Art Courses in the South of France, specialising in plein-air painting, colour & light.
Est.1997
I too appreciate Adam’s thoughtful planning, attention and instruction, and you all making such a harmonious and fun group. I’d do it again in a flash!
Roberta, USA, 2024
Learn Plein-Air, Colour & Light
Our courses specialize in plein-air painting, colour & light.
You’re in the South of France. Chances are it’s sunny. Want to get outside and paint? We’ll lend you a sun umbrella!
You will improve your use of colour as a painter if you tune your colours with precision to the unique quality of daylight. This painting course will show exactly how to mix your colours, make colors sing, as well as many other instructions about how to paint outside ‘en plein air’ on the spot. This art course is for you, if you’re hungry for colour & sunlight.
You can not fully develop your vision by painting in a studio all the time. You must get outside to learn to paint correctly. – Henry Hensche
A Painting Workshop in Watercolour, Oils, or Alkyds
Adam paints in both watercolour & oils (as did Turner, Sargent, Homer, Wyeth, Hockney, etc), and thus is able to teach & demonstrate in both mediums. The course focuses on the elements of painting that are common to both oil & watercolour (how to set up, find the painting in the landscape, colour harmony, composition, chasing the light, keying colour, brushstrokes, strategies, how to finish a painting…). Drawing remains central.
Studio & Art Materials
- Studio Supplies: We provide easels, tables, boards, aprons, sun umbrellas, and solvents so you can travel light.
- Trouble-Free Travel: Don’t weigh down your luggage—we provide the heavy gear so you can travel light.
- Safe Packing: We safely pack your finished artwork for your journey home.
- Hand-outs: Adam provides instructional hand-outs from his “How to Paint” book.
- Materials List: We provide a minimalist materials list to help you pack efficiently. Bring your own watercolours or oils, since you know your own paints well.
‘Rent’ Oil & Alkyd Paints
We offer the possibility of ‘renting’ a complete set of student quality traditional Oils and Alkyds : 40 €
Alkyds are fast-drying oil paints, but stay open for a few hours. Acrylics dry way too quickly, within minutes outside in the sun of Southern France.
What to bring if renting a set : Just your personal brushes, canvas boards & sketchbook.
Typical Day Time Table
- 8hr – 9hr : Breakfast
- 9hr10 – 12hr30 : Art Lesson in Group or Demonstration (with a coffee break)
- 13hr: Lunch
- 14hr30 – 18hr : Tutored Individual Painting Time (with a tea break)
- 19hr : Evening meal
N.B. May change with the needs of the group or the weather.
Group Art Classes
- Small group size : minimum four , maximum ten.
- Structured lessons : learn the skills of painting. Together in group, in the mornings.
- Demonstrations : ‘See One, Do One’ or Painting Alongs ‘Step by Step’
- Flexible Tempo: The pace of lessons adapts to your needs.
- Opt-in/Opt-out: You’re welcome to join or skip activities as you wish.
Quiet Painting Time
Plenty of quiet time for you to paint as you wish, free of distractions & worries. You’ll also receive one-to-one instruction, ensuring you get the support you need. Painting en plein-air, in nature, can bring you into your creative zone. ‘Being there’ with mindfulness can be deeply nourishing. No wonder busy spirits such as Winston Churchill loved to paint outside.
Learn from Other Students
You learn best in a friendly, stimulating atmosphere. Sometimes there’s laughter; sometimes there’s the silence of deep concentration. There’s a group energy that carries you forward & shows you different solutions. Meet people from all over the world. Painters have always sought friendly exchange with other painters. This gives you a golden opportunity to share this strange passion.
Creativity is like crabgrass — it springs back with the simplest bit of care. I taught people how to bring their creative spirit the simple nutrients and nurturance they needed to keep it fed. ”
Julia Cameron
Demonstrations
A picture is worth a thousand words and watching a picture being painted is worth even more….The best teachers I’ve had show you rather than tell you how to do something. Talking the talk is far less important than walking the walk.– Charles Sovek
Learn the Basic Skills of Painting
In the structured lessons, you will learn or relearn the basic skills of painting. These are practical, hands-on and where you experiment with the core components of painting:
- Learn how to look in a way that will help you paint
- Drawing
- Tonality
- Colour
- Composition
- Materials & Basic Techniques
- How to paint ‘en plein air’ & sketch on the spot
I’ve observed that I begin to truly understand when I learn it in more than one way. Go over it again with a new teacher.We are all just (re)learning the basics. Then occasionally, something new comes up. Don’t be in a rush. Deepen. Explore. Discover.
Beginners : Is The Art Course Right for Me?
