Watercolor Sketching in the Loire Valley with Kathy Rennell Forbes-June 10-17, 2022

Along the lush Loire River Valley, more than 1,000 chateaux bathe in their own beauty and stunning grandeur. Embark on this eight day painting holiday which takes you on a journey of discovery through some of the most prominent chateaux and gardens of this famous UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your paintings will be inspired by some of the grandest and most beautiful architectural structures in France like Chenonceau, Clos Luce and Amboise.

We will pick you up at Saint Pierre de Corps train station early in the afternoon (TGVs ride from Paris Montparnasse station is about 1 hour).

After the check-in,  you will have time to rest in your comfortable bedroom, enjoy the swimming pool or explore some of the 20 acres of forest that belongs to the hotel before our Champagne reception and orientation meeting, followed by a gourmet dinner.

The first day will be a slow day for you to deal with jet lag. In the morning, the teacher will give you the necessary basic advice to start the workshop in a group meeting, and start on your first painting.

In the afternoon, you will go on with the painting session on the hotel property that offers a variety of typical vignettes to paint.

We will go to Amboise, where Leonardo Da Vinci lived at the end of his life. We will visit his home, the picturesque mansion of Clos Luce, where he developed many of his most visionary inventions.

Clos Lucé houses a museum and park filled with prototypes of some of Da Vinci’s most imaginative creations, including the machine gun, helicopter and paddle boat.

The museum’s basement also features a display explaining on how tech giant IBM brought some of his inventions to life. Food for thought.

You will have the opportunity to paint in the garden, inspired by the magic of the park and surrounded by centuries-old pines, Italian cypresses, yews, Madonna lilies, yellow irises, horned violets, European alders, cyclamen repandums, and of course, the famous Mona Lisa rose.

Chaumont is a Cinderella type castle. But in addition to being a very beautiful castle, Chaumont is famous for its international garden festival. Every year since 1992, the gardens of chateau Chaumont-sur-Loire play host to the annual ‘Festival des Jardins’, a garden festival with up to 30 themed gardens.

These gardens are created by different landscape architects, designers and artists around a theme, which changes every year. This brings the chateau surroundings to life with the color and fragrances of the many plants and flowers on display. You will discover the most incredible garden structures.

Markets are part of everyday life in France, with almost every town and village having their local “marchés”.

A visit is not complete without a wander around the stalls sampling and taking in the atmosphere of French life. You will find fish, meat, bread, fruit & veg., cheese, flowers, clothing, kitchen supplies, furniture, jewellery, handbags, garden supplies, live birds…and just about everything you can think of.

Then, weather permitted, we may be able have a picnic by the Loire in the afternoon with the bottle of Vouvray, bread cheese and rillettes just bought on the market.

The whole afternoon is yours to paint the quaint houses in Amboise, the Loire river or the castle.

In the morning, we will visit one of the gems of the Loire Castles: Chenonceau. This amazing castle was built on a bridge and the proximity of water is delightful. The history of this place is incredibly rich, from the love intrigues under the reign of Henry II to the hospital it was turned into during WWII.

Afternoon: Painting in the sprawling Renaissance gardens of the castle, which are sure to leave you breathless. You will be able to pick among many subjects to paint: the orderly French style squares, the views of the castle, the river plunging under the castle or the amazing vegetable patches.

We are based in the centre of the world- heritage Loire Valley wine region, where some of the finest wines in France are produced. The wines drunk by the French Kings centuries ago. There are 69 Controlled Place of Origin (AOC) (Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées) wines in the Loire Valley.

We will visit a little family-owned winery.

We will come home early to give you time to finish up some paintings and do a little “vernissage” with all your art from the week followed by a special farewell dinner.

After breakfast, we will drive you to Saint Pierre de Corps train station for you to catch a TGV to Paris (1 hour ride) or for an extended stay in the area to visit more castles.