Painting Holidays in Europe

Painting Holidays in Europehttp://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/en-EUhourly82000-01-01T12:00+00:00Painting Holidays in Europehttp://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/68/d9ae4e7227fe548666230e94483c0f_160x200.jpgDerek's Autumn Bloghttp://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/2007/09/05/derek_s_autumn_blog~2928093/2007-09-05T10:59:20+02:00 Reaching the fag-end of a summer which might politely be described as "interesting" we're very much looking forward to greeting friends old and new at Au Coin du Feu in the French Alps. This has become our flagship venue, not only because of its stunning location in the Haute Savoie among the lakes and mountains in the hues of early summer green and late summer gold. Paul and Francesca our hosts at the hotel-chalet which is our comfortable base extends a warm welcome with tastefully themed rooms and extremely tasty meals. The area is rich in paintable subjects and we visit mountain and lakes throughout the week to make the most of this wonderful experience. With just a few weeks to go we are offering the remaining painting holiday places at Au Coin du Feu at a bargain £700; £600 for a second person sharing the room. Non-paintng partners are, of course welcomed and this is a splendid opportunity for a couple or two friends to take advantage of a value-for-money holiday - there is plenty to occupy the partner who doesn't paint. Friends who recall with fondness Madame Jane de l'Aigle, the chataleine of La Celle Guenand will be sad to learn that she is very ill. Di and I called last weekend in preparation for next week's painting holiday there and were shocked at her condition. She had recovered from her shock at finding the fire which severely damaged her bedroom early in the New Year and was admitting to feeling tired but otherwise very much her busy self when we visited at Easter. But she recently had a fall and her family is fears for her recovery. John Riley, another of our talented and popular tutors is also unwell. John led our holidays in Vejer de la Frontera, La Celle Guendand and most recently at Au Coin du Feu. He was taken into hospital in Norwich so had to pull out of out July visit to Shorland Old Farm in Devon, when we were indebted to John and Jenny Kay to take his place. Better news is that Jonathan Newey is our tutor in the Alps. Jonathan was popular with our painters in Tuscany and Andalusia. It seems to be that the weather in Europe is likely to be the best of the season and as we have always had sunshine to give that special light beloved of painters close to Lake Geneva we look at our October 6th-13th dates at Au Coin du Feu with confidence. As usual flights from all over the UK into Geneva are very economic and the advice again is that if you are considering joining us don't bring Swiss francs - you only land in Switzerland and we whisk you up to the hotel-chalet just above Morzine! Why not book now and take up this once-in-a-lifetime offer? <a href="http://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/2007/09/05/derek_s_autumn_blog~2928093/#comments">Comments</a> Reaching the fag-end of a summer which might politely be described as "interesting" we're very much looking forward to greeting friends old and new at Au Coin du Feu in the French Alps.

This has become our flagship venue, not only because of its stunning location in the Haute Savoie among the lakes and mountains in the hues of early summer green and late summer gold. Paul and Francesca our hosts at the hotel-chalet which is our comfortable base extends a warm welcome with tastefully themed rooms and extremely tasty meals. The area is rich in paintable subjects and we visit mountain and lakes throughout the week to make the most of this wonderful experience.

With just a few weeks to go we are offering the remaining painting holiday places at Au Coin du Feu at a bargain £700; £600 for a second person sharing the room. Non-paintng partners are, of course welcomed and this is a splendid opportunity for a couple or two friends to take advantage of a value-for-money holiday - there is plenty to occupy the partner who doesn't paint.

Friends who recall with fondness Madame Jane de l'Aigle, the chataleine of La Celle Guenand will be sad to learn that she is very ill. Di and I called last weekend in preparation for next week's painting holiday there and were shocked at her condition. She had recovered from her shock at finding the fire which severely damaged her bedroom early in the New Year and was admitting to feeling tired but otherwise very much her busy self when we visited at Easter. But she recently had a fall and her family is fears for her recovery.

