Select from the following options to view more listings.
February 18-26, 2025
Join our unique art workshop in South America and experience the stunning Caribbean coast from Puerto Colombia (Barranquilla) to Cartagena. Learn perspective drawing and the fundamentals of watercolors and taste the best of Colombian Caribbean food and culture. After an art class, try a "mojarra con arroz con coco" with a cold Colombian beer. Sketch on the beach, attend cooking demonstrations by local chefs, join a street food tour, and more. The price of CAD 3050 per person (around US$2250) includes eight-night double accommodation in well rated hotels, all ground transportation, all breakfasts, one lunch, two suppers, one street food tour, art instruction, cooking presentations, art supplies, and more. Single rooms available for CAD 810 (around US$ 600).
Location: Cartagena, Colombia
Instructor: Prof. Yves M. Larocque
Cost: US$2250
Sponsor: Walk the Arts
Website, email, 800-611-4789
April 22-28, 2025
The artist’s book combines words and images in a structure that reinforces the ideas it contains. Inspired by our experiences in Italy, we fill books that will be a repository for our week together in Cortona. We will begin by talking about travel journals, documenting your experiences on this trip. We will integrate our imagery with handwritten text to design a book further develops the ideas. Whether traditional or contemporary, your book will be an expression of your own ideas, leaving ample room for experimentation and individual expression. Field trips to museums and outlying areas around Cortona will supplement our wanderings among the village itself, giving us ample inspiration for our books.
Location: Cortona, Italy
Instructor: Annie Cicale
Cost: From US$3,990.00 All-inclusive except airfare
Sponsor: Toscana Americana Workshops
Website, email, 978-407-7127
April 26 - May 3, 2025
Join Botanical Artist Ann Swan, RHS Gold Medalist and author of ‘Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils’ for a week of Botanical drawing with a specific focus on creating contrast using coloured pencils. In this workshop Ann will show you how to interpret light and shade and to accurately capture contrasting tonal values to create a true sense of three-dimensional form and volume in your work. Ann will demonstrate ways of creating realistic highlights and sheen and help you choose convincing shade colours to create depth in shadows whilst maintaining vibrant colours so that your work will come to life on the page.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Ann Swan
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + £400 tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
May 18-27, 2025
We explore the dramatic landscape of Doolin, County Clare, Ireland and translate its landscape, energy and lore into visual artwork. Our time together will be a balance between group excursions, individual exploration, and creation coupled with sharing and diving deeper into technique. We will establish a shared studio space as a center of operation as artists of any level work together in their preferred Media.
Included in the retreat are 4 art workshops with Martin Bridge; field trips; 2 meals/day; housing and publication in an anthology of creativity (subject to vetting)—join us for this retreat of like-minded individuals connecting in various ways to the land in this very special place.
Location: Doolin, Ireland
Instructor: Martin Bridge
Cost: $1500-$2500 depending on accommodations
Sponsor: NatureCulture, and The Milk House
Website, email, 413-475-0650
May 23-30, 2025
PleinAir
This retreat will take you to the same places where Van Gogh and Cézanne painted many of their masterpieces. You will be inspired by the rich locations of Arles,
Saint Remi, and Aix-en-Provence. Your Hosts Tali Farchi (NL) and Shay Avivi (IL) are accomplished painters and teachers, providing art instruction to enrich your creative process. They’ll share information about these master's lives and how they worked. The ArtisTTable has hosted hundreds of artists of all levels and backgrounds. During this retreat, we will stay in the center of Arles giving easy access to this historic city. This all-inclusive art retreat boasts delicious meals, exclusive day trips, and lots of art-making. It will be a trip you won't forget.
Location: Arles Provence, France
Instructor: Tali Farchi, Shay Avivi
Cost: €3,200 (early bird €2990)
Sponsor: Tali Farchi Artist Table
Website, email, +31 6 24903316
May 26 - June 2, 2025
Join me for one week of sketching with watercolor in beautiful Provence! Drawing while traveling is the best way to experience and remember a new place. Traveling is also a perfect opportunity to learn or hone your drawing skills. When we see new sights everything strikes us as unusual, memorable and inspiring. We have a natural desire to admire new vistas, taste new flavors, inhale unusual aromas and record these sensations through taking photos, but also through drawing and writing. For me, drawing while traveling is instinctual, and I am eager to share my passion to fully immerse yourself in a new place through the practice of travel sketching.
