August 3 - 8 Watercolour - emphasis on ‘plein air’

BIG SKY ART is delighted to announce that we are welcoming a very talented and exciting new tutor to The White House in 2025. Sebastian Thommen hails from Ireland and has been painting in watercolour since his early teens. He kept this hobby close to his heart but feeling that he did not want the pressure of having to make a living from it, he first pursued a successful career as a theatre and film actor.

A few years later, he took up painting professionally and had immediate success, receiving the Silver Award and Artists Choice Award in the Open International Plein Air Festival in Wexford – Europe’s biggest Plein Air festival. He has taught many workshops in Ireland and more recently in Mallorca – his subjects being flowers and nautical scenes – specifically working en plein air. In collaboration with Baohong paper and Rockwell paints, he was the International guest cultural artist at the Xidi Village Watercolour Festival in China.

Sebastian describes his Course Concept: ‘I love painting ‘en plein air’ in watercolour. I love the benefits it brings for body and soul, and I love teaching it and sharing my enthusiasm with my pupils. Nothing is better than capturing the moment, quickly on a sketch pad, in between rain showers or in the shade of blistering heat, and then – using the sketch as a reference in the comfort of the studio – to create a beautiful painting with locked in memories. I am very much looking forward to my first Norfolk Workshop and discovering the wonderful landscapes in the coastal area surrounding us.’

NB: Sebastian has a huge following on Instagram where you can look at his paintings and watch videos of his work.

Instagram: Sebastian_thommen (note the underscore)