John Riley, another of our talented and popular tutors is also unwell. John led our holidays in Vejer de la Frontera, La Celle Guendand and most recently at Au Coin du Feu. He was taken into hospital in Norwich so had to pull out of out July visit to Shorland Old Farm in Devon, when we were indebted to John and Jenny Kay to take his place.

Better news is that Jonathan Newey is our tutor in the Alps. Jonathan was popular with our painters in Tuscany and Andalusia. It seems to be that the weather in Europe is likely to be the best of the season and as we have always had sunshine to give that special light beloved of painters close to Lake Geneva we look at our October 6th-13th dates at Au Coin du Feu with confidence. As usual flights from all over the UK into Geneva are very economic and the advice again is that if you are considering joining us don't bring Swiss francs - you only land in Switzerland and we whisk you up to the hotel-chalet just above Morzine!

Why not book now and take up this once-in-a-lifetime offer?

Comments

]]>Derek's June Bloghttp://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/2007/06/13/derek_s_june_blog~2447024/2007-06-13T18:20:52+02:00 A special offer - Almost time to pack for our painting holiday week next month on wonderful Exmoor. We expect to repeat the delights to be found in the gardens of Shorland Old Farm as well as breath-taking moorland views and unforgettable scenery we discovered on the north Devon coast. Our tutor is John Kay (www.bookplate.demon.co.uk) an old friend of Painting Activities who led our weeks in Tuscany and France from our very first courses nearly ten years ago. Although principally a watercolourist John, like all our team of tutors, teaches all mediums and all abilities. Remember we pick you up, if necessary, from the station. Christine's meals, served in her very comfortable home are outstanding. What's more, for late bookings we are now offering £75 off the £550 price for the week. So why not contact us and book your place. And get a friend to contact us for a place also? What a week we had at Chateau Ribagnac last month - Patrick and Colette did us proud and even recruited their very amiable parents to ensure our artists had a great time. Sylvia Paul (www.sylviapaul.com) our tutor proved her professionalism when the weather turned against us - yet the days we spent exploring the beautiful Limousin countryside were bathed in sunshine. The lake above Ambazac stayed sky-blue and the fascinating medieval town of St Leonard de Noblat yielded its picturesque character. No need to envy us the comfort of the chateau or the great food we enjoyed there - contact us now to make a booking for our second visit to Chateau Ribagnac in September where our tutor will be the celebrated Devon South West Academician and portraitist Ann L. Roe (also known as Ann Jones, thanks to her Welsh husband!) Ann is currently busy at Longleat, painting Lord Bath. Meantime the autumn gold of the forest clothing the slopes of the French Alps above Morzine is again attracting artists to Au Coin du Feu. The cuisine in the Haute Savoie is very special to the area as the friends who have painted with us there know. But Francesca, who ran her own catering business in London before she and Paul settled with their young family in their comfortable tailor-made chalet-hotel, approves the wonderful dishes produced by chefs from all over the world, keen to create gastronomic treats. We're taking bookings for the October week now so don't hesitate - contact us. <a href="http://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/2007/06/13/derek_s_june_blog~2447024/#comments">Comments</a> A special offer - Almost time to pack for our painting holiday week next month on wonderful Exmoor. We expect to repeat the delights to be found in the gardens of Shorland Old Farm as well as breath-taking moorland views and unforgettable scenery we discovered on the north Devon coast. Our tutor is John Kay (www.bookplate.demon.co.uk) an old friend of Painting Activities who led our weeks in Tuscany and France from our very first courses nearly ten years ago. Although principally a watercolourist John, like all our team of tutors, teaches all mediums and all abilities. Remember we pick you up, if necessary, from the station. Christine's meals, served in her very comfortable home are outstanding. What's more, for late bookings we are now offering £75 off the £550 price for the week. So why not contact us and book your place. And get a friend to contact us for a place also?

What a week we had at Chateau Ribagnac last month - Patrick and Colette did us proud and even recruited their very amiable parents to ensure our artists had a great time. Sylvia Paul (www.sylviapaul.com) our tutor proved her professionalism when the weather turned against us - yet the days we spent exploring the beautiful Limousin countryside were bathed in sunshine. The lake above Ambazac stayed sky-blue and the fascinating medieval town of St Leonard de Noblat yielded its picturesque character.

