I arrived at Centro d’Arte Dedalo in Sept 2002 for a two week residency, really excited to have been chosen, but anxious about what I was expected to achieve or 'be' during the residency.
In fact there was no pressure; it was a very relaxing experience, two weeks out of a busy schedule and ones 'normal' life is inspiring in itself.

During the first day or two I mulled over ideas of what I was going to paint. I knew that I wanted to work in my usual medium (egg tempera on gessoed cloth), but did not feel like continuing with the same subject matter that I had been working on during the previous summer (analogies with war using imagery of insects and the olive tree in history - even though the Tuscan insects were exceptionally large and beautiful!).

In order to have a complete break from my own chain of thought I decided to join Sue Kennington's course, 'colour and light'. This was brilliant and I felt that I really moved forward in using and understanding colour, not being concerned with more poetic/intellectual objectives in the paintings. I even painted landscapes! It opened up a whole new world for me and renewed my excitement and belief in painting.

I learnt so much from Sue who is a very enthusiastic and professional painter.
Sarah and Stefano who run the school are brilliant people, very relaxed and accommodating.
I went home enriched with Tuscan food, open landscapes and new ideas.