Art Safari’s creative adventures in Africa to Morocco
Blue boats beneath golden ramparts 12 – 19 November 2016 with Karen Pearson Escape for a week of painting in colourful Morocco. This is a residential holiday in the brightly coloured fishing town of Essaouira on the rugged Atlantic coast. |
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Essaouira is a perfect example of a late 18th century fortified town. We will savour the Moroccan autumn, spending time in the medina soaking in the atmosphere, sketching and painting from some of the town’s most enchanting viewpoints.
Our Riad is an ancient Souiri house with a central courtyard, fountains full of rose petals and a large sunny roof terrace, it is in an ideal location for exploring.
Essaouira’s medina is a miniature labyrinth of craft-laden streets, colourful carpets and famous blue woodwork on doors in the stone arabesque arches, windows, boats, wheelbarrows; in short, anything that can be decorated blue, is blue – making for contrasting and exciting street paintings.
There are no cars in the medina and painters are warmly welcomed into the heart of this artistic culture. Each day we are accompanied by our local guide, who will help us to understand Moroccan customs and uncover some of the fascinating history of this region, you will be encouraged to ask many, many questions. We will discover Portuguese, French and Berber architecture here and sketch at the bustling port as fishermen bring in their catches, manhandling great barrows of shiny wet fish, and repairing their nets.
We explore the countryside, driving through plantations of argan trees, we sketch a bustling Berber market with colourful vegetables spread over sacking on the ground, surrounded by friendly weatherworn smiles and braying donkeys. We enjoy lunch at a fromagerie and spend a day painting, wine tasting, swimming (and snoozing!) at an organic vineyard, where the vines are tended using camel power.
After days filled with art and inspiration you may like to reenergise the oriental way with a Hammam, purifying and detoxifying the skin, indulge in local argan oil treatments, scrubs and massages, recommended for rejuvenation and a heightened sense of well-being.
Before supper take a stroll around the ramparts as the sun is setting to work up an appetite for a delicious tagine.
Join tutor Karen this November and discover why Essaouira has enchanted so many artists, musicians and film directors. It feels like little has changed since Orson Welles filmed many scenes for his classical version of Othello here in the early 1950’s. This is a golden winter-shortening tour, we love it!
If you are joining us from the USA we find that London or Madrid and Marrakech work very well as tour extensions.
Tour cost from : £1450 per person sharing.
Single supplement available
Our prices include: – All accommodation, meals as stated on itinerary, safari guide and art safari tutor, all group transport Essaouira Airport return, day excursions to local village and vineyard.
Our prices exclude: – Airfares from your home country, departure taxes & visas if required, optional activities, art materials, personal expenses.
Ask for details of our tour extension and spend some extra time painting in Marrakech!
Easyjet now flies from London Luton to Essaouira direct. We can book your flights for you if you prefer.
Contact us NOW! |
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| Make your booking now on +44 (0)1394 382235 | |
| Email: – info@artsafari.co.uk |
Please feel free to discuss your own private tour with dates and an itinerary to suit you.
Roger is a professional figurative artist who works in oils, pastels, mixed media, acrylics, and water based media. His portrayal of light is both thoughtful and striking as he spots descriptive highlights and tone, finding angles and curves and describing the wandering shadows with his brush. His encouraging teaching manner suits artists of all standards. Learn about definition and how every brushstroke matters.
We depart Puerto Ayora for our 8 day cruise around the Islands. Our floating studio is the 79ft Motor Yacht Coral II, with a capacity for 18 guests in 9 guest cabins with lower beds, air conditioning and private bathrooms. Three decks offer sunbathing and shaded areas, an observatory, a lounge with panoramic windows and comfy sofas, restaurant and bar and a library. There’s a Jacuzzi and a diving platform for easy access into the water and tenders. We will be well looked after by a crew of 10, including our knowledgeable Naturalist guide who will accompany us on all our shore excursions, and the ships cooks who will freshly prepare delicious meals. 
The Coral II crew will find safe areas for swimming and snorkelling there is a fascinating underwater world awaiting discovery.
Join Claudia Myatt for a one day workshop full of techniques, ideas and encouragement to liven up your sketchbooks and gain confidence. The course will focus on watercolours, pens and pencils, and is suitable for beginners as well as those who’ve got some experience with watercolours but need a bit of a boost. Most of the day will be spent in the studio but weather permitting we will also spend time sketching on the veranda or quayside. Subjects we’ll cover include:
Join Art Safari to sketch animals with Mary-Anne Bartlett at Edinburgh Zoo. Learn to sketch animals in fast lines, working out shapes, lines, tones and colours – and learn not to be daunted when they move around at this exciting sketching Art Safari workshop.
