Farncombe Estate Centre is located on 320 glorious acres of private Cotswold parkland between Cheltenham, Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford. The Farncombe Estate is located in the Cotswolds' village of Broadway in the English county of Worcestershire with panoramic views over the Vale of Evesham. The village of Broadway is often referred to as the "Jewel of the Cotswolds" and the "Show Village of England" because of it's sheer beauty and magnificence. The "broad way" leads from the foot of the western Cotswolds escarpment with a wide grass-fringed street lined with ancient honey coloured limestone buildings dating back to the 16th century.

The Cotswolds is popular with both English visitors as well as tourists from all over the world. Well known for its gentle hillsides - the wolds - a sedate way of life, sleepy villages and being quintessentially English, the region has a number of famous towns and cities such as Bath, Cheltenham and Gloucester. Meanwhile, those more drawn to the hustle and bustle of open-air markets could well be tempted to check out Cirencester or Moreton-on-Marsh.

The Cotswolds is well known for its association with Art including the Broadway Group of Artists and famously John Singer Sargent and William Morris. Nearly every Cotswold town has an art gallery and some have six or seven as in the village of Broadway. The art heritage of the region stimulates an ever increasing flow of new painters and visitors alike wanting to immerse themselves in this wealth of art promoted by the intrinsic natural beauty of the Cotswolds region.

At Farncombe Estate, you will enjoy full English breakfast and a warm British welcome. There is a range of menu choices, including vegetarian, every day at lunch (may be packed for take-out) and dinner. Allergies and special diets can be accommodated given a few days’ notice. All kitchen staff are trained in allergy awareness and stock essential cupboard ingredients such as gluten-free flour and dairy-free milk.

There are a total of 89 bedrooms at Farncombe Estate. In 2011, the estate completed Maudslay Court, a courtyard of 32 bedrooms built in warm Cotswold stone with its own tower.

Videos of the village of Broadway,  Farncombe Estate, and The Cotswolds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KERaACSUgYo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IavnHPreQys 

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=rGp_He_sYGQ&feature=g-vrec

THE WORKSHOP 

Nationally known painter and instructor Charlotte Wharton will help participants interpret the rhythms of nature and further their own voice. Charlotte will include and go beyond the standard elements of design to cover the interpretation of the inherent energy of linear directives, shape, value, color, using the Language of Artistic Energy and the Munsell Color System. Artists of all levels working in oils, acrylics, watercolors, and pastels will gain inspiration from the breathtaking views and extraordinary light quality. Plein air painting classes will be held in the morning. Afternoons will be devoted to working independently. Individual and group critiques will be offered.

Attendees will meet at the Farncombe Estate on Sunday afternoon, July 28th and will spend the day settling in, touring the facility and grounds, and having dinner together. After an early breakfast on Monday, the workshop will begin and continue through Friday, August 2nd. Friday will be the final day and will be flexible for group critiques, goodbyes, and travel. Side trips during the week may be scheduled at the option of the attendees. Painting locations like Bibury, Bourton on the Water, Stow on the Wold, Cirencester, Stratford-on-Avon, Tetbury, and Westonbirt are nearby.

Many magazines have described Charlotte’s manner of painting, but none more poignantly than the Worcester Quarterly’s 2006 article Souls On Canvas: Portraits By Charlotte Wharton Get Beyond Likeness, “… Her gift of versatility ranges from sought after loosely rendered private portraits to dignified corporate portraits befitting the boardroom ...”.

Charlotte Wharton, PSA, Copley Master, is also well known for her loose calligraphy executed in her genre paintings and landscapes. Her portraits and non-commissioned works hang in many national and European private and corporate collections. Ms. Wharton has a Bachelor Degree of Fine Arts from Clark University, summa cum laude. She has received advanced studies with the country’s leading portraitists, Aaron Shikler and Everett Raymond Kinstler. Her work has garnered over five dozen awards including The Copley Society of Boston’s Gold Medal Award For Excellence In Portraiture and the Oil Painters of America’s Award For Excellence In Painting in 2004. Selected works have been reproduced in three Rockport Press Art Books: Portrait Inspirations (also on the cover), The Best Of Oil Painting, and The Best Of Pastel in 1997 and highlighted in the Artists Magazine. She has been featured many times on WGMC-TV. Charlotte was awarded a summer’s study in Dinan, Brittany, France by L’Association les amis de la Grande Vigne in 1996. In addition, she has participated in one-person and juried group exhibits in Italy, France, Russia, the British West Indies and across the United States where she has also taught workshops in portraiture and landscape.

In her workshops, Charlotte encourages and guides each student/artist in developing or furthering their own unique interpretation of nature. The workshop represents her concepts and ideals as contained in her new book, "The Language of Energy in Art: Finding Your Vision".