Midsummer update and 2027 Plans
- MICHAEL RICHARDSON
- Jul 26
- 10 min read
FULL SPEED AHEAD
Mid-summer Newsletter from Quattro Archi Art Centre, Barga.
We're approaching the end of July and time has flown by, but it's been lots of fun. We've had six workshops and over 50 people coming to Quattro Archi workshops in just two months. And I think they all had a great time.
The silk scarf painting was a great success and we plan to run that again next May. Victoria the bookbinder from Florence returned to support one of the botanical printmaking workshops and helped the students produce delightful top quality artist books from their work. Michael Waight impressed all his students, not only with his patience, knowledge and easy style, but also with the versatility of the Drypoint medium ....such wonderful results in such a short time. Susie Hunt took her watercolour class from colour wheels to accomplished works of art. And the first part of the season was rounded off with the ever-popular printmaking course 'Lovely Lino' with Jane Richardson.
Meanwhile Barga was buzzing with a variety of events including the wonderful celebration of the mule! ..the Muletto, which this year included go kart racing down the steep hills of Barga!
Read on for more 😀
2027 ....only 40 weeks until our fist workshop in 2027!
It hardly seems like we are past mid-summer and plans are already crystallising for next year. I'm pleased to share our provisional schedule for Quattro Archi in 2027. It's only provisional for another month or so and then we can take bookings at the beginning of September. In the meantime, if you are interested in a particular course or workshop let us know and you will get advance notice before booking opens. Handy to know because some of the courses fill up very quickly. Please remember dates may change until the schedule is confirmed.
The schedule looks like this:
Colour-2-Cloth with Carole Waller
The 3rd time we have run this fantastic workshop in which Carole shares her unique approach to silk painting to help you create your own silk painted scarves. Lots of fun with spectacular results. Send us an email if you are interested.
26 May - 1 June 2027
Botanical Printmaking with Jo Horswill
This will be the 5th course Jo has run a Quattro Archi and it's a delight that the same people keep returning....part of the family now. Natural dyes, organic images, creative alchemy realised in tangible artwork. Send us an email if you are interested.
3 June - 13 June 2027
Impressions of Tuscany
Printmaking is such fun and enables those with no experience to produce really impressive results. Jane Richardson guides you through lino reduction prints as well as optional tetrapak and silkscreen.
14 June - 20 June 2027
Printing with Ade Adesina RSA
Ade exhibits his work globally and we're delighted to have him at Quattro Archi for a residency and to lead this lino printmaking course. Don't miss this opportunity to work with the master of monochrome.
22 June - 28 June 2027
Folktale, Fact & Fiction
A week of contemproray performance storytelling training for adults. Create, learn and perform in the inspirational medieval environment of Barga under the guidance of professional storytelling performers and tutors Arjen and Dan Serridge from the Netherlands and Glasgow Storytelling Centres
7 July - 13 July 2027
Barga in Brushstrokes .....painting retreat in Tuscany
Artists find the medieval town of Barga inspirational. Spend a few days soaking up the atmosphere with other like minded artists under the guidance of experienced art tutor and artist Jane Richardson
2 September - 8 September 2027
Drypoint .....I LOVE it!
Drypoint is a modern version of engraving that produces really exciting contemporary images quickly and with no previous knowledge or drawing skill. It works really well at producing everything from brash and bold to subtle. Michael Waight, master printmaker, leads this joyful class in creativity.
