Heywood

Heywood Gardens – Tutored En Plein Air Painting

A Very Special En Plein Air Event

‘Three wonderful days in August’, is how we best describe the Twin Trees Festival’s, Tutored En Plein Air Painting.
Taking place from August 22nd – 24th, 2024, and set in glorious, Edwin Lutyens designed Heywood Gardens, the surrounding woodlands and lakes, and of course, beautiful Ballinakill village, it really is an En Plein Air event with a difference!
Our event is suitable for beginners and experienced artists alike, and tickets are now available, so please secure your place early! You won’t regret it!!!
The fountain in the sunken garden, with the Loggia in the background.
The sunken garden at Heywood.
The sunken garden at Heywood.

Heywood Gardens - Where it all begins!

Heywood Gardens and Estate is a place of immeasurable beauty; somewhere to find a sense of history, tranquility, solitude and awe, and is the setting for Day One of this year’s  Twin Trees Festival’s En Plein Air painting.

We cannot wait to welcome our artists to this year’s event, and where better to start three days of tutored painting, than the magnificent, Lutyens designed formal gardens, that were commissioned in 1906, by Colonel William Hutchinson Poe. 

An abundance of subject matter awaits; from the sunken garden, with an elliptical pool and fountain, the Loggia, and rising terraces of colourful flowerbeds, to the Pergola, abloom with colour, and the vantage point to exquisite views of the lakes and woodlands below! 

Our returning artists will be know what to expect, having already being wowed by the gardens at previous events, but for those who are joining us in 2024 for the first time, we want to give you a sneak preview of what awaits on August 17th!

The Two Towers - View of Ballinakill Village, from Heywood Gardens
The Two Towers - View of Ballinakill Village, from Heywood Gardens
En Plein Air - Heywood
En Plein Air - Heywood Gardens
Flowers in the Pergola, overlooking the waters below.
Painting En Plein Air in Heywood Gardens
Painting En Plein Air in Heywood Gardens
View from the Loggia at Heywood Gardens
View from the Loggia at Heywood Gardens
Turtles at the elliptical pool, Heywood Gardens
En Plein Air at the Pergola, Heywood Gardens
En Plein Air at the Pergola, Heywood Gardens

We look forward to welcoming our tutors, Jock Nichols and Neal Greig, to Ballinakill, along with all our wonderful artists! 

Borrowed Landscape - What awaits through the walls of Heywood Gardens?
A first view of the sunken garden, Heywood Gardens
Looking back through the Pleached Lime Walk, to the Sunken Garden
Looking back through the Pleached Lime Walk, to the Sunken Garden
Rising terraces of colourful blooms, at Heywood Gardens
Rising terraces of colourful blooms, at Heywood Gardens
Heywood Gardens painted
Heywood Gardens
Heywood Gardens

Booking Information

Day One, takes place on August 22nd in the glorious surroundings of Heywood Gardens, designed in 1906, by Edwin Lutyens and planted by Gertrude Jekyll. 

Day Two takes place on August 23rd, at beautiful Masslough Lake, which boasts woodland trails, lakeside walks and a huge diversity of wildlife and nature, all set in the most wonderful picturesque solitude.

Day Three, which takes place on August 24th, is set in the historical former Charter village of Ballinakill, with an abundance of subject matter on offer, from historic buildings to street views. 

Heywood

The formal garden is an orphan of the once great Heywood House, which was demolished after a devastating fire in January 1950, but thankfully it has not only survived, but flourished in the time since.
The eighteenth-century romantic landscape of the Heywood Estate, consists of gardens, lakes, woodland and architectural features. It was transferred to State ownership in November 1993 from the Salesian Fathers who had taken care of it since 1941.

The formal Gardens form the centre-piece of the property and were designed by the famous architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) and  landscaped by Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932).  

Heywood House Fire 1950
Heywood House, Ballinakill

One of the best En Plein Air events

Overlooking the woodlands, from Heywood Gardens
In Heywood's Sunken Garden
A good day's work - In Ballinakill Village
Lets paint the town.......