An exciting opportunity to paint in a beautiful private garden on the Upper High Street in Broadway.  True to its name, The Hill is a classic Cotswold stone house nestled in a hillside garden with topiary, mature trees and summerhouses, and fabulous views to Bredon Hill and the Malverns.  Participants will be painting outdoors with the aim of capturing aspects of the garden in vibrant and expressive watercolour. 

Bobby Open won the Great Broadway Paint Off in 2023 and paints in watercolour.

The day will include demonstrations of useful techniques and approaches to working outdoors in watercolour.  There will be plenty of time for participants to explore the garden and paint fragments and views that catch their eye, particularly looking at how nature relates to more formal elements. 

Suitable for those with experience of painting in watercolour.

Bobby’s paintings can be seen on Instagram at www.instagram.com/bobbyopen

Tickets £100 (15 Places)

Tickets go on sale through the website at 10am on 17th March.

You can become a Benefactor for as little as £60 to qualify for priority booking and support our Outreach Projects in doing so, applications are now open

MATERIALS LIST

The materials listed below are only a general guide based on what I use.  Painting materials can be expensive and, whilst the quality of materials tends to be reflected in the quality of one’s paintings, suggestions about materials will be given during the workshop so if in doubt just bring whatever materials you already have and do not rush into buying more.

BRUSHES

I mainly use pointed round pure Kolinsky sable brushes (sometimes called designer round).  Typically, in the studio, I use da Vinci series 35; outdoors, I use Escoda Reserva, Isabey or Rosemary & Co travel brushes, because the handle protects the brush when travelling.  I tend to use brush sizes 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12.  If I had to choose only one, it would be a versatile size 7 or 8.

PAINTS

I use artists’ quality paint from tubes, squeezed into pans in a watercolour paint box.  It is essential that the tip of the brush can pick up wet paint: if the paint is too hard, brush tips become worn and the paint will be less vibrant.  A small plastic spray bottle can be useful to keep paints moist.  Matchsticks or toothpicks are also useful to stir up paint.

There are different types of paint box.  Frank Herring makes a good, affordable plastic paint box.  There are also enameled metal boxes, including aluminium, steel and brass: aluminium and brass tend to be more durable (steel boxes eventually rust).

• My full colour palette includes a range of blues, reds, yellows and earth colours.  I use Holbein Artists’ Watercolour tubes (H) and Winsor and Newton Professional (W&N).  The colours I’ve underlined are the ones I use most outdoors:
• Blues: Cerulean Blue (H); Cobalt Blue; Ultramarine Blue Deep (H) or French Ultramarine (W&N).
• Violets: Cobalt Violet (H); Ultramarine Violet (W&N); Mineral Violet (H).
• Reds: Carmine (H); Cadmium Red Deep (H) or Cadmium Red (W&N).
• Yellows: New Gamboge (H); Cadmium Yellow Pale (H); Cadmium Yellow Light (H); Cadmium Yellow Deep (H); Cadmium Orange (W&N).
• Earth Colours and Greens: Yellow Ochre (H); Raw Umber; Burnt Sienna; Burnt Umber; Viridian.
• Occasional Colours: Ivory Black; Jaune Brilliant (H); Lavender (H); other greens such as Cobalt, Turquoise, Olive, Oxide of Chromium and Perylene.

PAPER

• I typically use 140lb Fabriano Artistico extra white cold pressed 100% cotton acid-free paper.  Sheets cut into half or quarter are usually more cost effective than blocks.  Saunders Waterford and Arches are also good options.
• A sketchbook can be useful for making notes and quick compositional sketches.

OTHER ITEMS

I use a Pentel 0.9mm B mechanical pencil; a Faber Castell foldable water pot; metal clips or masking tape to hold paper to a sheet of foamboard or cardboard; kitchen paper and a sponge.  Erasers are banned!  (Not really, but a soft putty eraser will help to protect the paper surface).  A bottle of water.  Penknife.

A cap or rimmed hat is useful to limit glare.  If you prefer to sit, a folding chair or stool may be handy.  A folding easel will be necessary unless you are happy working in your lap.  Please dress for the weather and bring sunscreen/bug spray as appropriate!

The Hill