Location: Fontaine de Vaucluse, France
Instructor: Rita Sabler
Cost: $3,940 before Nov 30th
Sponsor: French Escapade
Website, email, 510-483-5713
May 26 - June 2, 2025
Italy with artist Sharon Rusch Shaver. This workshop is for all levels of experience in a painting medium of your choice. Sharon Rusch Shaver is an award-winning oil and watercolor artist who has organized unique destination painting adventures since 1996. Sharon teaches en-Plein air painting and shares her unique ability to capture a scene quickly as the light changes. This is a fun and loose painting approach that will make you excited and enjoy every moment! Accommodations are chosen for authenticity and comfort. Our hillside Villa located above the Amalfi Coast is a painter's dream. Included: Ground transfers, breakfast, lunches, welcome dinner, private en-suite accommodations, AC, pool, jacuzzi, and sauna overlooking the Italian countryside. Join us!
Location: Torchiara, Italy
Instructor: Sharon Rusch Shaver
Cost: $3,970
Sponsor: sharonruschshaver
Website, email, 615-579-8841
May 28 - June 4, 2025
Join Alison for a week of joyful exploration of Place, in the beautiful city of Cortona in the heart of Tuscany. In ancient squares, by fountains or in cafes, Alison will show you simple ways to capture buildings and include figures in your sketches. Overlooking vineyards and far off hills, we’ll explore how to simplify the scene to focus on important elements and create depth. Drawing and painting on loose pages rather than in a
watercolour journal, allows us to loosen up and have fun with experimental techniques and a variety of media.
We’ll work with watercolour, pen, ink, marker, on different papers, to create images, which we will curate into your personal concertina art book of your Cortona experience.
Location: Cortona, Italy
Instructor: Alison Watt
Cost: From US$3,850.00 All-inclusive except airfare
Sponsor: Toscana Americana Workshops
Website, email, 978-407-7127
June 7-14, 2025
During this week of Botanical Sketching and Painting in the French Pyrénées with Lara Call Gastinger we will be observing, drawing and painting the local flora of Atelier Clos Mirabel. We will go through the process of how to create a botanical painting, starting with sketching and learning the important characteristics of plants. We will seek botanical inspiration from the acreage of Atelier Clos Mirabel and with a trip to the blooming meadows of the Pyrénées. After the first day of sketching, we will focus on using watercolours to capture the colours and textures of the plants. In the end, we will work on composition and how to create a finished botanical painting. All levels are welcome.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Lara Call Gastinger
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + 450€ tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
June 14-21, 2025
Join Catherine Watters for one week of drawing and painting the incredibly diverse flora of Clos Mirabel, using watercolours and/or coloured pencils to capture the colours and textures of the plants. Discover the fascinating world of Botanical Art, starting with a walk around the magnificent property to choose your subject. A variety of plants will be in bloom including Roses, Hydrangeas, Iris, Lupin, Lilies and numerous fruits and vegetables growing in the Orchard. Catherine will introduce her 10 stages to successfully illustrate a subject. You will carefully observe, measure and draw your subject focusing on form, light and texture. All levels of experience are welcome.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Catherine Watters
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + 450€ tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
June 14-22, 2025
The unique aspect of this tour is the opportunity to explore two incredible countries in a single trip, witnessing the diversity of landscapes, architecture, and culture as you hop between the Netherlands and Belgium. You'll be guided by our knowledgeable instructor, Vlad, along with wonderful local guides. Are you ready to embark on a journey that combines art, history, delicious cuisine, and unforgettable camaraderie? Look no further! Vlad's Painting and Cultural Tour in the Netherlands and Belgium promises to be the highlight of your summer. We invite you to check out the itinerary for this trip to explore the exciting activities and destinations we have planned.
Location: Bruges & Ghent, Belgium
Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev
Cost: $3,950.00
Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art
Website, email, 941-330-6865
June 14-22, 2025
The unique aspect of this tour is the opportunity to explore two incredible countries in a single trip, witnessing the diversity of landscapes, architecture, and culture as you hop between the Netherlands and Belgium. You'll be guided by our knowledgeable instructor, Vlad, along with wonderful local guides. Are you ready to embark on a journey that combines art, history, delicious cuisine, and unforgettable camaraderie? Look no further! Vlad's Painting and Cultural Tour in the Netherlands and Belgium promises to be the highlight of your summer. We invite you to check out the itinerary for this trip to explore the exciting activities and destinations we have planned.
