Art Tutor: Gill Mitchell

Gill Mitchell...

An award winning art tutor and professional artist, Gill has been painting nearly all her life, gaining a Fine Arts degree in Art History at UEA Norwich (UK) in 1974.

For the next twenty years she lectured in Painting, Drawing and Art History while living in Devon, south west England.

A sought-after freelance artist...

Gill then held a successful freelance career taking commissions for many portraits and landscapes, and produced a published range of signed Limited Edition prints and cards.

With many successful exhibitions under her belt her sought-after work resides in private collections throughout the United States, France and the UK.

Her artwork...

Embodying the traditional skills of painting and drawing, her artwork covers such divers subjects as:

• Landscapes

• Still-life

• Portraiture

• Buildings and architecture

She works in:

• Watercolour

• Gouache

• Oils

• Acrylic

• All traditional drawing materials

The inspirational effect of light...

Gill partly takes her inspiration from the effects of changing light: evening light on trees, shadowed light on frosty ground, warm tones of Autumn light towards dusk, or reflected light in water.

Landscape also plays an important role in many of her portraits, where she uses a garden or other setting of importance to great effect.

France beckons ...

Married with two grown up children, English born Gill moved to France with her husband four years ago and has never looked back...

Initially, she tutored painting holidays in Brittany before finally moving to the Dordogne.

Now living in a collection of pretty stone houses near Sarlat in the Dordogne Gill is very happy with her life here in that it allows her to continue virtually uninterrupted with her true passion: painting!

Revelling in her relaxed hands-on approach...

Uninterrupted, that is, until she packs her equipment into her trusty Peugeot and eagerly heads off to Bombel. Says Gill of our DordogneBreaks courses...

"I love sitting down with students and finding out what they want to achieve and then, before our very eyes, witness them achieving it! And to be able to paint and draw in such beautiful painterly surroundings is a real treat. "

Our students have all commented on how gentle and patient Gill is. Within just a couple of days, students report a marked improvement in their skill and confidence levels. In fact, so effective is Gill's relaxed method many have asked if they could stay for another week!

Current projects...

When not taking classes here, or painting for pleasure in her own studio, Gill sings in her local choir and somehow finds time to tend her lovely garden.