9 September - 15 September 2027
Plein Air Painter
Our artist in residence this year has been Ewan McClure. Ewan is known for his particularly sensitive portrait commissions and also his atmospheric landscapes. Barga was the perfect place for Ewan to work on his landscapes and sometimes townscapes. Often attracted to the interface of town and mountain scenery, Ewan captures the colours of northern Tuscany beautifully. And it is no surprise that to fully embrace the environment he sees, he insists on painting plein-air. Every morning he was up early and armed with his easel and paints, walking round the town to find the perfect aspect or perfect light or perhaps even both. He can often be found around Barga in a quiet corner, out of the direct sun, with a fantastic view. He doesn't sit down. He doesn't take a photo and return to the studio. He works only in front of his subject and just loves to experience the 'flow' of the painting process. Perhaps unusually, his work is absolutely 100% Barga atmosphere, created on site. He plans to show some work in the Scottish exhibition at Quattro Archi in September and also a larger solo exhibition at the Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh in November. So if you fancy seeing Ewan's impressions of Barga or perhaps you fancy a portrait, don't hesitate to contact Ewan. www.ewanmcclure.com
🎶 "Can you smell the food Fernando?" 🎶
Food is always important in Italy so it was a pleasure to meet Fernando (no connection with Abba.....but originally from S America). Fernando was a non-participating partner on one of our recent courses. By goodness, he really did participate. His hobby is cooking and of course he was in his element here. A plentiful supply of local ingredients from independant shops, a good kitchen and a very appreciative audience.
Every morning Fernando would head out to the butcher, greengrocer and deli to gather ingredients for lunch. Then while the course students were busy being creative in the studio he was creative in the kitchen conjuring up yet another superb lunch for the 'workers'. The smells were delightful and it looked and tasted gorgeous too. I think the highlight was the vitello tonato which is an unlikely combination of lean beef in a tuna sauce. Tastes awesome.
Brilliant Botanical
We had two of Jo Horswill's superb botanical printmaking courses this year. The first featured the preparation of natural dyes from plants, printing on paper using plants and cyanotype with plants and a range of special potions to adjust colours and textures. The second course had an exceptional add-on of a couple of days of bookbinding which allowed the students to compile some of their printed masterpieces into artists books. This made a lot of sense because the printmaking process is very prolific, churning out lots of variations of shape and colour. But what do you do with them all afterwards. Even the biggest home would struggle to find enough wall-space. So creating books which make the prints much more accessible was a great idea. And we were fortunate to have the specialist bookbinder Victoria (Toi) from Florence to guide everyone through the process. She worked them hard but the results were very worthwhile. Jo works so well in the Quattro Archi studio, filling the space with smells of plants, boiling potions, spills, splashes and sunshine. Jo is back for another course in June 2027.
New Students and Old Friends
Most of our visitors to Quattro Archi art centre come and stay with us. We have comfortable rooms, kitchens and it's just a short walk to several restaurants. But this year we had a number of 'day students' who had discovered Barga themselves and have a place to stay already. Lynn and Carmen both claimed to be complete novices but after five days under the tutelage of Michael Waight, they were proficient drypoint printmakers. And just because they were local it didn't prevent them from joining-in and they very much became part of the group. We were also able to offer our neighbour Monica a chance to join in on the botanical printmaking course. Monica is very interested in plants and in fact makes the soap we provide to guests from local ingredients here in Barga old town.
As well as new students, we had a third visit from old friends Lillian and Sabine. When I say 'old friends' they actually met at Quattro Archi so the friendship is quite new. They are not old either. Later this year they are off on holiday together to a paper making workshop in Japan.
Caterina Campani Cuts the Ribbon
A big thank you to Caterina Campani, the mayor of Barga for opening our summer exhibition at Quattro Archi. Caterina is always very supportive of Quattro Archi and the arts in general. Assisted by our two exhibitors, Susie Hunt and Michael Waight, the three together cut the tricolour ribbon in true Italian style.
The exhibition features the drypoint and multimedia work of Michael Waight who was our artist in residence last year and the watercolour and mixed media paintings of Susie Hunt who was artist in residence the year before. An excellent exhibition.
The exhibition brings together the two artists who have taken advantage of the free residency programme at Quattro Archi. Each artist has seen Barga differently and provides us with a reflection of our town, each using their own skills and preferred medium.
The artists are from Scotland and had the opportunity to see Barga for the first time through fresh eyes. Both left with a very positive experience. The exhibition is an opportunity to share their joy.
The Dogs of War?