No need to envy us the comfort of the chateau or the great food we enjoyed there - contact us now to make a booking for our second visit to Chateau Ribagnac in September where our tutor will be the celebrated Devon South West Academician and portraitist Ann L. Roe (also known as Ann Jones, thanks to her Welsh husband!) Ann is currently busy at Longleat, painting Lord Bath.

Meantime the autumn gold of the forest clothing the slopes of the French Alps above Morzine is again attracting artists to Au Coin du Feu. The cuisine in the Haute Savoie is very special to the area as the friends who have painted with us there know. But Francesca, who ran her own catering business in London before she and Paul settled with their young family in their comfortable tailor-made chalet-hotel, approves the wonderful dishes produced by chefs from all over the world, keen to create gastronomic treats. We're taking bookings for the October week now so don't hesitate - contact us.

Comments

]]>Derek's March Bloghttp://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/2007/02/27/derek_s_march_blog~1815812/2007-02-27T17:58:29+01:00 <img src="http://data2.blog.de/media/747/1170747_4d9388d2cc_s.jpg" alt="Derek & Di" vspace="5" hspace="5"> Di and I are very much looking forward to the summer and our first full week at Chateau Ribagnac in May. It gives our tutor, Sylvia Paul, another opportunity of capturing the character in her own inimitable style of the area in and around this charming castle not far from Limoges in central France. That's when she's not passing on to our artists the benefit of her wide experience and helping them to develop their skills. We'll be sharing the great food and wine Colette creates in the kitchen and the companionship these houseparty-holidays for people who like to paint always generate. With economic flights between London Stansted and Limoges the chateau is easy to reach. Some prefer to drive on French motorways - a holiday in itself compared with the daily gridlock almost anywhere in the UK - which can be accomplished comfortably in eight hours from the Channel ports. Sylvia was a popular demonstrator at the Artists and Illustrators' Exhibition in London last July, where she completed on our stand one of her trademark collages, based on one of Ribagnac's fairytale towers.We stayed there last May in response to a request from Patrick for the filming of TV's More Chaos at the Castle, the follow-up to the programme on how Patrick and Colette took their children and left their London lawyers' practices to renovate a very pretty chateau in the heart of the Lake District of France. We pay two visits to Chateau Ribagnac this year. The first has been fully-booked for weeks so we are taking bookings now for our September week there. Our tutor then will be the celebrated Devon South West Acadamician and portraitist Ann L. Roe - also known as Ann Jones. Ann is currently busy at Longleat, painting Lord Bath. May is a particularly busy for Sylvia Paul and our artists who admire her work will be glad she's made space in her diary to be with us, supported in style as always by her husband Geoff. Not long after a successful exhibition at a new gallery in Long Melford, Suffolk, where she was among a selection of young Scottish artists, she is exhibiting in Ely more than 30 of her paintings and mixed media collages of Venetian subjects. No other city in the world has captured the imagination of artists as this gilded mysterious city in the sea, and her show opens after a private view on Wednesday May 2nd from 7pm at the Old Fire Engine House. It continues until Sunday, June 3rd. View her work on <a href="http://www.sylviapaul.com">www.sylviapaul.com</a> Meantime the autumn gold of the forests clothing the slopes of the French Alps above Morzine is again attracting artists to Au Coin du Feu. The cuisine in the Haute Savoie is very special to the area but Francesca who ran her own catering business in London before she and Paul settled with their young family in their tailor-made chalet-hotel, approves the wonderful dishes produced by chefs keen to create gastronomic treats. Oh, and the painting.. It's led by Jonathan Newey, who conducted our holidays on Andalusia's Costa de Luz and Vellano in Tuscany. He too was demonstrating at the A&I in Islington last year and he'll be offering his expertise to artists of all ability and in all mediums. Marlborough College is among the organisations who benefit from his experience and skill. You can see some of his work on <a href="http://www.jonathannewey.com">www.jonathannewey.com</a> And why not visit us? <a href="http://www.paintingactivities.co.uk">www.paintingactivities.co.uk</a> <a href="http://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/2007/02/27/derek_s_march_blog~1815812/#comments">Comments</a> Derek & Di

Di and I are very much looking forward to the summer and our first full week at Chateau Ribagnac in May. It gives our tutor, Sylvia Paul, another opportunity of capturing the character in her own inimitable style of the area in and around this charming castle not far from Limoges in central France. That's when she's not passing on to our artists the benefit of her wide experience and helping them to develop their skills.

