Picture perfect art holidays...
EVER wanted to capture the sights in paint or pencil rather than taking snaps on your phone? Here, writer and keen painter SIMON HEPTINSTALL picks this year’s best ten art escapes – whether you’re an expert or a novice looking to brush up your skills.
1 TAKE AN ARCTIC CRUISE
Best for: Experienced artists with plenty of white paint for those snowy landscapes. Brief sketch: Cruise the Canadian Arctic spotting Inuit culture, historic outposts and wildlife. Studio: An open deck, on island explorations or in warm cabins. Unique inspiration: Explorer and painter Cory Trepanier. Finishing touch: Almost 24-hour daylight in summer means there is plenty of time to be creative. The detail: A ten-day round-trip from Resolute, starting on August 2, costs £7,177pp (excluding flights). intothearctic.ca
2 EXPLORE THE ALGARVE
Best for: Restless artists. Brief sketch: Stay in an expat’s stylish riverside house in Messines, near Albufeira, and enjoy painting sessions during the morning and walks in the afternoon. Studio: Sessions under carob trees. Unique inspiration: Art teacher Tracy-Jane Pooler is on hand. Finishing touch: Sketches going badly? Opt for a paddle-board session in the river instead. The detail: A six- night painting and walking holiday from September 21 costs £995pp (excluding flights). figsonthefuncho.com
3 SKETCH OUT A SAFARI
Best for: Arty Attenboroughs. Brief sketch: Guided expeditions in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park with stops to paint giraffe, hippos, zebra and leopards.
Studio: A riverside safari lodge. Unique inspiration: Create under the guidance of wildlife painter Shelly Perkins.
Finishing touch: The park has one of the world’s highest concentrations of game animals.
The detail: A seven-day painting safari from June 1 costs £1,963pp (excluding flights). artsafari.co.uk
4 SEEK INSPIRATION IN ITALY
Best for: Alfresco artists. Brief sketch: Stay in an artist’s traditional country house amid picturesque scenery in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains.
Studio: Enjoy a dedicated art studio with live-in tutor. Unique inspiration: Owner Pheona Kerr studied at Florence School of Art and taught at the Glasgow School of Art.
Finishing touch: Be inspired by Pheona’s copies of Italian masterpieces hanging in the house, including the Last Supper by the dining table and Mona Lisa in the hall.
The detail: Two weeks at the retreat near Bologna from July 11 costs £2,380pp with flights. artholidaysinitaly.com
5 BLOSSOM I N JAPAN
Best for: Orient Express-ionists. Brief sketch: A guided, all-inclusive sketching and sightseeing tour of Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Hiroshima and Osaka. Studio: Three days’ painting in hired studios en route. Unique inspiration: Daily tutored sessions at tourist sites. Finishing touch: The tour coincides with the cherry blossom season. The detail: A 15-night tour from March 16 costs £4,500pp (excluding flights). bramblesartretreat.com
6 FOLLOW TURNER’S FOOTSTEPS
Best for: Sketching in the sun. Brief sketch: Guided and tutored daily expeditions with sketchpads. Studio: Alfresco locations around Pompeii, Sorrento and Amalfi coast. Unique inspiration: The tutor is artist and TV presenter Murray Ince. Finishing touch: Be inspired by following in the footsteps of artists from Boccaccio to Turner. The detail: Seven nights sketching and painting from May 25 costs £1,259pp half-board, including flights. hfholidays.co.uk
7 LOVE YOUR LANDSCAPES
Best for: Garden lovers. Brief sketch: A week in an 18th Century farmhouse in the Parc Naturel du Perigord-Limousin in South-West France, with five days’ tuition. Studio: An indoor studio or outside in a one-acre garden. Unique inspiration: Outdoor landscape artist Mark Warner. Finishing touch: Non-arty partners can come for just £695. The detail: Seven nights from July 20 costs £975pp (excluding travel). shadesoffrance.com
8 A COASTAL DELIGHT
Best for: Watercolour purists. Brief sketch: Guided train travel along the Italian coast, painting and drawing as you go. Studio: In a seaside hotel and on location.
Unique inspiration: Tutor David Paskett is president of the Royal Watercolour Society.
Finishing touch: Pack all your colours. Cinque Terre’s spectacular cliff villages are among Europe’s most brightly decorated.
The detail: Eight days painting on Italy’s west coast from October 5 costs £1,945pp, including flights. authenticadventures.com
9 GET A TASTE OF SPAIN
Best for: Arty travellers with a conscience. Brief sketch: Painting amid beaches and mountains around Torrox Pueblo, a white Costa del Sol village. Studio: Spanish coastal gardens, beaches and viewpoints. Unique inspiration: Learn from professional artist and YouTube presenter Robert Dutton. Finishing touch: Tour operator Responsible Travel claims to be environmentally friendly. The detail: Eight days staying at Hotel La Casa from October 9 costs £950pp (excluding flights). responsibletravel.com
10 BRUSH UP I N BRITTANY
Best for: Seaside bohemians.
Brief sketch: Tutored art sessions ‘to see things in a different way’ in Pays Bigouden, a fishing village with lovely beaches near Quimper.
Studio: In a former harbourside hotel and around the coast.
Unique inspiration: International marine painter John Button.
Finishing touch: There are optional foraging trips to find edible seaweed and shellfish.
The detail: A week of painting abstract seascapes on the south Brittany coastline from June 23, staying in a waterfront self-catering house, costs from £ 470pp (travel and food not included). mermadeartstudio.com/ art-holiday