The Painting Holiday in Provence, South France 2026
A residential painting course with Adam Cope in a charming, authentic Provençal farmhouse. The old haunt of Hollywood stars such as Liz Taylor and Leonard Cohen. Nestled in the middle of vines, cypresses & lavender fields, looking towards the blue Luberon hills. Near the ochre village of Rousillon ‘the red’, where the warm-hearted colours of the south of France are illuminated by bright Mediterranean light.
With visits to:
- The ocre quarries & ‘Le Conservatoire des Couleurs’
- A picturesque hilltop village, ‘l’un des plus beaux villages de France’ with its art galleries & shops.
Provençal Inspiration
Come & paint in the bright Mediterranean light that has inspired artists since time immemorial. The landscape is a rich tapestry of agriculture, stone villages & blue hills. In the ‘Parc Naturel de Luberon’ much of the natural beauty is still preserved. There’s lots to paint onsite : olive & cypress trees in the garden. One step outside of the garden and you are in lavender fields, vines, cherry orchards & far views.
Roussillon les Ocres
The ochre village, where they quarry a treasure of red & yellow earths. The seductive stucco walls sing with colour. Provence & the South of France has a warm, sun drenched palette.
We visit ‘Le Conservatoire des Couleurs’, a must for any colour hungry painter. Like a ‘Conservatoire de Musique’, where the discipline lives on by practice. By active hands-on learning, exhibitions, library & shop full of pigments, paints & colour. You will learn how artists paints are made & give it go yourself. Adam makes his own oil & watercolour paints.
The Painting Course
The course specializes in plein-air landscape painting, colour, light and composition. Still-lives, portraits & semi-abstracts happen too. I find that students like light and colour, so I like to get students painting, using their brushes and mixing colour as soon as possible. We can then return to drawing later, rather than spending three or four days caught in the complexities of perspective.
“Your rules should arise out of your passions and your experience with what works for you. ” – Richard Schmid
This course is appropriate for beginners as well as advanced. You will learn painting techniques as well as have plenty of time for your own creativity. Learning happens both in group and on an individual basis. There’s lots of one to one teaching in your own individual painting time since group size is small. There’s a studio/camp for plein-air painting which equipped with painting furniture. Thus you can travel light. Oils/fast drying oils (alkyds) or watercolours. There’s also the option of hiring a set of alkyd paints so you can travel lite.
I had such a great time! I learned so much from you Adam and love your painting style! I will be sure to send you pics of my painting series from the trip, I have so many ideas, I feel like they are going to explode! “
Cathy, USA
The Tutor : Adam Cope
BA hons; Further Education & Adults Teaching Cert.I ; Foundation Diploma Art Therapy.
Accommodation
‘La Madone’ is an authentic, 300 year old ‘Mas’ (southern farmhouse) built in natural materials : terracotta pan tiles, old stone & red earth walls, wooden beams, all lovingly restored. It wouldn’t be out of place in Claude Berri’s film ‘Jean de Florette.’ Restored by a Hollywood film star, home to an artistic tradition, expect to find good hospitality & interesting paintings hanging on the walls. Previous guests include Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton & Leonard Cohen. Private & secluded, yet only about a kilometer (about a thousand yards) walk into Roussillon village, with art galleries & bars.
The inside is large & spacious. Labyrinthine as organic ‘houses of the earth’ often are. It offers privacy & seclusion as well large inspiring spaces to hang out & be convivial with fellow students. The decoration is white walls, soft adobe curves & red clay ‘terre cuite’ tiles. The comfortable bedrooms are either twin or double en-suites, all with fresh linen & pretty views. It is rated four stars by the France Tourist Authority.
Enjoy the swimming pool (pool towels provided). We eat ‘al fresco’ in the courtyard with its covered terraces, under the shade of olive & cypress trees. No need to get into a van to find something to paint, just walk right out into the vines, lavender fields, cherry orchards & woods … and find yourself in a painter’s paradise!
