Holiday itinerary
Whether you have a passion for painting, a love of photography or a penchant for food illustration, this unique art holiday allows you to create your own perfect holiday.
Designed entirely to suit your own personal needs this creative holiday really allows you to focus on your own passions as well as try your hand at something you never dreamt of doing, from painting to food photography, or drawing to nature photography.
Unleash the creative within as you design your own perfect week. If you want to combine painting and photography together, that’s no problem. Or if you want to focus just on drawing, you can. You won’t find a rigid itinerary at this eco-retreat; instead you’re encouraged to get stuck in and absorb the stunning landscapes and indulge in delicious food.
If painting’s your thing, choose to paint in any medium including oil and watercolour. If you’re feeling more adventurous, your knowledgeable tutor Simon will be happy to help you discover fresco, encaustic oil, and even egg techniques. The focus of your painting lessons is on the processes you need to be able to produce artwork to really be proud of.
Choose a drawing class to let your imagination flow and learn how to manifest your ideas into a reality on paper. Simon will again teach the processes required to help train you to observe your surroundings and translate these successfully onto paper.
If you have a digitial or SLR camera but you’re not sure how to use it, take time to discover your camera’s functionality as you shoot the remarkable landscapes surrounding the off-grid retreat during photography lessons. Discover what, when and how to photograph through tutorials and hands on learning in a fun and enlightening environment.
If you love food, you can focus on food photography or illustration the delicious local delicacies during your stay to capture the beauty and flavours of the food around you.
Your tutor and guide is Simon, a graduate of ‘Fine Art’ from Manchester School of Art as well as postgraduate at The Royal Academy Schools in London. Simon and his wife Donna also host residencies for professional artists who will typically be on hand during your stay to discuss techniques and all things creative with you, as well as other guests on the course.
Set in the unspoilt Parque Natural Sierra María-Los Vélez, you will stay at a stunning eco retreat with a 50 acre farm providing you with the space, time and opportunity to unleash the creative within that promises a creative holiday with a difference. This unparalleled diverse landscape is the perfect backdrop to stimulate your creativity and passion for art and food and will serve as a major inspiration to your work during this uniquely flexible art holiday centred around you.
Suitability
- Suitable for those completely new to art, those returning to something long neglected and current artists looking to escape distraction and develop their skills
- Minimum age: 18 (under 18’s are accepted if accompanied by an adult)
- Please note that if you are travelling solo, there are no single supplements making this an ideal singles holiday
- This holiday runs for a minimum of 2 people and singles are welcome to join an existing group
Non-Participating Partner
- This holiday is designed to accommodate as many preferences as possible, so if you want to paint but your friend wants to photograph, that’s not a problem
- If your partner would like to join you on the holiday but not partake in any of the classes, that’s also fine
- Non-participating partners sharing a room are welcome and will receive a discounted price, click on the costing and extras tab to see the price
Art Holiday Start Days
- This course runs on set dates year round
- If you can’t find the dates you need, we can be flexible so please email your ideal arrival date requirements to or call us and we’ll do what we can to accommodate you
- The 29 December 2013 is a special New Year's painting course, please email for the detailed itinerary
Typical Art Holiday Itinerary
Please note this itinerary is a guideline and example only as you will be creating your own personal itinerary and may change slightly due to time of year and the weather conditions:
Day 1 - Arrival day
- Check in any time after 2pm (earlier arrivals may be accommodated on request)
- You will be welcomed on arrival by your hosts Simon and Donna
- Take the rest of the day to settle in, relax or explore the beautiful natural surroundings
- Simon is always keen to explain the ecology systems employed at the house and will happily show you around
- In the evening you will be joined by Simon, Donna and the resident artist for an informal and relaxed dinner at the house
Days 2-7 – Painting, photography and drawing classes
- Each day, enjoy a leisurely Spanish breakfast before deciding what you’d like to do
- Choose from painting, photography, drawing or food illustration classes daily and discuss your aims for the week with Simon on your first day before deciding which classes to join
- If you decide you’d like to try something new during the week, just let Simon know and he’ll be happy to arrange this for you – you never know what might take your fancy during as the days progress!
- Your first lesson of the day will take place in the studio and after that you’ll head out on a variety of excursions to the stunning landscapes surrounding the eco-retreat to inspire your painting or photography
- Simon will teach you everything there is to know about painting or photography and be on hand at all times to assist you with your artwork and the techniques you are using
- Enjoy lunch at the house or, if you are heading out for the day, a gourmet picnic
- On one of these evenings the resident artist will be more than happy to give you a presentation of their work, their influences and their experiences in the professional world
- On your last afternoon you will review your week’s work, either together with other members of the group or, if you prefer, individually
- Every evening you will enjoy a delicious dinner at the house with your hosts
Day 8 - Departure day
- After breakfast you are asked to checkout of your room by noon, taking home with you your new photography, drawing and painting skills to practice in the future
What Will I Learn?
