You are keen to develop your artistic skills by taking lessons, but you also want to enjoy a vacation in a foreign land – how to choose where to spend your holiday budget? Don’t choose. Instead, register for one of the many art abroad experiences offered by Sunshine Coast artists.
If sunny Spain appeals, check out Open Your Art with Marleen Vermuelen and Marlene Lowden (openyourart.ca). These two experienced artists host a 12-day retreat in a tiny village in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Set aside your fears and doubts, turn off your cell phone, and immerse yourself in expressing yourself through paint, nurtured by the yoga and meditation sessions scheduled into your time.
Be prepared to be deeply inspired. One 2016 participant commented, “At a personal level, I felt a real shift, and this was quite unexpected... I will look back on these weeks as one of the important times in my life.” The artists, too, note that the experience is “life-changing,” as well as providing opportunities to work closely with their own family members, who provide logistics and cooking services for these trips. A wait list for Sept. 3 to 14, 2019 is available.
Jan Poynter has led painting workshops in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and aboard the Queen Victoria cruises through the Mediterranean. She is now in the planning stages of a workshop in Tuscany, Italy in September 2019 (janpoynter.com/tuscany-2019). Although she is very active close to home, Poynter says, “Teaching tours give me the opportunity to travel, paint and share my creative experience with like-minded folks. Wherever I travel, I connect with other plein air painters and urban sketchers –- my tribe.”
Like many art-based travel sessions, Poynter’s art adventures provide instruction, great stay locations, studio space, transport to plein air locations and group activities – tours, cooking, wellness, etc. – balanced with leisure and creative time. Non-painting partners are always welcomed with optional activities.
Ursula Medley also traveled to Italy with her Wandering Palette groups. She made sure the accommodations and meals were memorable because, as she says, “Nurturing the artist is beneficial to the creative process.”
Medley notes that, “A painting class … in an unfamiliar culture and setting is a great way to deepen the learning. Studying abroad provides a richer experience of a culture. Museum visits, the study of art history, seeing a new landscape, experiencing light in another hemisphere open new ways of seeing and provide an opportunity to explore new ways of creating a painting.” These days she nurtures students at her Lang Bay studio with stovetop Italian espresso (www.ursulamedley.ca).
Hiroshi Shimazaki (hiroshishimazaki.com) has led two painting trips in recent years, to Japan and India, and another trip is planned to Japan in May 2019. This accomplished artists says, “I found it exciting to share the experience of interpreting and capturing in watercolour the interplay between land and people in foreign settings. Being with a group of enthusiastic artists for an extended period, seeing new sites, generates a chemistry that fosters bonding and creativity – an ideal foundation for learning.”
Autumn Skye Morrison (autumnskyemorrison.com) offers 10-day painting and yoga retreats classes in Mexico’s Mayan Riviera. The experience is unique, as participants complete self-portraits during the session. Morrison promises that, “Through the playful and profound process of looking deeply into the mirror of a self portrait, you will be invited to see the world and yourself in new ways, while weaving depth and personal symbolism into your painting.” All painting levels are welcome.
Most of these artists welcome novice to advanced students and plan the whole experience carefully to ensure that it is both comfortable and stimulating. When choosing, consider these factors: select an artist whose work you know and like; meet the artist in person first to ensure you are comfortable with his/her teaching style and emphasis; seek out independent testimonials from others who have studied with the artist; and keep an open mind. Try out new tools and techniques as well as new subjects. Pack light, enjoy the novel location, and come home with some uniquely creative “souvenirs” of the experience.