La Cuisine
Wine & dine in good company where laughter & conviviality are the norm. Friends are soon made, camaraderie flows. People often come from all over the world & share this passion for painting. We eat ‘al fresco’ in the courtyard with its covered terraces, under the shade of olive & cypress trees.
- Provençal cuisine. Ingredients are mostly organic. Vegetarians welcome.
- Breakfast, a cold buffet lunch, and a good evening meal (entree, plat, fromage, desert). 2 glasses of local wines with lunch and dinner.
- For Wine Buffs : There’s an ‘Honesty Bar’ for those extra-curriculum drinks & an extensive wine cellar.
I see the sun in all its glory
Vincent Van Gogh
Meteo
Late September is a lovely time in Provence. Average temperatures are around 23°C (72°F) but with fresher, shorter evenings. The Provençal sun is still powerful, yet softer than high summer, with a golden cast & long violet shadows. It’s vendange time & the leaves are beginning to turn colour.
Late April/early May in Provence : The sun is ascendant; the Mediterrean light is bright; the greens are fresh. Less tourists & less heat than the high season. Average temperatures are around 17°C (63°F).
Mid May is sunnier & warmer, but not boiling. It’s the high season but without the school holiday Average temperatures are arround 70°F (21°C).
“The sun is free, but can’t be ordered in advance” (Don’t forget your sunhat… and sweater)
Thinking back to our week together it now seems like we were enveloped in this wonderful cocoon or bubble away from all the troubles of the world and the tourists.
– Peter, Australia.
Dates 2026
Saturday 25 April – Saturday 2 May (mid season)
Saturday 9 May – Saturday 16 May (high season)
Saturday 19 – Saturday 26 September (mid season)
Course times are 17hr arrival day to 10hr Departure Day
Prices 2026 : To be announced
Prices 2025
Mid season : Total Price 1750 euros per painter, based on two people sharing an ensuite.
Single person supplement : 250€ (Two Standard ensuites available at this price. Other Deluxe ensuites at 400€ if available )
There are two bedrooms in ‘The Master Appartment’ which share a shower room, for a group of two or three painters (one per bedroom). No supplement.
High Season (Saturday 10 May – Saturday 17 May 2025) : 2050 Total Price euros per painter, based on two people sharing an ensuite
Single person supplement : 300€ (Two Standard ensuites available at this price. Other Deluxe ensuites at 600€ if available )
There are two bedrooms in ‘The Master Appartment’ which share a shower room, for a group of two or three painters (one per bedroom). No supplement.
What’s included : TEACHING. 6 days full days of teaching plus arrival evening & departure morning. Painting furniture (easels, boards, chairs,aprons, etc) & studio basics (solvents,etc). Trip to village & colour museum. Online mini-course. Payable directly to Adam Cope.
What’s included : FULL BOARD & LODGINGS, 7 nights. Payable directly to La Madone.
What’s not included : Your travel, travel insurance, your art materials, entry to sites on trips out (about 7 euros).
There are two bedrooms in ‘The Master Appartment’ which share a shower room, for a group of two or three painters (one per bedroom). No supplement.
Deposit of 400€ payable upon booking. Possibility payment in US dollars.
Travel – Getting to Roussillon
Rossillon is situated in the Parc Naturelle de Luberon in Provence, South France.
* Nearest Train TVG is Avignon (about 55 kms. 1 hour drive from La Madone).
* Possibility of transfers to & from La Madone/Avgnon TVG on start & finish days. These are in a shared taxi, to whom you pay directly (not included in the price). Price of taxi is about 140 euros, which is then divided by the number of voyagers. This usually works out around 3 euros per person per transfer. Pick up time is 16hr on arrival day @ Avignon TVG. Departure time time from La Madone is 9hr30 on departure day. It’s about an hour drive.
* Nearest airport is Marseille (85 kms. 1 hour 15 mins drive to La Madone). 35 minutes to Avignon TVG on bus/TVG inOui.
* For travel advice, we reccommend this online app: rome2rio