We'll be sharing the great food and wine Colette creates in the kitchen and the companionship these houseparty-holidays for people who like to paint always generate. With economic flights between London Stansted and Limoges the chateau is easy to reach. Some prefer to drive on French motorways - a holiday in itself compared with the daily gridlock almost anywhere in the UK - which can be accomplished comfortably in eight hours from the Channel ports.

Sylvia was a popular demonstrator at the Artists and Illustrators' Exhibition in London last July, where she completed on our stand one of her trademark collages, based on one of Ribagnac's fairytale towers.We stayed there last May in response to a request from Patrick for the filming of TV's More Chaos at the Castle, the follow-up to the programme on how Patrick and Colette took their children and left their London lawyers' practices to renovate a very pretty chateau in the heart of the Lake District of France.

We pay two visits to Chateau Ribagnac this year. The first has been fully-booked for weeks so we are taking bookings now for our September week there. Our tutor then will be the celebrated Devon South West Acadamician and portraitist Ann L. Roe - also known as Ann Jones. Ann is currently busy at Longleat, painting Lord Bath.

May is a particularly busy for Sylvia Paul and our artists who admire her work will be glad she's made space in her diary to be with us, supported in style as always by her husband Geoff. Not long after a successful exhibition at a new gallery in Long Melford, Suffolk, where she was among a selection of young Scottish artists, she is exhibiting in Ely more than 30 of her paintings and mixed media collages of Venetian subjects. No other city in the world has captured the imagination of artists as this gilded mysterious city in the sea, and her show opens after a private view on Wednesday May 2nd from 7pm at the Old Fire Engine House. It continues until Sunday, June 3rd. View her work on www.sylviapaul.com

Meantime the autumn gold of the forests clothing the slopes of the French Alps above Morzine is again attracting artists to Au Coin du Feu. The cuisine in the Haute Savoie is very special to the area but Francesca who ran her own catering business in London before she and Paul settled with their young family in their tailor-made chalet-hotel, approves the wonderful dishes produced by chefs keen to create gastronomic treats.

Oh, and the painting.. It's led by Jonathan Newey, who conducted our holidays on Andalusia's Costa de Luz and Vellano in Tuscany. He too was demonstrating at the A&I in Islington last year and he'll be offering his expertise to artists of all ability and in all mediums. Marlborough College is among the organisations who benefit from his experience and skill. You can see some of his work on www.jonathannewey.com

