Penelope Anstice

Penelope Anstice is an established artist and experienced teacher who trained in both Florence and Edinburgh. Having lived in Italy, Penelope’s work really captures the magic of the Italian Landscape.

Our holidays with Penelope will be suitable for anyone wishing to begin painting with watercolour or to developtheir basic skills. She will cover all of the important elements of painting with watercolour. You will also try other combined media such as acrylic, pastel, gouache and pencil. Courses with Penelope take place in Tuscany during May, September and October. If you'd like to see some of Penelopes work please take a look at her website.

Having lived in Italy, Penelope's work really captures the magic of the Italian Landscape. Travel has always been integral to Penelope's work taking her to India, Nepal, Moroco as well as Italy.

'I am drawn to scenes of fleeting drama, whether in a stormy sky or a crowded Indian market, where a moment of intense beauty has changed or is gone in a flash. It is the intensity that attracts me and compels a desire to record the moment before it has disappeared.'

Teaching Methods and Aims 

My aim when teaching is to show people as much technique as possible so that they can take from this and use it in their own painting. With solid knowledge of technique behind them, students can begin to find the confidence to put their own stamp on their work. In watercolour in particular it is essential to know the basic techniques, it is a highly delicate and technical medium if it is to be used effectively and a harder medium than oil. I do quite a lot of demonstrating to show different methods, this is the easiest way for students to understand the process in practise. I concentrate on the fundamental and key elements of painting, namely composition, drawing, colour mixing, tonal contrast and different ways to make marks. I do not leave the students just to 'express themselves in paint'; without the necessary basics this can lead to frustration and despondency. Self expression is something an individual develops over time as their confidence and understanding grows and they are able to move away from the purely representative. All artists will develop their own 'language' after the initial groundwork is in place to give it support.

Penelope's Own Work

I work mainly in oil and I have been painting oil landscapes for the past 3 or 4 years. My main inspiration is the Scottish skies and the light particularly on water, be it the Tay Estuary where I live or the magical Western Isles with their beaches and subtle colours. I make sketches sometimes in watercolour and sometimes on board in oil and then work the larger canvases up later in the studio putting on numerous layers to achieve richness and depth. I am not really aiming for pure representation as this does not interest me; more, I am trying to convey atmosphere and a sense of the fleeting quality of the light on landscape at its most beautiful and mysterious.