Join me for an amazing week of plein air painting in magnificent Provence, France! This is ‘Red poppy season’ and we’ll explore and paint the exciting spring colors of glorious Provence. I’m super excited to teach you painting in such an inspiring place! We’ll paint flower fields, countryside villages, waterways and hillside castle towns, quaint, flower-filled alleyways, medieval churches, fountains and ancient archways. We’ll paint our impressions, dine exquisitely, share gorgeous sights and creative companionship, all while learning and growing our craft. I will share my methods for creating successful paintings with loose brushwork and exciting color harmonies. I will demo in oil and watercolor, but am proficient and happy to help with acrylics and pastels as well.
 
Location: Fontaine de Vaucluse, France
Instructor: Maggie Hellmann
Cost: $3,940 before Nov 30th
Sponsor: French Escapade
Website, email, 510-483-5713

A well-established contemporary plein air painter in Canada and the USA, Marc Grandbois offers his vision of personal expression through the beauty of nature. This class focuses on how to paint in plein air. Every student is led to better transpose his emotions related to place and time, into an image and to understand the subjective power of colors and gesture in painting. Marc will give a two-hour demonstration each morning en plein air in the Clos Mirabel park and surrounds. A large interior space will be available in case of bad weather. There will be a group critique on the last day for work to be shared by the group, creating both a supportive and exponential effect for future work.
 
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Marc Grandbois
Cost: 1595€ to 2695€ for accommodation + 450€ tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91

While learning the importance of oil painting techniques (values, edges, composition, etc.), the joy of actually painting France en plein air won’t get lost on Kathie! The enthusiasm for painting the mountains, lakes and chalets with you will be contagious! Kathie will walk through her process of narrowing down the choices of subject matter and then demo before it’s time for you to get your brushes wet too… and she will be right alongside cheering you on with personal instruction and encouragement! There is a reason why you want to paint. Kathie will work to help you tap that desire by throwing herself into the entire experience and beauty of the French Alps!
 
Location: Haute-Savoie, France
Instructor: Kathie Odom
Cost: $3,840 before Nov 30th
Sponsor: French Escapade
Website, email, 510-483-5713

Join Kevin Scully at the beautiful Atelier Clos Mirabel estate in the French Pyrenees for a week of drawing and painting in the medium of your choice. During this painting holiday the emphasis will be on creating work that captures the sense of space and mood of our delightful surroundings, and producing paintings that are both loose in style, and enigmatic in atmosphere. Kevin Scully will be giving plenty of demonstrations as well as providing individual guidance in choosing the right materials, choosing a composition, tonal arrangement, and suitable colour schemes to help you produce some exciting paintings. Whether your favourite medium is oils, watercolours, acrylics, or pastels, the retreat is for painters of all levels of experience.
 
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Kevin Scully
Cost: 1595€ to 2695€ for accommodation + €400 tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91

A unique art workshop/art tour open to artists of all levels and media (oils, acrylics, watercolors, etc.). Seven days of plein-air painting, art history/theory lectures, and gastronomy in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence followed by four days visiting Barcelona’s top art sites and enjoying Catalan cuisine. The price of CAD 4700 per person (around US$ 3450) includes instruction, 11-night double accommodation, 11 breakfasts, 6 healthy lunches, 6 gourmet dinners including wine, transportation from the Manosque train station to our lodge, transportation to all painting sites, TGV train ticket Avignon-Barcelona, transportation and entrance fees to all sites on schedule (Cézanne’s studio, La Sagrada Familia, Picasso Museum, Miró Museum, etc.). Limited single rooms for a supplement of CAD 875 (around US$ 650).
 
Location: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence & Barcelona, France
Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque
Cost: US$3450
Sponsor: Walk the Arts
Website, email, 800-611-4789

This class will encourage you to paint what inspires you. Focusing on elements of the environment at hand – landscape, architecture, food, culture, colour – we will create not just finished paintings but a library of source information for future development. This class is designed to help you get the most out of painting while traveling. Certain things peak each painter’s interest: Mountains in the distance, a garden, or a bowl of fruit. Students will choose their subject matter and Kat will work with each person individually to help them get the most out of their painting time. Group discussions and exercises will focus on finding dynamic compositions that best describe your unique experience of a particular location.
 
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Kat O’Connor
Cost: 1595€ to 2695€ for accommodation + $575 tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91

Come join me for an amazing week of plein air painting in beautiful Provence, France! We will have gorgeous views to paint of cute medieval villages, colorful markets, rivers, olive trees, etc… It is also a place to enjoy gourmet cheese and wine, ratatouille and creme brûlée! You can choose to work with Oil &/or Gouache in this workshop. I will be doing daily demos and assisting you with your paintings. I enjoy teaching and will be there with you to help strengthen your painting skills and artistic voice. We will focus on design, color mixing, and capturing the mood of the day by understanding atmospheric perspective. This workshop is open to beginner and intermediate students.
 
Location: Luberon, France
Instructor: Ellen Howard
Cost: $3,940 before Jan 31
Sponsor: French Escapade
Website, email, 510-483-5713

One week Painting retreat at a genuine medieval castle in South West France all expenses paid from Angouleme train station at start to end with American masters John Hulsey & Ann Trusty.
 
Location: Grand Brassac, France
Instructor: John Hulsey & Ann Trusty
Cost: $3,150 to $3,750
Sponsor: Copeland International Arts Inc
Website, email

Award winning artist Jenny Aitken is passionate about the depiction of light in paint. She has taught thousands of students throughout her career, and recently written a book on the subject, Painting into the Light. During this week long atelier at Clos Mirabel in Jurançon, France, she will cover all her methods and techniques, both in the studio and plein air.
 
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Jenny Aitken
Cost: 1595€ to 2695€ for accommodation + £500 tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91

Join Kathleen Speranza for an inspiring week of landscape painting. The surrounding fields and distant mountain views will provide a magnificent motif for the study of colour, light and space. Particular attention will be paid to atmospheric perspective and the subtle layers of colour needed to capture it. Students will learn a specific technique of oil painting which will build an image in three stages. Sketching, underpainting and the subsequent layering of thin paint will provide a method for translating the layers of space that can be seen in this uniquely beautiful landscape. A limited, premixed palette will enable a fluid and intuitive approach. Direct observation of light in the morning and early evening will provide a way to isolate and express the poetry of time and mood.
 
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Kathy Speranza
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + $1,000 tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91

This course will focus on using colour in figurative painting to create atmospheric and expressive paintings. You will work from a life model, participating in exercises based in colour theory. You will try out techniques such as painting on a coloured ground and making colour paintings from black and white drawings. This foundational work will sharpen your observational skills and deepen your technical understanding of colour. Beyond these technical elements, we will explore how to use colour to express something of our inner lives. We will take inspiration from art history by studying artists such as Gwen John, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Sargy Mann, Pierre Bonnard, and Milton Avery. Throughout the course, you will benefit from personalized feedback and group discussions.
 
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Katy Papineau
Cost: 1595€ to 2695€ for accommodation + £350 tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91