blossom with new classes, workshops and a YouTube channel!

 But first of all, for those of you have been so patient in waiting, our Watercolour Classes are back at Treetops with Claire THIS MONTH, we have 4 for you to choose from, full details are on the website:

BOOKING IS NOW DONE ON THE WEBSITE

Bluebells Watercolour
(with texture)
Tuesday 26 April

Sand & Sea in The Isles of Scilly Watercolour
Wednesday 11 May

Poppies Watercolour
Thursday 26 May

Sunsets Watercolour
Thursday 7 July

All of our classes run from 9:30am until approx 3pm
£85

this includes all of your materials, a 2 course lunch, glass of wine and refreshments throughout the day.

BOOK HERE

Our Online Art Workshops are still available to buy if you are unable to join us at Treetops, filmed as though you are looking over Claire's shoulder, a great close up view, with plenty of detail and explanation.  At the moment our Cottage Door in the Cotswolds is the most popular.

The team are just finishing filming and producing another 3 which will join us next month on the website.

You may have seen on Facebook that we have recently launched a Treetops Newbury YouTube channel.  Here we will share short demonstration videos from Claire, so it is definitely worth subscribing to it, you just need to click the (FREE) subscribe button over on YouTube

We have plenty of paints, paper, mounts and Material Boxes available in our Shop we can post, deliver if you're in Newbury or you can collect from Treetops.  If you are coming to a class; order beforehand and I can have it wrapped and ready for you when you arrive.

Claire's Sketch Pads are perfect for this time of year when you are out and about or on holiday.  These are no ordinary sketching pads!  These are ring bound so can be opened up flat and due to the thickness of paper you can use watercolour paint on both sides.
There are 12 sheets of 200lbs/425gsm Saunders Waterford Paper.

Currently the only Sketch Pad on the market not made using 140lb/300gsm paper. 

*****

If all that news had made you want to lie down, then Rachel is back for

Finding Calm AromaYoga
Wednesday 4 May

7pm - 9pm
£25

this includes a warm drinks and snacks after the class.

BOOK HERE

***

Rachel's Online Yoga Workshop is available for £15, once downloaded you can keep it forever and practice your Yin, Hatha and Restorative Yoga as often as you want.  It has been recorded in the woodlands at Treetops and is really relaxing and gentle.  Rachel has also put together a Spotify playlist for you to play alongside your practice.

BUY ONLINE YOGA WORKSHOP



*****

I really hope you can find something creative and relaxing to join us in during the next few months, if you have any questions, even technical ones 😄, please send me an email.

Best wishes
Emily

emily@treetops-newbury.co.uk 

Thursday, 31 March 2022

Treetops is now on You Tube!

 


This week we have set up a Treetops You Tube channel where we hope to share videos and all things arty with you!

To find us click here

We'd really appreciate you subscribing and clicking 'like' as we post videos, as it will help spread the word about Treetops, our classes, and our online workshops.

(It doesn't cost anything to subscribe, you just click on the red subscribe button below the video to join our channel).

Thank you
Emily & Claire






Monday, 28 March 2022

Mad March Hare Offer!


Just a quick post to let you know that all of our Art Workshops have been reduced to just £28 until the end of the month!

(Normal price £40)

Perfect opportunity for you to buy and try one if you haven't already.

There are 7 to choose from, you can download and get started straight away, press pause, rewind and watch it again and again.  If you need any technical help as perhaps this isn't something you've done before, let me know and I can help.

We also have for you PDF's of a paint chart relating to the workshop, some great top tips from Claire, a Materials List of everything you need for the workshop, along with images of the stages of the painting, really useful to help you as you work.


Rachel, our Yoga teacher who is currently on honeymoon, has her Online Yoga Workshop set in the woodlands here at Treetops and it is now available for only £10.  It's a gentle mix of hatha, yin and restorative yoga, perfect to round off your day, especially with the nearby bird song and Rachel's relaxing voice.  You will just need comfortable clothes, a mat, cushion and blanket.

