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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Wyl Menmuir

How I learned to paint in St Ives, Cornwall

Tutor Ilker Cinarel (left) with student Wyl Menmuir at St Ives School of Painting.
Tutor Ilker Cinarel (left) with student Wyl Menmuir at St Ives School of Painting. Photograph: Chris Webber

There was the briefest moment late on Sunday afternoon when, standing back from the easel, paintbrush in hand, I almost felt like an artist. What I had produced was by no means accomplished but I was beginning to see what it could become.

It may sound like a modest achievement, but before signing up for a weekend Discover Painting course at St Ives School of Painting I had not put a brush to canvas since my GCSEs almost 30 years ago. Even at school I tried to avoid painting, so I knew the weekend would push me out of my comfort zone.

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