ENGLAND - Oil Painting in the Cotswolds

ENGLAND - Oil Painting in the

Cotswolds with DENA PETERSON

Dates: 2023

Medium: Oil and acrylic painting

Price: TBD

We are very fortunate to have Dena Peterson teach this workshop in the beautiful Cotswolds area in south central part of England. Dena was one of the artists chosen (among 5,000 applicants!) to create art for the 2017 film “Loving Vincent”, about the life of the painter Vincent Van Gogh.

Although the film was an animated film, the producers chose classically trained artists to paint, instead of using animators. Each of the film’s 65,000 frames is an oil painting on canvas, using the same technique as Van Gogh.

The film won the “Best Animated Feature Film” award the European Film Awards in Berlin and was nominated for an Academy Award and is the first-ever fully painted animated feature film! Read more about Dena on the About Us page.

ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP

Painting the Cotswolds: Keeping it Simple with Dena Peterson

Have you wanted to paint outdoors, but are feeling intimidated by the vast and beautiful landscape? Most of us want to capture everything that we see before us, to do the landscape justice.

However, I believe that the secret to painting outdoors is to SIMPLIFY! This is the key to success when painting outdoors. Some of the most important work begins before your brush touches the canvas. Why do I want to paint the scene, or which scene should I choose? How can I simplify and organize what I am seeing? How do I start?

I will address these questions and more in a fun and supportive class format.

We will be painting outdoors as the weather allows. I’ll be doing painting demos and lectures to help you along the way and will offer personal attention during your painting time.

Join me, your painting guide, and Lo Mathews, your seasoned trip leader while we capture the English countryside in camaraderie and in paint!

FACTS ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP:

Tour: Painting in the Cotswolds, England

Dates: 2023 Dates to be decided

Lodging: Three star lodging

Closest airport: London

Price: TBD

Price includes:

6 night lodging in shared double room

6 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners

Wine with dinner

5 days art instruction

All excursions, museum entrances and other programs during the week.

All local transportation including pick up at the Heathrow airport in London.

Single supplement: TBD

Not included:

Airline tickets

Transportation to and from your departure airport

Any pre-tour hotel costs

Travel insurance

Meals not listed above

ABOUT THE COTSWOLDS

The Cotswolds, known for its many picturesque houses and villages, historic landmarks, medieval castles, old churches, outdoor markets, and antique shops is an artist’s dream destination! We will stay in the 800-year-old town of Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, set in the beautiful rural Warwickshire countryside, on the banks of the river Avon.

During our week, our painting excursions will go to:

Bourton-on-the-Water, one of the prettiest villages in England. It is nicknamed “Venice of the Cotswolds”. Floating through the town is the river Windrush, known for its graceful low bridges. Next to the river you will find traditional Cotswolds stone houses, beside tree-shaded lawns and neat stone banks.

The Warwick Castle, which is nestled in the town of Warwick, on a beautiful sandstone bluff on a bend of the River Avon. The castle can be traced back to 914 A.D. when Alfred The Great’s daughter built a fort on the site. The original castle was built in 1068 by William The Conqueror. The castle is one of the country’s most well-preserved Medieval castles and a delight to sketch, draw or paint.

Stow-on-the-Wold is the highest of the Cotswold towns, at nearly 800 ft. It is located on Fosse Way, which is of Roman origin. The town used to be an important trading center, as it is situated at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds. Stow-on-the-Wold is filled with independent stores, there is a large collection of art galleries and it is a major antique hub with many heirloom shops.

The Sudeley Castle, steeped in tradition and royal history. The exhibits and rooms contain many interesting treasures, from Roman times to the present day. Sudeley Castle is also the only private castle in England to have a queen buried within its grounds: Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII’s six wives.

The Sudeley Castle Gardens. What would a trip to England be, without enjoying its many remarkable gardens? The Sudeley Castle is surrounded by a spectacular, landscaped 1,200acre estate and ten award-winning gardens. We will visit the wildflower and nature walks, the scented garden and medicinal herb garden, featuring plants that were used in the medieval and Tudor periods, and view the over 100 varieties of old roses. There is also a Pheasantry on the grounds, with a collection of 16 rare and endangered species of birds from around the world, among them owls and pheasants.

The Cotswold landscape is defined by the beautiful rolling, green hills, interspersed by lush valleys dotted with stone buildings and idyllic towns - a perfect landscape to paint if there ever was one!

Some of Dena's art below:

Read below about what Dena says about the experience of working with the film "Loving Vincent":

“Every frame of this full-length film is a hand-painted oil painting. The director, Dorota Kobiela, herself trained as a painter in Poland, was adamant that we mimic as closely as possible, the brushwork and colors that Van Gogh used in his work for every frame. We all learned so much about him and his approaches in the process.

Van Gogh was truly a painter’s painter. It was a privilege to study his work and to try to get inside his head as a painter. Not an easy task! The experience has helped me to create more excitement and passion in my own paintings, and I hope to help you channel some of his genius to do the same in your work.

This is not about becoming a forger, but about letting “Gogh” of our fear to create paintings that say more about our emotion when painting, while taking advantage of the unique surface qualities that only oil paint can provide.”