To buy any of our Workshops, please click HERE

(We donate £1 to The Woodland Trust for every Workshop sold)


(Boxing Hares by one of our artists at Treetops)

Saturday, 19 March 2022

Find out more about our Online Workshops



We are so happy that many of you have been enjoying our Watercolour Workshops since they launched in the Autumn, but we know there are still some of you unsure what they involve and whether or not they are too 'technical' due to being online.

We have made sure that we have kept the spirit of a Claire's in-person class and have ensured that the sound and picture grade are of the highest quality by working with a great production team.

One of our unique advantages is that when you buy one of our Workshops it is yours to keep forever, it doesn't disappear after 3 months.

Firstly, you don't need amazing technical ability to start painting online with Claire.

You choose and buy the Workshop from our Website.

You then receive a LINK, which you press/click and this opens and downloads the Workshop onto your device..... and then you're ready to go!

YOU MUST DOWNLOAD IT WITHIN ONE MONTH THOUGH OR THE LINK WILL NO LONGER WORK.  THIS IS KEY!
(let me know if this has happened to you and I will resend it!)

Once it's downloaded onto your device you will always be able to find it and come back to it in your 'downloads' section.

If you have ANY technical questions, please, please, please let me know.


Along with your Workshop, you will receive some PDF attachments, if you click and open these you will find a paint chart like the one above, a materials list of paint colours, brushes and equipment you will need, and images of the stages of your picture which are incredibly helpful.  You can print all of these out on your printer and have alongside you whilst you work.

We have an Online Materials Shop, which is really useful for watercolour paper, Claire's watercolour paints, mounts and a fabulous Starter Box full of everything you need to get started.


The cameras have been positioned close to the paper, paints and Claire's hands so that you can see close up what she is doing, the technique she is using and the colours she is mixing.

Claire teaches the painting in stages, so you can press pause and have a rest and come back to your work.  You can rewind it easily and rewatch sections.  We use different angles and you get to see Claire's smiley face too!


Each Workshop is different so you can learn different techniques, for example our Croatian painting looks at reflections, techniques and small detail, our Porthmeor Beach looks at waves coming over the sand and how you keep your colours transparent, Winter Scene shows you that snow can be full of character and colour, and our Rhododendrons shows you how to be loose with your painting and keep the vibrancy in your glorious colours.

Click here to see our available Workshops

Our Beginners and Refreshers Workshop goes right back to basics and is a great one to watch through before you even start painting.  Claire shows you the difference between papers, brushes and paints.  She takes you through mixing the paints with some little exercises, followed by helping you create a masterpiece which includes several washes and results in a calm countryside scene.

If you don't fancy too much painting and would like to work on your drawing skills, we have Cyril the Squirrel, which is a Pen and Wash Workshop.

I'd like to share some feedback we've received to help you consider investing in one of our Workshops:

"Claire's so good at this, tell her to do more"

"Online delivery works really well and I loved the way the workshop was split into stages, it was certainly useful to be able to pause the recording, especially for drying time"

"Very user friendly, lots of useful and helpful information on the attached PDF sheets.  The actual video was great, I liked the angle, which made it easy to see which paints Claire was mixing up and what she was painting"

"I'm loving the sound of the sea on the Porthmeor Beach Workshop"

"Claire has a wonderful way of breaking down into easy to understand painting techniques, building confidence and her use of colours is gorgeous"

"The Cornish seascape workshop was my first online one and I was so pleased with what I'd managed to achieve thanks to Claire's tuition"

"The camera together with Claire's narrative captured the process of working very clearly"

"Well done to you and Claire, the workshops are a fantastic achievement, Online Workshops are a real bonus to have at the moment"

Any questions please ask away, and hopefully Claire will soon by on your tablet, ipad, computer or television in high definition!


For those of you who have recently joined our mailing list or started following us on Facebook, Claire and I have been working together since 2005 running small day Workshops in Newbury, we haven't yet reopened since Covid but hope to later in the Spring/early Summer.  Our days are very relaxing, they include a lovely lunch with a glass of wine, all of your materials are included and you will complete a finished painting to take home with you.

