French Painting Holiday in Gascony

What You'll Do

This Summer , discover rural France with a painter’s eye during an unforgettable 7 night painting holiday in Gascony; stay in a stunning farmhouse, while seeing and tasting all the region has to offer with first class tuition during ‘en plein air’ and studio sessions as you take your art skills to a new level.

Dates for 2023
Landscape Painting in Oils and Acrylics with Caroline Bays
3rd -10th July 2023

Portrait Painting with Antony Williams
6th - 13th Sept 2023

Get away from it all on this 7 night painting holiday in south west France. Meet new people or bring your friends on this delightful art holiday that takes you fresh from the natural beauty of the French countryside into the large ‘grenier’ studio for a wealth of painting tuition and one to one guidance during your creative holiday to focus on relaxation and improving your art.

Frequent excursions to nearby beautiful towns or villages and other inspiring points of interest will give you the opportunity to paint ‘en plein air’ as well as discover the cultural highlights of the region.

In addition to discovering the fundamentals of composition and drawing, you will be taught to know and work with your colours, blending, and guided up into the finishing touches, focusing on what works for you and what techniques you need to enhance to give you the confidence to take your artistic skills to a new level even after your holiday is over.

Artists Antony Williams and Caroline Bays are both renowned in the artistic communities of the UK and Europe, and their work can be found internationally. They have decades of experience in teaching and helping students find what works best for themselves and how to express themselves through their own artistic individuality and mediums.

Your art holiday hosts, Claire and Martin, are the backbone of your French home away from home, making sure every comfort is met and that you have all of the fine cuisine that you can fit in. Although they do make sure you have a quality breakfast and lunch each day, the real treat comes during your three course dinners after aperitifs, seated in the dining room with regional wines and great company.

The farmhouse accommodation has recently been renovated to bring out its natural charm, making use of the barn space into an open plan kitchen, a lovely studio. There are some ensuite rooms, along with spacious family rooms to accommodate all needs. With Egyptian cotton linen and sheets, WiFi throughout, and even a wood burner for the cooler nights, the space is as lovely inside as it is out, with the rolling vineyards, terraces, and pool; all there for your relaxation and inspiration. The courses last for for eight days and there is time for a leisurely day out to visit places such as the historic city of Pau.The Musée des Beaux Arts, is certainly worth visiting, where works of inspirational artists, such as Degas, El Greco and Rubens are on display.

Experience
Highlights

Plenty of excursions to nearby points of interest & chance to paint 'en plein air'.

5 days of world class, individualized tuition in oils and acrylics.

Accommodation with a pool and meals and wine included.

Experience Itinerary

Arrival & Accommodation

– Arrive and take the time to settle into your accommodation

Accommodation

Your accommodation that has been renovated with every detail in mind, you will find yourself surrounded by rolling acres of vineyards, a luxurious pool and plenty of outside space. In addition, feel free to play some games or sit by the pool with a good book.

Please note that if there are no rooms available in the main house, the hosts will use a local chambre d’hôte run by an English owner which is just a 3 minute drive / 20 minute walk away; there are 2 ensuite double rooms and 1 ensuite twin room and transport to and from will be provided and included in the price.

Surrounded by acres of vineyards, the 19th century accommodation is a lovingly restored Maison du Maître,the property has 5 rooms for guests to use (3 are ensuite); some with double beds, some with twin, based upon your needs.The rooms are spacious, stylish and lovingly decorated and Egyptian cotton linen and towels are provided. There is a full open kitchen, dining room and living room to relax in, and modern bathrooms throughout. There is a library of books and games for your down time, along with a table tennis table, rope swing, bicycles, badminton set and football net, not to mention the large outdoor swimming pool

Just a 2 kilometre walk away, you will find the local village with a shop, pharmacy, bar and hairdressers and transportation to the nearby village of Viella is available whenever you need it.

Please note that there are 3 friendly family dogs who will be sharing your accommodation but will not enter your bedrooms

Check in anytime after lunch on day 1 and checkout by 10am on day 8, but feel free to hang around depending on your flight or train times

A Typical Day

9am: Greet the morning with a beautiful breakfast spread

10am Studio session or en plein air session with expert tuition either at the house or on location in a local village*.

