My words to Michael were, “This is a marathon not a sprint!” and boy was I right. Two 3 day workshops and a demonstration evening over 7 days was no mean feat – but we did it! We had 30 students over the two workshops from all around the world, and 16 flower bouquets to arrange. That, alongside the heatwave we’ve been experiencing in Yorkshire leant itself to a dreamlike situation. One we and hopefully the students too, will never forget!

Each morning Michael set up his easel and palette to give an in-depth demonstration to the students. The first day Michael outlined the basics, although quite honestly, he makes it look so easy. (I’m sure the students
will agree!). A true modern-day Master. My job was to make sure folks had enough tea and coffee, and that they were generally comfortable at the workshop. Rosemary had allowed us to use her Orangery to host the workshops. The space is at the back of the Rosemary Brushes workshop and has the most glorious views of our valley.
At lunch we all sat outside and we brought out home-made packed lunches and nibbles for the students. It was a relaxed and calm atmosphere. Idyllic some may say. In the afternoons the students painted, working on the same piece over the three days. Michael went to each student time and time again to help and give advice. This indoor set-up was something new for us!

With the week before the workshop being National Flower Week in the UK, we were lucky to have the choice of so many beautiful flowers for the set-ups – all at their peak and many from Rosemary’s garden!
The students were painting peonies, avalanche roses, agapanthus, sweet alyssum, alpine thistles, bell flowers… the list goes on. We made our own still life stands ready for the occasion, to ensure a professional set up
(thank you to Kenny!).

Michael also gave an evening demonstration to the students, which we opened up to the general public. We filmed this evening, which you can find on our YouTube channel. Search Rosemary & Co to watch this! We’re
making lots more videos now.
During the demonstration evening (a 3 hour session), Michael showed how he would approach a still-life set up, with limited time. We are blessed to have our workshop where we make the brushes in such beautiful surroundings, and so this evening was filmed in Rosemary’s garden.

Overall, it was such a magical week. I couldn’t pick if you made me as to which workshop was better! They were both fantastic, and I am confident the students would tell you the same. I urge you to look at the Masters we have joining us to teach next year and consider a trip to this beautiful place we call home, Yorkshire!

Rosemary & Co welcomed Michelle Dunaway and students to paint within the grounds of the workshop and around the Yorkshire Dales.

In the month of June 2018 we welcomed Michelle Dunaway and a group of students to Yorkshire ready for a workshop on the figure outdoors. Each day we headed to different locations and placed a model in what I would consider, the most beautiful landscapes. Close your eyes and think Pride and Prejudice and you’d be almost there. Michelle had asked that I make it timeless – so that’s what we did!

Each morning the students arrived at the Rosemary Brushes workshop early and eager to go out and paint! Plein Air is tricky at the best of times, but with Yorkshire’s seemingly unpredictable heatwaves of late – this was set to be a challenge! Fear not I thought, folks on these workshops are usually most understanding and roll with it. And that they did! The weather turned out to be a friend not a foe. We were actually wearing shorts asking for cold drinks, not piling on coats and hugging a cup of hot chocolate!

The students came to me throughout the week to let me know how much they loved the area we are lucky to call home, and also to tell me how much they were learning from their maestro – Michelle. I have to say, the landscapes I can take very little credit for – Yorkshire is beautiful and I’m the one who’s lucky to live here.

Two of the days we visited the grounds and painted amongst the ruins of my favourite estate, Bolton Abbey. To think that Turner was painting in the same place as us some two hundred years ago gives me goose bumps.

I always think about how things must have been for him as a painter back then. He didn’t have the luxury of squeezing any colour paint out of tubes, or of the most lightweight, compact easels on the planet. Turner didn’t have over three thousand Rosemary Brush ranges to choose from either! But then I think – if he did can you only imagine what he would have painted! How could he have been any better!? Now, I know I’m dreaming here, but quite honestly, it makes me think of what our masters of today have at their finger tips. Never the less, you can have all the tricks of the trade at your finger tips, but that does not mean you can sit in front of the most beautiful ruins with a model and paint like Michelle Dunaway. That is talent, years of hard work and a million brush miles.

These workshops started because Rosemary and I wanted to bring our friends to Yorkshire. We figured we travel so much, it’s about time folks come to us! We never dreamed we could bring the world’s best artists to Yorkshire and teach! If you ever get the chance to join us on one
of these workshops, I’d urge you to do so. The teaching ability is sensational, the general running of the workshop is by me (so it’s a little nuts, but it’s sure to be fun!) and of course, I have beautiful Yorkshire to thank for the most incredible backdrop, a painters paradise. We tried to capture a slice of this workshop on Youtube. Check it out!

“That painting´s really good, it looks just like a photograph!” went the comment.“Uh-oh!” I thought “Back to the drawing board…”

As much as I love photography, I want my paintings to be expressions in their own right. I´m not an abstract artist, although I love abstract art. I am inspired by shape, light and form and want to include these in my work.

I love realistic art but I have been looking for the sort of freedom which allows a liberal dollop of artistic licence! I find myself caught between the desire to render an image faithfully and yet abstract it, play with it and create something new. Such comments (as above) started a journey to capture the essence of what inspires me about an image in the first place but allows me to express something that is not in the scene but speaks to me in my imagination. The brushes I used before did not help me achieve this. They splayed when I needed them to hold their shape, they dripped paint, the outer hairs would rub off – where did they go? – and they shed loose hairs at the most inconvenient moments! Working with acrylics I had to remove these before the paint dried.

A lot of unnecessary effort was expended while I compensated for all of this. Sometimes I just wanted to complete the picture and leave any playing with the image and experimenting for another time. There comes a point where the initial impulse dies and the painting loses spontaneity and looks overworked. I wanted to avoid this at all costs. That’s why I was thrilled to discover your brushes. Painting has become so much more of a pleasure, as I have brushes that work with me, not against me. They have freed up energy and thinking time – sometimes only one brush-stroke is enough to complete a figure or suggest a window. They make a statement. Your brushes support a creative process where I can paint realistically but take artistic licence where I choose to. Needless to say, I have more confidence to experiment and take more risks. I´m enjoying a new freedom in my work. My latest paintings have been inspired by a visit to Sri Lanka this year. Just as our memories merge and blend the people we meet and the places we discover, the images do the same in my work. The colours are as intense as the brightly coloured temples, the smell of the spices and flowers.

My sketchbook, diary and camera travel with me wherever I go. I cannot wait to return to Sri Lanka one day with its enormous variety of landscape, animals and nature. Thanks to my photographs and sketches I can capturequick impressions but this is not enough for me. Painting helps me not only to re-live the experience but explore the images. The result is an expression of something personal, a mini-adventure with brushes and paint that a camera cannot capture.

Images courtesy of Judy Krauss. Please visit her website