Simply Watercolours online course !

A fun and friendly online course for beginners!
Join Tessa in this course which includes :
over 3 hours of video, assessments and
one-on-one video calls for a truly personalized experience.

Course Introduction

Learn to paint or enhance your skills
with the guidance of Tess Baker’s attentive tuition.

Enjoy the landscapes and seascapes of Provence; lavender fields, poppy fields, the beauty of St-Remy, Les Baux and the Camargue. Whether you’re an experienced painter or a complete beginner, with the guidance of Tess Baker’s attentive tuition, you will find creative treasures within you, you thought didn’t exist.

Discover a freedom and joy in painting on these wonderful all inclusive watercolour workshops. Great locations, fantastic food and painting techniques to take your paintings into a new dimension.

Roussillon
Flamingoes of the Camargue Saint Maries de la Mer
Port of La Ciotat

What you will learn…

Discover the magic of painting in nature, the alchemy of water, paint, and paper, composition and perspective… In the first days you will learn all the basic watercolour techniques and will build on these skills throughout the course. You will learn about colour and techniques such as how to mix, and how best to use your brushes and paint to get that extra special effect.

With a maximum of 5 students on the course, you will get plenty of one-on-one tuition to help you find your own unique way of painting. You will take home the knowledge and techniques to continue to practice and improve.

Click here to read the reviews on TripAdvisor!

Paint Provence with Tess in Lorgues,
at the very heart of Provence!

This break will be relaxing, fun and full of learning! As with all my painting trips, I like to keep the group small, so that you can all have your own individual tuition as well as group tuition.

Day Classes Provence

A walk around Tourtour:

Tessa describes a day at the ‘Village in the sky’.

Paint Provence with Tess goes global…

Tess offers fun painting holidays not only in France, but also in Italy and Antigua !
So, be sure to sign up to the newsletter (at the bottom of the page) to find out about newly scheduled painting holidays!

…and there’s more!

“Painting Tips with Tess”

Learn about what materials to use,
techniques, and more!

Day classes and short courses

Learn how to paint in the heart of beautiful Provence, and beyond…

My online art gallery

Discover the collection of water colours and oil paintings by Tessa Baker.

What students have said about their painting vacation…

I’m still basking in the glow of our week in Provence. No sunshine needed! The accommodations, the food, the group of painters were all wonderful. I learned more in that week with you painting fields of poppies and mountain vistas than I did in a six week course at our local college. Thank you for taking my skills several notches higher. And it was so fun watching people who had little or no experience with watercolors produce such beautiful work. You are a teacher who can bring out the talent in anyone!

How am I going to wait a year for our next adventure with you? – Susan Arnaud

I’ve been to Tess’ painting trips twice the last two years, and I am am beyond the moon happy that we found her!
I’ve always had a love for painting, but I’ve never had the time or courage to purse it. Until I met Tess. The trips are only a week long, and the amount I have learned in this short amount of time is astounding. Tess is a fantastic teacher, and her love for the arts is so transparent in everything stroke she makes on the paper and her commentary to her students along side it. I’ve never felt more inspired than when I’m with her on her painting trips.
On top of that, she’s an incredible chef! And her friends are incredible chefs! Being fed the most amazing French, fresh cuisine whilst enjoying the sun and painting from sunrise to sundown (not to worry, you’re allowed breaks and pool time) – it’s my version of paradise.

I am happy to give Tess my highest recommendation. It’s difficult to put in to words how much you are missing out on if you have yet to go on one of her trips, but just trust me when I say it: you will not regret it! – Victoria

A note to thank you for the marvellous week Bill and I spent in Lorgues. For me it was a most enriching experience. I truly enjoyed the time Tessa and I spent talking, drawing and painting out of doors. I learned a lot and hope to put into practice what I learned! Bill and I greatly appreciated the delicious, fresh, chef prepared lunches and dinners- not to mention the stimulating conversations we had! And special thanks for including the trip to the Espinasse’s that was a big highlight for Bill. To sum it up, thank you for a memorable week in Provence. – Cindy and Bill

Tess’s love of Provence shows through her paintings and her joy in sharing with us as a small group. Provence is a beautiful area of France and through her artistic skills and energy conveyed this into our painting work. We learnt so much from essential colour mixing to showing us how to enhance our paintings with free movement, highlighting and softening areas to give real depth to our work. I came away not only having had a wonderful holiday but a reawakened desire to paint and paint and paint.
Chris Feast, Norfolk, England.

