For many people with an active interest in drawing and painting, last summer was particularly frustrating as the awful weather in the UK consistently dictated terms. So many of our clients who came here last season expressed their delight and relief at being able to paint and draw outside once more having had such limited options for so long!.

Here in Capileira, Southern Spain we are very fortunate in having blue skies and sunshine for much of the year, even in the cooler months. Not only is it a very pleasant environment in which to live and work, but the brilliance and luminosity of the light consistently provides wonderful subjects from which to paint.

The very name Andalucia means to walk in the light, and illustrates why this region is known as a painters paradise. Light is nearly always the pivotal element in bringing the creative drive alive, stimulating the impulse to reach for the art materials and to get painting. This level of stimulus greatly enhances artistic motivation, helping students to lose their inhibitions or any lack of confidence as they become inspired by their surroundings.

Once fired wth enthusiasm people often achieve far more than they expect, and carefully tailored tuition ensures that the maximum benefit is derived from the learning experience for each individual. Clients usually find that their levels of achievement have moved forward significantly by the end of their painting holiday, and that they return home with fresh energy and new artistic horizons. Unlike many painting holidays, our courses and short breaks offer an optimum learning opportunity, fully supported with the guidance of a professionally qualified tutor who has the teaching experience to reliably ensure the development of both perceptual insights and practical skills.

Not least, we also aim to provide an enjoyable and comfortable holiday experience for our guests, with an excellent choice of accommodation and an exciting additional programme of activities and excursions for non-painting partners here in Andalucia. We can arrange for music lessons, flamenco classes, guided walks, horse-riding or trekking, Alexander Technique tuition, or visits to Granada to explore the Alhambra.

In order to ensure that students derive the maximum learning benefit from their painting holiday, we offer clients the apparently unique option of having our tutor formally evaluate their specific creative needs and objectives prior to their arrival here in Capileira, southern Spain. On receipt of a firm booking clients can send samples of their work, either by post or electronically for assessment, enabling individual teaching strategies and processes to be formulated in advance . We believe this preparation gives the student artist the best possible foundation for their painting holiday.

We think that a painting holiday should provide a positive foundation of knowledge and experience on which students can build. Our philosophy is that most people need to develop their personal creative resources in order to live a more satisfying and fulfilled life, and we have now proved we can help our students to achieve this. We aim to equip our students with both the conceptual skills and the practical techniques necessary for a competent and ongoing engagement with the Visual Arts.