And why not visit us? www.paintingactivities.co.uk

Comments

]]>Welcome to Derek's bloghttp://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/2007/02/12/welcome_to_derek_s_blog~1726847/2007-02-12T14:13:38+01:00 February brings us a month closer to the prospect of bright, warm, sunny days in beautiful surroundings with like-minded often very gifted friends old and new. Although as Interests Abroad we have become well-known and, for an increasing number of artists the best in painting holidays - we know because they tell us so! - we've chamged our company name to Painting Activities, mainly because that is what we do. It also makes sense because it's the same as our website <a href="http://www.paintingactivities.co.uk">www.paintingactivities.co.uk</a> Take a look if you've not recently done so. You'll recall that we had our millisecond of fame in Channel Four TV's 'More Chaos in the Castle' a title which sold Patrick and Colette at Chateau Ribagnac very short, since the only chaos on view was that repeated from the previous show two or three years ago when this game couple were frantically - and very successfully - preparing their enchanted new property in the heart of France Profunde for business! Our weekend workshop last summer, led by one of our best known tutors, Sylvia Paul,was very briefly filmed and given a quick flash in the programme. Nevertheless Di and I are happy to say our May week this year at Chateau Ribagnac not far from Limoges, is complete and Patrick and Colette's dream of inviting painters to work at the chateau that 150 years ago attracted artists of the stamp of Delacroix to its lovely grounds. We'll be returning there for another week in September when the gardens of the park begin to take on an autumn hue. But for real colour contrast it would be hard to beat the French Alps above Morzine at Au Coin du Feu where we shall be enjoyng flaming June and the golden glory of balmy October. Meantime the ever-popular Chateau La Celle Guenand will be hosting us again, set in the gently rolling hills and waterways of the Loire Valley, and after our sell-out success at Shorland Old Farm last year we shall be paying our midsummer visit to Exmoor, our first UK location. Artists with fond memories of Vellano will be glad to know that Rachel, warm hostess of our base at the Antica Locanda del Borgo is hoping to welcome guests to her delightful villa which, like the locanda's terrace, overlooks the green Tuscan landscape with its lush valleys and tiny hilltop towns. You'll recall that very tragically her husband, Michele, died suddenly early last year leaving Rachel and their two childen, Julia and Joe. Without his support as landlord and chef Rachel was forced to put the locanda up for sale and we awai with interest to see whether it could return to the friendly little hotel we came to love. You can see Rachel's villa on <a href="http://www.vellanovilla.com.">www.vellanovilla.com.</a> Our locations are booking well and Di and I look forward to hearing from you, hoping you might join us. Artists with fond memories of <a href="http://wordwriteuk.blog.co.uk/2007/02/12/welcome_to_derek_s_blog~1726847/#comments">Comments</a> February brings us a month closer to the prospect of bright, warm, sunny days in beautiful surroundings with like-minded often very gifted friends old and new.

Although as Interests Abroad we have become well-known and, for an increasing number of artists the best in painting holidays - we know because they tell us so! - we've chamged our company name to Painting Activities, mainly because that is what we do. It also makes sense because it's the same as our website www.paintingactivities.co.uk

Take a look if you've not recently done so. You'll recall that we had our millisecond of fame in Channel Four TV's 'More Chaos in the Castle' a title which sold Patrick and Colette at Chateau Ribagnac very short, since the only chaos on view was that repeated from the previous show two or three years ago when this game couple were frantically - and very successfully - preparing their enchanted new property in the heart of France Profunde for business!

Our weekend workshop last summer, led by one of our best known tutors, Sylvia Paul,was very briefly filmed and given a quick flash in the programme.

Nevertheless Di and I are happy to say our May week this year at Chateau Ribagnac not far from Limoges, is complete and Patrick and Colette's dream of inviting painters to work at the chateau that 150 years ago attracted artists of the stamp of Delacroix to its lovely grounds.

We'll be returning there for another week in September when the gardens of the park begin to take on an autumn hue. But for real colour contrast it would be hard to beat the French Alps above Morzine at Au Coin du Feu where we shall be enjoyng flaming June and the golden glory of balmy October.

Meantime the ever-popular Chateau La Celle Guenand will be hosting us again, set in the gently rolling hills and waterways of the Loire Valley, and after our sell-out success at Shorland Old Farm last year we shall be paying our midsummer visit to Exmoor, our first UK location.

Artists with fond memories of Vellano will be glad to know that Rachel, warm hostess of our base at the Antica Locanda del Borgo is hoping to welcome guests to her delightful villa which, like the locanda's terrace, overlooks the green Tuscan landscape with its lush valleys and tiny hilltop towns. You'll recall that very tragically her husband, Michele, died suddenly early last year leaving Rachel and their two childen, Julia and Joe. Without his support as landlord and chef Rachel was forced to put the locanda up for sale and we awai with interest to see whether it could return to the friendly little hotel we came to love.

You can see Rachel's villa on www.vellanovilla.com.

Our locations are booking well and Di and I look forward to hearing from you, hoping you might join us.

Artists with fond memories of

Comments

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