Location: Leiden, The Netherlands
Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev
Cost: $3,950.00
Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art
Website, email, 941-330-6865
June 14-21, 2025
Join me for a week in Provence, where we will spend our week traveling and sketching and capturing all our experiences in our sketchbook. We will sometimes sketch quick vignettes on the go, and at other times, we will paint more immersive panoramas where we slow down to capture the essence of place in a single piece. Our travels will take us to beautiful riverside villages, lavender fields, cliffs of ochre and gardens where Van Gogh sketched. There will be markets and town squares to draw in and gourmet food to enjoy and capture in our sketches. All in all, you are promised a week filled with rich experiences and lots of art tips to up your travel-sketching game!
Location: Provence, France
Instructor: Suhita Shirodkar
Cost: $3,940 before Nov 30th
Sponsor: French Escapade
Website, email, 510-483-5713
July 19-26, 2025
Experience the beauty of South West France through the lens of Urban Sketching! Immerse yourself in the playful world of mixed media landscapes guided by Sketchbook artist Jenny Adam. This dynamic workshop with Jenny Adam offers a harmonious blend of techniques, allowing you to simplify nature’s complexity while infusing your artwork with texture, color, and emotion. We will work on location, discovering the landscapes and villages, but also make time for exploring art in the comfort of the atelier. Course Highlights include: Playful Drawing Techniques, Understanding Media Properties, and Exploratory Exercises.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Jenny Adam
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + 320€ tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
July 21-28, 2025
Many of the Dutch painters were influenced by the light in the flat countries. In July we will meet in Zwolle, the Netherlands. and the surrounding, which is in the province of Overijssel north-east of the Netherlands. Not only painting and sketching are in the program, but also stone carving, Monotype and print workshops, and exciting local stuff that a regular tourist won't be able to see or do, as Tali Lives here she is very involved in the "Arty" scene. will introduce you, to artists, places, landscapes, private gardens, and local homes. This all-inclusive art retreat boasts delicious meals, exclusive day trips, and lots of artmaking and PlainAir painting.
It will be a trip you won't forget.
Location: Zwolle, The Netherlands
Instructor: Tali Farchi
Cost: €3100 (early registration €2950)
Sponsor: Artist Table Tali Farchi
Website, email, +31 6 24903316
July 26 - August 1, 2025
All-inclusive inspirational painting, drawing & print-making retreat. Nestled amidst rolling hills, sunflower fields, vineyards and olive groves, there is an abundance of inspiration everywhere you look. Accommodation, all meals (excl one lunch on excursion day), demonstrations, all materials, excursions, cooking class, vineyard paint & sip included.
Location: Ascoli Piceno, Italy
Instructor: John W. Skelcher
Cost: USD 2.500 single; Twin/Double USD 2.300 p.p.
Sponsor: Painting Holiday Italy
Website, email, +393349034401
August 9-16, 2025
Soyoung Sin is a leading Korean botanical artist, renowned for her delicate and realistic expression. Join her at Atelier Clos Mirabel for a week-long botanical art workshop in the French Pyrenees. Enjoy wonderful surroundings, delightful accommodation and delicious meals. All over the world, an increasing interest in environmental consciousness has inspired people to rediscover the beauty of nature in their daily lives. The practice of botanical art can give access to a certain state of inner peace and help in reconnecting to the essence of nature. Soyoung Sin has received medals from the Royal Horticultural Society of England and the Bloom Botanical Art Exhibition in Ireland. She has been teaching botanical art specialist courses at Gachon University and Yonsei University for 9 years.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Soyoung Sin
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + 500€ tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
September 13-20, 2025
Study with Jarnie Godwin at Atelier Clos Mirabel during a 5-day botanical art workshop in the French Pyrenees ~ South West France. Enjoy wonderful surroundings, delightful accommodation and delicious meals. Jarnie Godwin will guide you into the ethereal mysteries of the fading bloom. As blooms begin to fade you will learn how to capture these intimate, fragile and fleeting moments of decay. Using a range of watercolour techniques, Jarnie will show you how to create the unique acute textures and colour transitions of decay and fading colour. You will learn more about the unique form and detail of fading flowers, and will gain confidence in using and manipulating watercolour to convey an intimate moment in time.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Jarnie Godwin
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + £400 tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
October 1-8, 2025
Join me for an unforgettable painting holiday in Alsace, a stunningly beautiful part of France famous for its charming scenery and clear light which has captivated artists through the centuries. We’ll have plenty of time to capture once-in-a-lifetime experiences on the pages of our watercolor journals as we explore all the charming villages of Alsace. In this week-long workshop, I’ll offer daily demonstrations of techniques for painting the subject matter you’ll encounter each day. And you’ll be painting right along with me, since we learn more by doing than by simply observing. The workshop is suitable for all levels, but some experience with drawing and watercolor would be helpful.
