We want you to get the maximum enjoyment from your tour, both as a holiday and as an artistic experience.  The following information will help you to know what to expect, and to be well prepared for the type of painting we will be doing.

What is your objective and what can you expect?

Knowing the subject first-hand will give your work a very different feel than just painting from photographs.  So, getting to know your subject should be your objective.  This means observing, and collecting information.  The information can be collected in many different ways.  We will explore sketching, painting, note-taking and photography.  There is no need for a fancy camera - a small (and light) digital camera is perfectly fine for this.

Exploration on foot will also help you gain a better understanding of your subjects.

Understand the time restrictions!  Very few people can produce a completely finished artwork in 2-3 hours.  So what you will be doing is building a series of "references" from which you can paint later in your own home or studio, without any time constraints.  Understand this and you will enjoy your time painting on location.  You may even surprise yourself and like your reference sketches or paintings so much that you will see some of them as final products.  This happens often, and there is a beautiful freshness about sketches done impulsively and "in the moment".

What art materials are best for travelling?

Flammable materials are not suitable for travel, so leave the oils at home.  That leaves water-soluble and dry art materials.  So watercolours, acrylics, inks and dry materials like charcoal, pastel pencils, coloured pencils, pastels, pens, crayons and lead pencils are the best.  We have reduced the selection to a manageable range. 

Naturally the type of sketchbook needs to suit the media and techniques we will be using.  Watercolour paper for water-based media and drawing sketchbooks for pens and pencils.  A suitably-sized clipboard of some sort is always useful, of a manageable size.  Remember that carrying things can get heavy after a while.  You will also need a hat, camera, raincoat or umbrella, insect spray, sunscreen and a carry bag.  The good news is that we provide the art materials, so all you need to bring is the camera, raincoat and sunscreen.

Jana will ensure that you can get some training before departure, if you require it.  She has prepared a workshop to help you understand and enjoy your time travelling and painting.

Cafe sketching

Foot massage, courtesy of fellow painter!