Siobhan has a home near Barga but her full time job is hundreds of miles away in Kyiv (the one in Ukraine). She is a war correspondent for one of the big American newspapers. But last year while on a break from the terrors of war, she stumbled across Quattro Archi art centre in Barga and thought it looked interesting. So it was a real pleasure when she got back in touch this year and asked to enrol as a day student on Jane Richaredson's lino printing course. The only problem, she said, was that she wanted to bring her dog. We've never had pets in the studio before, so a quick round of WhatsApp messages ensured that all the other participants on the course would be delighted to welcome Babette.....a poodle Labrador cross. And she was such a good dog. Though she did sometimes get a little wary of visitors to the gallery who inadvertently strayed in to the studio!
And while Babette was keeping the studio safe, Siobhan would occasionally take time out to pen another article about the Russian onslaught or the Ukrainian push back to be sent off to New York to make the latest edition.
Drypoint ...What's that? I often get asked this question, so let me take a moment to explain.
Printmaking has always had something magical about it: the moment when an inked plate and damp paper meet under the pressure of a press and reveal an image that was once only a scratch on a surface.
Among the many printmaking techniques artists use, drypoint printmaking is perhaps one of the most direct and expressive. It feels almost like drawing, except instead of pencil on paper, the artist draws into a plate.
Drypoint is part of the intaglio family of printmaking techniques, where lines are scratched into a surface and ink sits in those recessed marks and the burr before printing.
Unlike some other printmaking methods, drypoint does not rely on acid or complex preparation. The artist simply scratches the image directly into the plate using a sharp tool. This simplicity is part of what makes drypoint such an appealing technique for both beginners and experienced printmakers.
Modern drypoint printmaking often uses acrylic (or perspex) plates, which are lightweight, affordable, and easy to scratch. And offers the advantage of being able to trace an image through the clear acrylic sheet.
To create an image, the artist uses a drypoint needle or stylus to draw directly onto the plate. The tool scratches the surface and pushes the material aside, creating a tiny raised ridge along the line called a burr. The burr is what makes drypoint unique.
Because it holds extra ink, the burr produces the soft, velvety lines that are characteristic of drypoint prints. Instead of sharp engraved lines, the result feels closer to an expressive drawing.
Artists can vary the depth and pressure of the tool to create lighter or darker lines and build up tone using cross-hatching and layered marks.
Once the drawing is complete, the plate is covered with etching ink using the
A la poupée technique in which different coloured inks are applied to the plate with a wad of fabric.This wiping stage removes ink from the smooth areas while leaving ink inside the scratched lines.
Drypoint prints are created using an etching press. Before printing, the paper is dampened by soaking it briefly in water and then blotting it so it remains moist rather than wet. Damp paper is softer and more flexible, allowing it to press into the scratched lines and pick up the ink.
The plate is placed on the press bed, the damp paper laid carefully on top, and thick blankets are placed over it. As the press rolls forward, the pressure transfers the ink from the plate onto the paper. When the paper is lifted away, the printed image appears as a mirror of the original drawing. The print is now Bon a tirer (BAT) – The first perfect print to come from the printing surface.
Sometimes coloured paper is added to the printing process as Chine Collé – a technique in which ink is transferred onto a thin sheet of paper while simultaneously sticking the thin sheet to a stronger, thicker sheet of paper to add areas of colour to a single colour print.
With just a sharp needle, an acrylic plate, ink, and paper, an artist can create prints that feel spontaneous, textured, and deeply expressive. It’s a simple technique with remarkable character—one that continues to inspire artists centuries after it first appeared.
Quattro Achi
Quattro Archi is a studio, a gallery, a project, a destination, a home. We aim to provide art courses and opportunities without a drive for profit....we do it for fun. This is our fifth year of offering free artist residencies, exhibitions and vacation art courses. We are proud to have inspired half a dozen artists to develop a portfolio of work based on Barga. Around 400 people have stayed with us for nearly a week and most of those people had never heard of Barga before, so it seems we are helping to put Barga on the map as an art destination. It's satisfying to see the group chat from four years ago is still alive. We are comfortable, well kitted out, friendly and we don't mind if you spill paint on the floor!
Join us and find out for yourself. The last course this year is a painting retreat 2-8 September. The 2027 schedule is above and will be open for booking soon.
Vicolo del Duomo, Barga, Lucca
Queens Road, Aberdeen
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