Pack your Paints 

Art Splash goes to Europe!

Join Francine and Susi for a Springtime art break in Portugal

25th – 30th April 2025

Please join us for five nights in Olhao, near Faro, Portugal.

SOLD OUT but let us know if you would like to go on the waiting list in case of cancellations

Never heard of Olhão? (pronounced Oll-yow) nor had we – until we visited there in November. Olhão is a small fishing town 20 minutes east of Faro on the Algarve coast. The old town is a delightful maze of narrow streets lined with lovely old houses, with art nouveau window and door details, many with tiled facades and bougainvillea trailing over the balconies. Artists, musicians and writers have discovered the charm of Olhão, and now we are going to join them!

This gem of a town is a very well-kept secret and tends to attract only those in the know! It’s by the sea - with lots of cafés with views of the harbour, but to get to one of the long sandy beaches we’ll take a regular ferry to one of the islands – our favourite is Armona – just 20 minutes away on the local ferryboat! We’ll be walking and sketching and painting - more details when you book!

 

Where will we stay?

Francine researched several venues but fell in love with the Casa Amor in the centre of the old town. And just voted best hotel in the Algarve by Trip Advisor!

The quietly stylish hotel has 10 perfect rooms, tastefully restored by owners Jaques and Walter, who opened their doors to the public only a year ago. It has a relaxed vibe with welcoming dining room, bar, stylish lounge (with lots of art books!), courtyard  - and a large roof terrace with lovely small pool and sun loungers. From the roof terrace there are terrific views across the rooftops of the town to the sea. On the ground floor there is a studio that will be ours for painting.

We will have sole use of the whole hotel!

Francine was impressed by all the rooms  - all are comfortable with fabulous bathrooms (and lots of lovely bath products). All rooms have double beds, and several can be configured to twin beds for sharers.

A short meandering walk from the front door takes you through the picturesque streets past a myriad of small shops, pavement cafes and galleries to the seafront, where you can sit at a bar and people watch – or sketch!

What will we do?

We will send a final itinerary on booking but it will include:

Dinner together on the first night Friday 25th April and the last night Tuesday 29th April

Excellent breakfast at the hotel each morning

Visit to market on Saturday morning, shopping and sketching of course!

Day trip to the island of Armona with paints and sketchbooks, and lunch at the beach café

Drawing and painting around the picturesque streets of Olhão

Day trip to Tavira or neighbouring village to paint and draw

Tutored painting in the studio, the courtyard or on the roof terrace

Art materials

  • We will bring a few extra materials for you all, but please do bring your own

  • We suggest you bring good quality watercolours and maybe a few tubes of acrylic, but remember that all tube paint counts as liquid so must be put in hold baggage (watercolour pans/paintboxes are ok in hand luggage).

  • Good quality watercolour sketch pad and brushes

  • A folding light weight stool could be useful – but not vital. We may be able to borrow some!

Price  

  • £1900 per person, single room occupancy

  • £1700 per person when two painting participants share a room

  • £1250 per person for non painting partner sharing a room

  • Places are limited! So please reserve yours by 31 January.

  • Deposit £500 non-returnable, to be paid by 14 February 2025

  • Transfer from Faro Airport
    one pick up and return

    5 nights’ accommodation
    (if you want to add a night you can arrange directly with the hotel or there are many airbnbs nearby)

    Breakfast each day

    Drinks and Dinner
    on 25th April first night at local restaurant

    Dinner on last night 29 April
    at a local restaurant

    Ferry and train fares
    for day trips to Armona and Tavira

    Expert personal tuition from Susi and Francine
    We’ll show you how to get the best out of sketching outdoors - in the town, the market and by the sea. Time permitting, there will be opportunities for painting sessions at the hotel on the roof terrace, in the courtyard or in the studio room.

    Susi and Francine will demonstrate all materials and special techniques to make your paintings sing!

  • Flights
    Several airlines go to Faro from UK. (If you want to include a visit to Lisbon before or after the course, there is a fast train to and from Faro that takes just under 3 hours, and is not expensive!)

    Independent taxi to and from Faro airport
    we will endeavour to pick everyone up at a dedicated time in one trip, but this may not be practical if people arrive at different times. The taxi fare is about €25 from Faro Airport to the hotel - about 20 minutes.

    Drinks
    except on first night

    Suppers on 26th, 27th and 28th April
    This gives you the freedom to choose where you eat on those evenings  - you might like to explore by yourselves, grab some tapas or take a 10 minute taxi ride to a nearby fishing village or even into the city of Faro! Prices per person at local restaurants in November 2024 varied between €20 and €50 per head.

    Massages
    All massage and other treatments to be booked with the hotel in advance

Olhão

We’ll be based in the lovely Casa Amor in the old town. Each day we’ll take full advantage of the wonderful locations around to draw and paint. There will be trips to sketch local life and scenery.

We’ll draw, paint and sketch different subjects using watercolour, ink and some acrylic. There will be plenty of opportunities to walk, swim and take in the views – or grab a late siesta before drinks and supper.

For more info and how to reserve your place email Francine and Susi now.

What to bring with you

• A sketchbook - hardback not floppy! Seawhite is a good brand

• An A4 or A3 pad of watercolour paper

• 3B and 6B pencils

• A couple of drawing pens

• A set of artists’ quality watercolour paints (eg Winsor & Newton)

• A small set of acrylic paints (optional)

*DO bring any materials you would like to try out, (but we won’t be working with oil paints)