Our course is for strong beginners, intermediates, and advanced artists. We design our program so everyone can progress at their own speed, exploring new methods and sharpening their artistic vision. This includes reserving a few spots specifically for absolute newcomers to ensure a welcoming environment for all.
Your Artistic Journey Starts Here
Just bring along your desire to learn, your paints & your holiday spirit. This is a place for growth. Don’t worry about minor mistakes; they’re part of the process. With practice, your movements will become smoother, and your art will truly develop. You learn to paint by painting.
Buy a paint-box, and have a try.
Winston Churchill
So, jump in! Start a fresh painting. The act of beginning will open up doors for you. Intriguing paths open for you. Things will happen for you… You have begun.
Have a look at these two paintings by ‘absolute beginners’ after their first painting course :
“I so enjoyed your enthusiastic introduction to painting. I have since joined an art class & been painting on a holiday at my cousin’s holiday home. Really loving this new found pleasure – Thank you!
Helen, Scotland.
Artist’s hands sketching, exploring & carefully observing. Note the slow & precise care & sensitivity of this artist. Drawing whilst traveling is a wonderful voyage of discovery. After having spent even ten minutes drawing, you get to know the subject in a way that casually walking past in ‘tourist mode’ & snapping it with a camera can’t give.
Learn to Make
The course balances painting outside with session in the studio, where you will learn techniques such as wet washes or how to start an oil painting. In these session, you will also learn to deploy principles such as colour harmony, composition or quater tones. This follows Gombrich’s insight that Making Precedes Matching – when you know how to make, then you out into the world and find something that matches that in terms of painting.
The artist cannot copy a sunlit landscape into his studio; he must create a match for it with his own ready-made vocabulary… Without some starting point, some initial schema, we could never get hold of reality.” – Gombrich, Art & Illusion.
Learn to Look
The effort to see things without distortion demands a kind of courage; and this courage is essential to the artist, who has to look at everything as though he were seeing it for the first time.” – Matisse on Beginner’s Mind.
Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see – to see correctly – and that means a good deal more than merely looking with the eye.
– Kimon Nicolaides, The Natural Way to Draw
The whole technical power of painting depends on our recovery of what may be called the innocence of the eye; that is to say, of a sort of childish perception of these flat stains of colour, merely as such, without consciousness of what they signify — as a blind man would see them if suddenly gifted with sight.
– Ruskin
A Painting Course for Advanced Level Painters
Going beyond the long stretch of the ‘Intermediate Plateau’ in any learning journey is a big step. The line between intermediate & advanced is thin. You cannot always define it, but you can always see it. These levels are not boxes to fit into nor trophies to win. Painting is not a competitive sport, but rather the visible fruit of your own learning journey. You are the final judge of your own work. Why not go have a look at some of these examples of previous student’s work & decide for yourself.
The further one goes, the more private, the more personal, the more singular an experience becomes… the definitive utterance of this singularity.” — Rilke, Letters on Cézanne
This course adapts to your style. Like a garden, your craft should constantly evolve. True growth happens when you step away, seek fresh input, and recharge your creative batteries. You will:
- Have uncluttered time to focus on your own personal practice.
- Be given help & suggestions with the practicalities & techniques.
- Have all the practical stuff covered (atelier, materials, painting spots, etc)
- Dialogue with a practicing mid-career painter, who will encourage the development of your personal style.
- Make your next step. This can be difficult without support. This workshop hopes to give you that extra boost.
- The energy of a group of other painters & responding to a new setting can inspire.
Learn to Paint
” Learning is most often considered a process of getting rather than giving. This is most evident in conceptions of student/teacher roles : Teachers give and students get. Yet, in adult learning both giving and getting are critical. – David Kolb
Testimonials
” I felt you really cared about the quality of tuition. You knew how to inspire the best in us. – VICKIE, DEEP DORDOGNE, 2004
” I recently took part in Adam’s one-week painting course in Roussillon, and it was such a special experience. The location was absolutely stunning—I’ve rarely felt so connected to nature and the present moment.I enjoy painting and sketching from time to time, but I’m not very confident with watercolours, even though I really like them. Being in a small group of passionate painters using different techniques was really interesting, and Adam did a brilliant job adapting to each person in the group.The places we painted were beautiful, most just around the (amazing) house, and we also visited the Ochre Museum and the village of Roussillon. We did some fun and eye-opening exercises, and I learned a lot about mixing colours, composition, values and painting techniques. Adam gave us guidance based on everyone’s level and what we wanted to paint, which made a big difference. We got plenty of personal help, and that really helped us improve. By the end of the week, I felt much more confident with my painting.Adam is a kind, energetic, encouraging, and passionate teacher who clearly loves what he does. If you’re looking for an intense week full of learning, creativity, and inspiration, I’d definitely recommend his courses. – AGNETA, ROUSSILLON, MAY 2025