Barry Torrens is from the North Coast of Northern Ireland. He is an ex-Barrister, pilot and residential/ commercial landlord. When his final child of his 3 children left for University in 2023, he decided there was nothing stopping him from fulfilling a dream of his i.e. to live in Tuscany, so he sold/ gave everything away and emigrated to Italy. Barry set up an English school, Toscana English Academy in the local town where he lives, and he is successfully teaching Tuscans how to speak English. You can follow how Barry is settling into his new life by visiting his popular TikTok page #oldmanabroad, and on Facebook and Instagram #BarryTorrens.

Any spare time Barry gets he enjoys adventure trekking, having climbed most of the highest mountains in the UK and Ireland, Gran Paradiso (Italy), Mont Blanc (France), Maccu Picchu (Peru) and Everest Base Camp (Nepal - were he and his sister survived the deadly earthquake of 2015).

Barry is passionate about Italy and Tuscany in particular. He first visited Italy over 30 years ago and has returned many times since. He bought a property in Tuscany in 2016 and moved there as a permanent resident in August 2023. He wrote a book about his first 12 months in Tuscany and you can find it on Amazon 'Old Man Abroad - Trading Rain for Blue Skies'.

If you follow his journey online, you will know that he is enjoying La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life). He now wants others to experience the beauty of Tuscany. Barry has collated a team of dedicated individuals, mostly exceptional locals with knowledge of every nook and cranny of Tuscany, to assist him in this venture. The Sunflower Team are delighted to be involved and are looking forward to welcoming visitors to this amazing part of the world.

Painting Tuscany with Ian Walton

Ian was born in 1963 and had started to teach himself to paint in oils by the time he was 13. His paintings of Wales are greatly admired and his reputation as one of Wales's leading seascape and landscape artists has been growing for some years now.

As one of Wales's leading and award winning landscape and seascape painters his work is in private collections worldwide. Owners include King Charles III and Sir Richard Branson.
He has work in the British national collection at Tate modern The national galleries of Wales and Scotland.
Ian fell in love with the landscape, culture, history, and people of Italy many decades ago. He’s been teaching oil painting techniques for over twenty years.
By working exclusively with small groups of no more than six he is then able to offer more personal tuition.

The knowledge of his subjects stems from being a passionate mountaineer, glider pilot, and sailor.

He is inspired by the power of nature, in particular, the sky, mountains, and the sea. He works with a limited palette constantly striving to capture the drama of strong light and shade.

Influences: JMW Turner, Winslow Homer, Frederick Judd Waugh and William Heaton Cooper, to name but a few.

Note: Ian teaches and works with Winsor and Newton Alkyd fast drying (overnight) oils.