11:30 am Tea, coffee biscuits and fruit

1pm Enjoy alight lunch of salad, omelettes, pizza etc

2pm Finish painting what you started that morning; your tutor will be there to help you focus and offer one to one guidance or play table tennis, tennis or croquet or relax by the pool.

7pm relax and enjoy aperitifs by the pool before dinner

8pm: Join everyone in the dining room for a beautiful 3 course dinner with plant based ingredients, fish or locally sourced free range meat served with local wines, and catch up on your day

*More or less time may be spent at a particular place, depending on the guests’ needs; typical excursions will include landscapes such as rural, i.e. vineyards, rivers, lakes, and some will be small towns/villages and markets, giving you plenty of diversity

Departure

After breakfast, check out by 10 and leave for home taking new skills and great memories with you.

South West, Gascony

Location Information

Within easy access to Bordeaux and Toulouse airports, this stunning, historic farmhouse lies in the heart of Gascony, tucked away from city life, yet surrounded by rolling vineyards and the village of Viella right on your doorstep. Try the local Armagnac, explore the walking trails and nearby rivers, or get lost in a medieval village while you learn to relax in this pastoral paradise of the French countryside.

Nearest airport:

Lourdes ( 1 hour)
Bordeaux (2 hours)
Toulouse (2 hours)

Nearest train station:
Mont de Marsan (40 minutes)

Pre-booked transfers:
Transfers are included in the price from Lourdes airport ( for the flight times below) as well as from Mont De Marsan train station.

Transfers are included for the following flights:

Ryanair flight number 522 on Monday 3rd July, leaving Stansted at 12:45, arriving at Lourdes-Tarbes at 15:40.

What's Included

What's Not Included

7 nights accommodation in the farmhouse, Gite or chambre d'hôte
5 days of hands on art tuition
All transport to painting excursions and transport into local village if you wish
All meals and wine throughout your holiday (except on one evening when you have dinner out)
Some bicycles available for you to use during your stay
Anything you would care to use at the accommodation during your stay - please make yourself at home in the kitchen, pool or with the games, bicycles and table tennis
Transfers to and from Lourdes airport
Check in anytime after lunch on day 1 and check out by 10am on day 8

FAQs

- Suitable for all painting levels from beginners to advanced
- No minimum or upper age limit (as long as minors attend with family)
- Non-participating partners welcome

Please find below some information regarding the accommodation and location of the holiday which may be useful when deciding if this is the right holiday for you; should you have an further questions, please contact us and we will be happy to help
- The gite has four steps into the front, and one step at the rear door
- There is a room on the ground floor of the gite available with a toilet and shower next door (shared)
- If one does have a wheelchair, your host will take it into consideration for the day excursions and would be happy to accommodate

- Your hosts have made sure there is plenty to do in your free time, with a pool, table tennis, outdoor lounge areas, hiking trails, as well as games and books
- Take a walk, ride a bicycle, or get a lift into Viella and explore
- Your hosts can recommend some wineries and nearby medieval points of interest and also help you to get there

- If you wish to stay for extra nights, please email to check availability for your preferred duration and we will do our best to accommodate you

Your hosts supply everyone with an easel, boards and stools and our tutors will give advice on what brushes and paints will be needed. Please let us know if you need to borrow some.

Transfers are included for the following flights:

Ryanair flight number 522 on Monday 3rd July, leaving Stansted at 12:45, arriving at Lourdes-Tarbes at 15:40.

Ryanair flight number 523 on Monday 10th July, leaving Lourdes-Tarbes at 16:10 arriving at Stansted at 17:05.

Ryanair flight number 522 on Wednesday 6th September , leaving Stansted at 14:15 arriving at Lourdes-Tarbes at 17:10.

Ryanair flight number 523 on Wednesday 13th September, leaving Lourdes-Tarbes at 17:40 arriving at Stansted at 18:35.

From £800 pp