Location: Alsace, France
Instructor: Leslie Fehling
Cost: $3,840 before 1/30/25
Sponsor: French Escapade
Website, email, 510-483-5713
October 6-16, 2025
Ports: Athens, Volos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos. Join our luxurious painting and cultural tour onboard Celebrity Infinity, starting from the historic city of Athens and exploring the stunning Greek islands and Turkey. This journey offers a perfect blend of painting experience lead by award-winning master watercolorist Vladislav Yeliseyev and deep cultural immersion, with private tours ensuring an intimate and enriching experience. This tour is designed for everyone - whether you wish to learn from Vlad, paint independently, or simply enjoy the journey as a non-painter. Immerse yourself in the rich culture, breathtaking scenery, and artistic inspiration that the Mediterranean has to offer. This journey promises not only a lavish vacation but also an unforgettable artistic odyssey around Aegean Sea!
Location: Celebrity Cruise, Greece
Instructor: Vladislav Yeliseyev
Cost: from $4985
Sponsor: Renaissance School of Art
Website, email, 941-330-6865
October 11-18, 2025
Join Laura Silburn at Atelier Clos Mirabel for a 5-day botanical art workshop in the French Pyrenees ~ South West France. Enjoy wonderful surroundings, accommodation and delicious meals. Explore the botanical delights of this flora-rich part of the world. Laura will help you examine a chosen plant or vegetable through careful observation and sketchbook work. You will then compose an image that reflects its natural character whilst observing botanical truth. You will be guided on how to take your drawings through to a completed botanical watercolour and shown techniques for dry-brush finishing. Laura has work at Kew Gardens, The Hunt Institute, the Florilegium of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, and the Eden Project Cornwall.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Laura Silburn
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
October 18-25, 2025
Join Róisín Curé for a fun week exploring the joys of sketching. Create your own original artwork and discover a beautiful area of France. As an artist, confidence is key. The path to confidence comes down to two things: volume of work produced, and being guided correctly. In this immersive, week-long course I will demonstrate and teach the key elements that will raise your game as an on-location sketcher: composition, accurate drawing technique, mechanics of watercolour for beauty and control, using a limited colour palette, and rendering correct values. Each day we’ll be out and about (or in studio in the case of bad weather), choosing small scenes in which you can capture a beautiful vignette of the area.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Róisín Curé
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + 500 Euros tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
November 1-8, 2025
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 2895€ for accommodation + £350 tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
March 21-28, 2026
Join Rita Sabler for a week of travel sketching in South West France. Document your journey in a sketchbook using ink and watercolour. Let images and words work together in harmony to tell the story of place. Have you ever arrived in a new place and been immediately overwhelmed by its unique character and beauty? Our natural instinct is to capture this beauty, to cherish and remember it. Taking photos provides a quick and easy solution, but doesn’t allow you to really look and absorb the place with all of your senses to truly make it yours. Join us in this magical place with majestic mountains and hidden villages, creating a travel sketchbook that truly captures the place and honors its beauty.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Rita Sabler
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + 450€ tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
May 23-30, 2026
Join Giacomina Ferrillo for a week-long botanical art workshop in the French Pyrenees of South West France. Enjoy wonderful surroundings, delightful accommodation and delicious meals. This workshop is designed not only to provide basic technical notions and the main tools of botanical art, but also to teach you how to approach various botanical subjects. We will learn to use the ink pen with specific exercises, shadows, colour and how to compose sketchbook pages. We will tackle botanical watercolour techniques by mixing colours, organizing the palette and studying the control of the brushstroke. Thus, over the course of the week, we will create a composition with various botanical subjects different in species, shape and colour, respecting their character and scientific data.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Giacomina Ferrillo