We put together these Workshops so everyone can continue to paint at home, practice their skills and continue to feel part of the lovely Treetops community.

Claire teaches on painting holidays throughout the year and at Marlborough Summer School.

Wednesday, 2 February 2022

Welcome to February

February is the month for Valentines Day and all things rosy and red.

We would like to offer you £5 off our online Autumn Berries Watercolour Workshop so that you can enjoy working with a lovely red paint.

If you haven't tried Claire's watercolour paints yet, we will post you a FREE Poppy Red tube, with every pair of paints bought from her range.  (value £8.40)

Mixed with a little transparent yellow you can highlight on top of the berries for glorious orangey tones, or mix it with a little blue for the underside of berries.

Claire chose to have this gorgeous rich colour made as she was finding other reds were producing a colour that was too dull for her taste, and needed a number of applications to give sufficient coverage.  Poppy Red has become one of the most popular colours in her watercolour range.

All of Claire's paints contains honey, an ingredient which has been used over the years by colour chemists to produce extra translucent and vibrant colours.

*******


In Yoga red represents the Root Chakra

The chakras are the points in our body where our energy flows.  The Root Chakra is located at the base of your spine and creates the foundation for all the chakras that lie above it.  It helps you to feel grounded and able to withstand challenges.

Rachel, our Yoga tutor, has created a lovely playlist on Spotify and the first four songs are specific to the Root Chakra, it is lovely to listen to whilst relaxing, meditating and during a gentle yoga flow.

We would like to offer you Rachel's online Woodland Yoga Workshop for just £12.50 this month, take some time for yourself and discover how relaxing and gentle Yoga can be.  Once you have bought the workshop you can watch it again and again.

******

In season this month, red and pink vegetables & fruit are beetroot, rhubarb, apples, red cabbage and purple sprouting broccoli.  But I thought, seeing as it's Valentines Day, and it's been a VERY long January I would share my Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe with you!  (Some of you may remember I used to run Colourful Cupcakes a few years ago, running classes and creating cupcakes for weddings and parties).

For the Cakes:

140g self raising flour

2 tablespoons Green & Blacks Cocoa

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

110ml buttermilk

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Christmas Red Colour Paste (needs to be paste not liquid colouring)

60g butter

170g caster sugar

1 large free range egg

Preheat your oven to 170c/325f/Gas3


Mix the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt.

In another bowl mix the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and red paste, mix well so the paste is blended well.

Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy and pale.  Beat in the egg bit by bit.  Mix in a small amount of the flour mixture half of the liquid mixture and repeat.
Beat well.

This will fill 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tin. 

 Bake for 20 minutes.


  Leave them to cool slightly and then remove the cupcakes onto a wire baking rack.

For the Icing:

200g cold full fat Philadelphia cream cheese

75g unsalted butter at room temperature

450g icing sugar

1 tablespoon warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the sugar, butter and water together.  Add the philadelphia, beat until the mix is smooth and shiny.  Add the vanilla.  Use a palette knife to decorate the cakes.  You can add red sprinkles or crumbled red velvet cake to decorate.


Have a great February!

💕



Tuesday, 4 January 2022

Our January Offers

 


Happy New Year Everyone

We would like to offer everyone £5 off an Online Watercolour Workshop this month.

January is time to try something new, we have a great Beginners workshop, and plenty of others to choose from if you have enjoyed Watercolour before.

Once you have bought a workshop, you will receive a code to download it onto your computer and you are ready to go!  Enjoy painting in your own time at home, you are able to press pause, rewind and can keep the workshop for ever.

Claire teaches in her usual step by step style and explains all the stages and is very encouraging with plenty of tips along the way.

You will also receive images to use of the stages, a sheet of tips from Claire and a materials list so that you can get everything together before your start.


If you need to buy some new paints, paper or other materials, visit our online shop because for this month only we are offering free P&P.