Watercolour Painting Holidays in Spain

Welcome to Watercolour Spain

Robin and Jean Browne
Casa Marron,
Frax de Abajo,
Ogarite,
Oria, 04810
Almeria,
Spain

Telephone: (0034) 637458679

Email, withane@watercolourspain.com

Skype phone 020 32396786 (available when our computer is switched on, usually 8am-4pm UK time).  charged to you as a call to London from any UK phone 

 All-inclusive, fully supervised, residential watercolour holidays, ideal for groups or individuals, absolute beginners or experienced painters, for £595 per person, including transfers from, Almeria, Granada, Murcia or Alicante Airport. No single supplement for solo guests.  With a £60 refund for non-painting partners and a £60 refund (per booking), for guests not requiring transfers.

Returning guests £50 discount per person

If necessary, extra night accomodation can be arranged for €30 per night, including food and drink. 

Casa Marron is the home of your hosts, Robin and Jean Browne, (plus Mackerel the cat) and has been purpose built to provide painting holidays, in a relaxed and informal atomosphere.

 Your holiday will include daily tuition for beginners and support for more experienced painters in the studio at Casa Marron followed by field trips, including one day in historic Granada and one day in the picturesque Mojacar Pueblo.

The seven-day, Saturday to Saturday courses are for small groups, couples and individuals, in the mountains of Southern Spain.  Casa Marron, just outside the unspoilt village of Oria, is in the tiny hamlet of Ogarite.  Oria is on the slopes of the Sierra de las Estancias, on the northern side of the Almanzora Valley.

Robin and Jean have sought to bring something new and special to activity holidays and in designing their painting course they have discovered many painting sites, which have both artistic and cultural merits.  They have sought to provide a stimulating painting course and a holiday, which will also appeal to non-painting partners and friends.  Jean has used her experience in banquet catering to provide imaginative delicious meals, which have been enthusiastically received by all students during the Centre's first season.

Some Quotes From the Visitors Book, available to view in the studio.

2010, "Many thanks to you both for a carefully structured week", "Robin's tuition has been a revelation and reignited my enthusiasm for painting", "great company, great food", "Thank you both for a very enjoyable week and for your excellent hospitality", "Wonderful!  just like staying with old friends and Robin so patient with me",  "Definitely one of the best holidays I've had",  "Like visiting very old friends", "A wonderful week, I know I shall return", "We have had a wonderful holiday, with so many memories", "We have never been so well looked after", "The programme is brilliantly organised", "A wonderful week of fun, kindness and generosity", "Thanks for the comfort, care and calories", "Many thanks to you both for a lovely holiday", "Thankyou both for a wonderful week of eating, painting and relaxing in such beautiful surroundings", "You are the most gracious of hosts", "A very big thankyou to you both for a wonderful holiday".  2011, "Thankyou for a great holiday", "Robin looked after us dilligently and worked us very hard", "Though working most of the time I felt very relaxed when I got home", "Thanks for a lovely holiday", "I really enjoyed visiting all the different venues", " I will be struggling to shed some weight after all Jean's lovely food", "Good company, good food, I enjoyed the holiday very much", "Wonderful holiday, I was greeted like an old friend", "Thanks again for a wonderful week and all your kindness", "I forgot all about work", "I have been singing your praises ever since I arrived back", "I had a marvellous time", "The painting locations were fantastic", "I have learnt to paint and sketch outdoors", "Your warmth and hospitality made the holiday", "What a pleasure it was to meet you both and stay at your lovely home", "Your website ticked all the boxes for me and the reality was even more miraculous", "You've given me the enthusiasm I was lacking and the focus I sorely needed", "Thank you for a fabulous, interesting, culturaly stimulating time", "Exciting to be painting again after a 5 year break, thanks to Robin's enthusiasm and expert tuition", "I feel rested and recharged". 

PROBABLE ITINERARY

SATURDAY      You'll arrive at Casa Marron,with time to settle in before dinner or supper dependant on your arrival time .  No work today, only drinks and chat about the course before retiring.

SUNDAY           Breakfast at 9.00 a.m. before starting in the studio at 10.00 a.m.  A brief discussion and demonstration about perspective and measuring, before a short drive into the village of Oria.  You'll have time for a look around the tiny Spanish market before starting a drawing in the village, (simple or challenging subjects have been chosen to suit each students ability and confidence).  You'll have lunch back at Casa Marron and then spend some time in the studio to look at mixing paints and textures before returning to the village to continue the painting.  Then you're back to the studio to prepare for your day in Granada tomorrow.  Time to relax before dinner at 8.30 p.m.    

MONDAY         An early breakfast at 8.00a.m. before leaving Casa Marron at 9.00a.m.  Arrive in Granada at about 11 o'clock, coffee at a pavement cafe, then a walk past the cathedral then through the historic Arab Quarter before painting till 2.00 p.m. Then a typical Spanish tapas lunch at an outdoor restaurant in the shadow of the Alhambra, followed by some more painting before returning to Casa Marron for dinner at about 8.30 p.m.  

TUESDAY       Breakfast at 9.00.p.m. followed by some time in the studio looking at more techniques before a short drive to the nearby village of Rambla De Oria, where in peaceful isolation,in the shade of an old church you'll make a watercolour of an old Spanish house, framed by trees, with a backgrounds of hills and mountains.  You'll return to the same spot after lunch at Casa Marron, to continue your painting then back home to relax before dinner at 8.30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY    Breakfast at 9.00 a.m. and then time in the studio, trying new things and going over what you've already done before driving to the village of Velez Blanco, where you'll look around the famous castle' Castillo De Los Fajardo' before sitting in the shade of its walls doing a free drawing (trying not to measure), before a tapas lunch in the village, followed by a short drive to the town of Velez Rubio to sketch and paint in the church square.  Then back to Casa Marron with plenty of time to relax before dinner at 8.30p.m.

THURSDAY       Chill out day when you're in charge.  After breakfast you'll leave when you're ready to be driven to the picturesque and historic village of Mojacar, where you can choose to wander through its narrow streets, drawing, painting, or just being a tourist.  You can choose instead to be dropped off at the nearby delightful beach resort of Mojacar Playa where you can spend time on the beach.  Whatever you choose to do Robin will be about, with all the equipment, if you do decide to paint.  You'll be picked up at 2.00 p.m. for lunch at a seafront bar before deciding what you want to do for the rest of the afternoon.  Dinner at Casa Marron will be at 8.30 p.m.

FRIDAY            Breakfast at 9.00.a.m. before driving to the fabulous Saliente Monastery with its breathtaking views, where you'll spend the morning painting a watercolour of the interior courtyard while sitting in the shade of the ancient cloister.  Then back to Casa Marron to either finish off any uncompleted paintings  or just relax before getting ready for our farewell dinner at a local restaurant at 8.00 p.m.

SATURDAY       Departure day.  Before you leave for the airport you'll be given a free CD-rom with lots of photographs taken of you by Robin during your holiday, including photographs of all the subjects that you've worked on during the week. 

We are pleased to discuss changes to the iitenerary with students booking a second holiday