Sunday 1 May 2011

Four Seasons Hotel Watercolour Retreat

A wonderful memory of a wonderful week


 

 Four Seasons Hotel
"Painted Escapes"  2011
Hampshire, UK

It has been a really  full week and  another Sunday has arrived where I can look back and  think just how  lucky I am with my life.

Tuesday evening I attended the welcome evening at Four Seasons Hotel  in Hampshire to greet the artists who were staying for the watercolour seminars that took place there this week. From the first welcome glass of champagne to the very last moment where we finally said farewell it was a very magical experience.

It is hard to believe we covered so much in just two days. The techniques, subject matter and ambience were perfect. I opened the four seminars with an introduction to my style and time flew by far too quickly. I am certain a favourite part of the retreat was the rose morning. Roses have always been a favourite part of any of my watercolour sessions. A " Jean Haines" experience would just not be the same without their inclusion!

Painting roses in watercolour at the Four Seasons Hotel "Painted Escapes" .

However we were not simply trying to paint flowers as the aim was to capture their essence in a way that viewers of the finished paintings could almost imagine  taking in their heady fragrance on a warm summer day. To highlight this point the room  was filled with the wonderful rose perfume by Jo Malone. The retreats were relaxing,stress free and unique in every way possible.


 Jo Malone Rose Perfume

The hospitality of Four Seasons Hotel is outstanding.The lunches were so magnificent and highly presented as individual works of art. The atmosphere was so beautiful and the surroundings in springtime just out of this world.

It has been an incredible experience and there were warm hugs by the time  for departure arrived. Inspiration,enthusiasm,sheer joy and a sense of new excitement are words I can use to describe the results of such a wonderful few days.

In fact I wish I could start the whole week all over again!

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1 comment:

Christiane Fortin said...

Beautiful pictures and roses of course. I just received and watched your video it's wonderful. I'm very happy with it. Thank your for sharing your experience. Now I must practice practice and practice.