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
June 20-27, 2026
Join Celia Liberace for an immersive week focusing on portraiture and figure drawing. Create your own totally original artwork and discover a beautiful area of South West France. For the first half of the curriculum, we will focus on the portrait, weaving together classical and contemporary techniques to observe and represent form. The second half will focus on the figure, during which students will learn how to capture the gesture of a pose and build upon this impression while considering anatomical structures. Instruction involves the intersection between academic fundamentals – including perspective, light, shadow, volume, and geometry – and Celia’s own methods of loosening and guiding both the mind and hand.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Celia Liberace
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
July 3-10, 2026
We’ve chartered the entire ship! So, excluding the friendly crew and staff, just about every passenger will be a fellow sketcher! Your three master workshop instructors are: Brenda Swenson, Shari Blaukopf and Suhita Shirodkhar! This once-in-a-lifetime creative journey includes: 8 days and 7 nights of luxury travel on the historic River Rhine, from Amsterdam through Nijmegen-Arnheim (Holland), to Cologne and Mainz (Germany), through Strasbourg and Ribeauvillé (France), finally docking in Basel (Switzerland). Enjoy on-board sketching sessions, where you’ll learn how to quickly capture natural scenes, skies and townscapes as we sail to our next destination. You will have time to wander, shop and absorb local culture at every stop — or simply sit and continue sketching to your heart’s content.
Location: Strasbourg & Ribeauvillé, France
Instructor: Brenda, Shari and Suhita
Cost: starts at € 4,990
Sponsor: French Escapade
Website, email, 510-483-5713
July 3-10, 2026
We’ve chartered the entire ship! So, excluding the friendly crew and staff, just about every passenger will be a fellow sketcher! Your three master workshop instructors are: Brenda Swenson, Shari Blaukopf and Suhita Shirodkhar! This once-in-a-lifetime creative journey includes: 8 days and 7 nights of luxury travel on the historic River Rhine, from Amsterdam through Nijmegen-Arnheim (Holland), to Cologne and Mainz (Germany), through Strasbourg and Ribeauvillé (France), finally docking in Basel (Switzerland). Enjoy on-board sketching sessions, where you’ll learn how to quickly capture natural scenes, skies and townscapes as we sail to our next destination. You will have time to wander, shop and absorb local culture at every stop — or simply sit and continue sketching to your heart’s content.
Location: Amsterdam & Nijmegen-Arnheim, The Netherlands
Instructor: Brenda, Shari and Suhita
Cost: starts at € 4,990
Sponsor: French Escapade
Website, email, 510-483-5713
July 3-10, 2026
We’ve chartered the entire ship! So, excluding the friendly crew and staff, just about every passenger will be a fellow sketcher! Your three master workshop instructors are: Brenda Swenson, Shari Blaukopf and Suhita Shirodkhar! This once-in-a-lifetime creative journey includes: 8 days and 7 nights of luxury travel on the historic River Rhine, from Amsterdam through Nijmegen-Arnheim (Holland), to Cologne and Mainz (Germany), through Strasbourg and Ribeauvillé (France), finally docking in Basel (Switzerland). Enjoy on-board sketching sessions, where you’ll learn how to quickly capture natural scenes, skies and townscapes as we sail to our next destination. You will have time to wander, shop and absorb local culture at every stop — or simply sit and continue sketching to your heart’s content.
Location: Cologne & Mainz, Germany
Instructor: Brenda, Shari and Suhita
Cost: starts at € 4,990
Sponsor: French Escapade
Website, email, 510-483-5713
July 25 - August 1, 2026
Join Nina Johansson for a fun week exploring the joys of sketching. Create your own totally original artwork and discover a beautiful area of South West France. Sketching from observation is a great way to experience a place! In this course we will bring our sketching tools outside to explore Clos Mirabel and its surroundings, capturing them on paper. We will be using lines and colours – pencils, pens and brushes – to capture the look and feel of everything around us. The subjects will cover whatever we encounter during the course, landscapes, architecture, villages, people, botanicals, food – everything becomes interesting to investigate when you sketch. We will start out on location and use the atelier for continued work and explorations.
Location: Pau, France
Instructor: Nina Johansson
Cost: 1595€ to 2895€ for accommodation + 350€ tuition fee
Sponsor: Atelier Clos Mirabel
Website, email, +33.6.79.59.04.91
See also:
Art Books for Drawing |
Tutorials for Drawing