- PLEASE NOTE: this section is a guideline only and what you learn will depend entirely on your own preferences, personal itinerary, which activities you choose and how many days of each activity you join, but could include:
Painting / Drawing
- Whether you are a beginner, a practising artist or someone wanting to return to their creative routes, you will learn the skills and confidence to boost your personal and artistic development
- You will be taught at a pace suited to you and will learn all aspects of the creative process with an emphasis on how to paint with watercolours
- Beginner levels can learn a selection of basic techniques such as watercolour, mixed media, painting techniques and processes, paint making, dry watercolour, wet in wet etc
- Advanced level artists will receive personal guidance on how to implement the techniques to take your paintings to the next level, and how to learn about medium specificity such as how watercolour paint, paper and brushes will influence your success with the medium
Photography
- Discover the creative side of photography as your tutor Simon draws on his painting knowledge as well as photography to help explain and develop your creative skills
- You will learn to seasonally predict the direction and passage of the sun as it casts its light upon the land, spreading shadows before objects
- How to make good photographic landscape character assessments to better allow you to find situations where you know you will get good results
- Locations, seasons, the weather forecasts, combined with local knowledge and experience will teach you how to predict cloud formations and cloud inversions, how to position yourself so that light is caught in these formations
- Learn how to capture food using your camera in the best light
- You will become aware of where to find colour, and colour combinations, and how to manipulate them to your advantage
- You will learn about good composition through looking at photography and Fine Art that has preceded us, how others were so successful
- How to manipulate shutter speed and aperture to increase your opportunity to get good results
About Your Tutor
- Your guide and tutor is Simon Beckmann, professional artist and ecologist Simon studied ‘Fine Art’ at Manchester School of Art before studying for a postgraduate at The Royal Academy Schools in London
- Afterwards he lived in Milan where he pursued his interest in the early Renaissance painters such as Sassetta di Siena
- Simon paints in oil and is passionate about the portability of watercolour and favours the ‘simply’ executed and the thought provoking
- Simon is also an accomplished photographer
Sporty
Art Holiday Eco-Designer Accommodation
- You’ll spend 7 nights in a stunning designer eco-retreat set in a rural area of extreme natural beauty in the heart of the 'Parque Natural Sierra Maria-Los Velez'
- As you drive over the hill, this incredible guesthouse will emerge almost like an oasis with almond trees to one side, beautiful poppies and wild flowers to another, verdant hills and mountains and desert scenes all encompassed in this undiscovered natural park
- This really is an eco-family refuge far from the noise of any city or town and the night sky is unpolluted by metropolitan light - on summer nights you can gaze at the stars for hours
- In the daytime the air is hot and infused with the pungent scent of pine trees
- Skies are nearly always blue and sunlight is bountiful and with long warm days
- The 'carbon neutral' designer eco-guesthouse sitting within the national park is surrounded by 50 acres of land which is arable, almond and pine as well as an olive grove and orchard
- Heat and light from the sun, thermal winds and wood from the land combine in a system of solar panels, wind mills and fires to cook and create energy
- Rain water is harvested from the roof, waste water is managed and utilised through a system of reed beds and a grey water recovery system is used to irrigate the dry land
- However, being environmentally and socially responsible needn't compromise design and the house where you’ll stay was once 5 old farm houses, now converted into one very beautiful and luxurious eco-chic space all with the tiny touches from the artist owners that makes this really something special
- On the one hand great homage and respect has been given in its restoration to the simple vernacular architecture of the building, and on the other hand a crisp eye for detail has been employed which makes the place seem stunningly modern
- There are 6 large double rooms, 2 of which are twins and 2 with disability access, all rooms have beautiful designer en suite bathrooms with large wet rooms
- You may check in any-time after 2pm on your arrival day (earlier check-in’s are possible on request) and check out is by noon on day 8
Meals
- Although the focus of this holiday is on painting, photography and/or drawing, meal times are also one of the highlights of the days due to the social atmosphere and delicious dishes
- All meals are included for this holiday and are usually taken at the house with your hosts Simon and Donna and sometimes with the resident artists
- Breakfast will be typically Spanish style along with breads, tomato, cereals and fresh fruits
- Lunch will be either at the house or a picnic hamper in a nearby field
- Dinner is taken at the house and is cooked on a wood burning range and where possible cooked using seasonal food bought locally from the small market farmers and the local butcher
- The food is simple and infused with the flavours of your host’s travels to India and North Africa as well as Spain
- Vegetarians are welcome and please note that if you have any other special dietary requirements these might be difficult to cater for as the retreat is located in a remote location (please add your requirements to the special request box at the time of booking)
The Resident Artists
- This retreat hosts many different resident artists throughout the year
- For example, artists from all over the world come here to spend time away from the cities and to work on their pieces in the quiet and space the retreat affords
- Artists work on a variety of projects from drawing, installations, sculptures, paintings, print making and textiles and much more
- This scheme will give you, as a creative guest, not only the opportunity to hone your own skills but to spend time with a professional artist (often a tutor) to talk art and artists, materials and techniques as well as the experience of being a practising artist
- Having resident artists as well as creative guests and your hosts Simon and Donna makes for a great social atmosphere as meals are often taken altogether
Travel To The Eco-Guesthouse
- Please note that this retreat is in an extremely rural location of natural beauty, around 20 minutes’ drive from the nearest village with no public transport
- Although rural, this does add to the beauty of the place
- If you choose not to drive, we strongly recommend you pre-book the private taxi transfer
- If you would like, you can take the bus from the airport (takes 2-3 hours depending on what airport you fly into) and your host Simon will collect you from the local village 20 minutes away for a nominal fee which is to cover the cost of petrol
- You can pre-book a transfer when you book or if you want to take the public bus to keep costs low, you can contact your host Simon once you’ve booked to arrange a pick-up time and so on
Stimulate your senses on this personalised photography, painting and food illustration holiday as you design your own artistic week during your stay in an off-grid creative eco-retreat surrounded by natural beauty near Almeria.