Painting Holiday opportunity

I have just received the latest newsletter from my friend and artist Jane Duke, who runs regular watercolour workshops in Heslington, York. The newsletter is always an interesting read. I have known Jane for over 5 years now and have attended one of her watercolour workshops with my Mother. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening experience, so I can heartily recommend her teaching methods to anyone - experienced or beginner. Jane will encourage you if you need it and helpfully show you how to improve your techniques.



Here I am pictured at one of Jane's workshops - my mum is sitting next to me in the photo! As you can see, I am obviously enjoying myself!



This holiday sounds very tempting indeed - in fact if I hadn't already booked a rather "large" holiday myself already this year, I would almost certainly have booked on it!

The details of the holiday itself can be found by clicking on the title of this post, which is a link to her website, but from the message in the email here's what Jane has to say:


This summer I will be leading a week long watercolour painting holiday in the beautiful Ariege region of South West France.
Full details are at www.janeduke.com/painting_holidays.htm but in summary:

Dates: Friday 25 June – Friday 2 July 2010

Location: Manzac d’en Bas, Castex, Ariege See www.manzac.com for more information about the area and accommodation.

The week will include still life and portrait work as well as painting outdoors in this beautiful location. One day will be free time for you to explore the local area, relax by the swimming pool soaking up the sun and spectacular views of the Pyrenees, or of course carry on painting if you prefer.

Manzac d’en Bas is gaining a reputation as an artist’s paradise. The stunning scenery and tranquility alone would be enough to make this an idyllic place to visit, but the addition of superb accommodation, wonderful meals (often served outside under the trees) and warm and welcoming hosts makes this a particularly special destination and ideal for painting trips. You can read some of Manzac’s extraordinarily good customer reviews on Tripadvisor at www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1484792-d1453136-Reviews-Manzac_d_en_Bas-Castex_Midi_Pyrenees.html

Accommodation will be in luxury gites. All meals with the exception of two trips to local restaurants are included in the cost, as well as wine, beer, soft drinks, tea and coffee. All materials and equipment will also be provided on this workshop, making it even better value for money. The total cost comes in at around £770 per person*, depending on exchange rates, or less for a shared room. Even the towels for the swimming pool are provided. Really all you have to do is turn up and relax (and you will be collected from Toulouse or Carcassonne airports if needed). Non-painting partners are very welcome too.

If you would like to know more about the workshop please call me on 07710 460103.

To book, you can either contact Manzac d’en Bas direct by calling +33 (0)5 61 60 71 17 or emailing manzacgites@yahoo.com or ask me to pass your name and address on to them and they will send you a booking form. Manzac is owned and run by British couple, Giles and Louise Nevill, so there won’t be a language problem if you want to contact them directly.

Let me know if you are interested and I hope to see you in June.

Kind regards

Jane

Please visit her website and pass the word around to anyone you think may be interested.