My mind is full of remembered images from the very blessed time spent with you and all the “lovely ladies”, so that I feel a deep glow of contentment. There has been so much beauty all around us that I feel soaked in it – beauty of the natural world, of generosity and kindness, of seeing people flourish through encouragement, and through it all your bubbling personality that belied the organisation and discipline that made everything run so smoothly. Thank you so much. -Ann Brown

I spent a wonderful week in Roussillon this May. We were two students so we did get a lot of personal attention from Tess. We did discover the lovely neighborhood of Roussillon and stayed away from places with too many tourists. Tess is great at finding the right spot to do plain-air painting: a poppy field, a village square, a vineyard, a castle surrounded by sculptures… we were there.
I wasn’t fond of watercolors before the trip, I’ve gradually changed my mind during the week as I discovered the lovely paintings you can make with a little splash of paint, a good brush, fresh water, a creative teacher and an inspiring environment. Tess knows how to motivate you to try something new. Just at the moment that you think you will not be able to paint that poppy or that rose, Tess is there to guide you to the next step.
Apart from being a great painter and teacher, Tess is also a lovely entertainer and a very good chef. Breakfast, lunch and diner were real treats: wonderful ingredients, prepared with love and lots of creativity. We even made some of our own paint with natural ingredients like eggs and Arabic gum.
I appreciated very much that nothing is a ‘must’ and all is possible. I returned home with a few amazing paintings, full of energy, new creative ideas and a desire to continue with watercolors.
Thank you for this fantastic experience. – Dominique

I am a photographer, who has never been brave enough to try my hand in painting until now and since joining Tessa’s art class in Autumn, I have discovered a whole new creative side of me which I never new existed. It has been tremendous and very rewarding alongside Tess in her wonderful studio. I am definitely a fan a hope to continue on her course next year. – Gilly of Tour Tour

I just returned from a week of watercolor painting with Tessa and it was a wonderful experience. This was my third class with her in Provence. The house she rented for us was great, with a swimming pool, and plenty of room for the 4 of us. The Roussillon area is spectacular and there were so many places from which to choose to paint. We decided on several poppy fields and of course in Roussillon with all its beautiful colors. Tessa presents her class as learning to paint in watercolor but it is so much more. I made new friends, had some French instruction, and ate some of the most delicious food (and wine) I have ever had, thanks to Tessa and our wonderful cook Ruth. I highly recommend taking one of Tessa’s classes in Provence, and if she ever comes to the US, I believe she will have success there as well. I look forward to my next visit! Merci, Tessa! – Meiling

If you want laughter and song, delicious food cooked by a French chef and the best rosé; if you want to breath air filled with the aroma of wild marjoram and mint; if you want to sit in a vineyard amidst turning leaves and taste the left behind grapes; if you want enthusiastic and excellent guidance painting with watercolours the scenery of Provence – the old towns, the hazy vistas, the ancient olive groves, the colourful flowers and trees, the St.Tropez fishing boats ; if you want to stay in an rustic old stone house with artistic, oh so comfortable interiors; if you want to be treated every day, all day with kindness and love; if you want to meet delightful people go on a Paint Provence Trip with Tessa Baker. Learning to paint with watercolours with Tessa was inspiring and rewarding. Now I see the world in a different way and I want to paint all the time. And I definitely want to go back. – Ruth Brock

Generosity of spirit. Those are the words that keep coming to mind as I remember our time with Tessa. She is generous with her time, her home, her creativity and her knowledge. The first night it felt like we were having dinner at a friend’s house and by the end of the week we truly were friends. The house is picturesque, the food plentiful and scrumptious, and the rooms homey and comfortable. The experience is warm, gentle, delicious and broadening. We saw and painted so many beautiful sights—the boats of St Tropez, umbrella pines, olive harvest, ancient villages, vineyards—the list goes on. If you like picnics, wine, gardens, mountain roads, beaches, cats, dogs, bakeries, entertaining stories or just hanging out in beautiful surroundings then you will have a marvellous time. I highly recommend Paint Provence for anyone who would like to visit Provence in a relaxing way. Whether you are an accomplished watercolorist or have never picked up a brush, Tessa is sure to make the experience delightful. – Valarie.

Special note: Please do ensure that you have valid travel and medical insurance for your trip – thank you!

From beginner to painter, a client’s story:

Special note: Please do ensure that you have valid travel and medical insurance for your trip – thank you!

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