Art Safari’s creative adventures in Africa to Morocco

A stunning two country safari!  You will see a great diversity of landscape, wildlife and local living as we visit two of Africa’s most beautiful national parks. 

Be ready for wonder, peacefulness and charm. Liwonde National Park, Lake Malawi and South Luangwa National Park provide a thoroughly outstanding wildlife experience.

It’s the end of the dry season (winter), so early September is still cool, (not too hot!) and it’s ideal painting weather.  Liwonde National Park in Malawi is a gem of a park, boasting a sparkling river full of hippos, elephant and birdlife and all set about with emerald reed beds, yellow fever trees and towering borassus palm trees. Mix this with the friendliness of your Malawian hosts, and with the comfort of your accommodation and it’s hard to leave.

Lake Malawi, brilliantly dubbed the ‘Lake of Stars’ by Dr David Livingstone when he first saw it with Mary-Anne’s 3x great grandfather in the 1860s, is an inland sea, with fresh water to dive into, snorkel or kayak on.   We stay on an idyllic island to enjoy the best Lake Malawi can offer. 

South Luangwa National Park is often quoted as one of the very best wildlife destinations in the world, not just Africa.  The great Luangwa River meanders slowly to create great sand bars laced with crocodiles, pools filled with hippo, oxbow lakes full of storks and elephants, and dry lagoons for herds of zebra, impala, puku – always watching out for the large lion and leopard population.  

We explore, paint and enjoy the wonderful settings. Be prepared for huge concentrations of elephant and buffalo in Zambia, as well as regular sightings of lion, leopard, giraffe, zebra and a multitude of other species. 

Our hosts in Norway tell us that September is a very good time to see the aurora borealis.  The September skies have been clear after dark and the Northern Lights have been consistently good for the past 3 years.  

We return to our base in Kvaløya, Whale Island, with many fjords and mountains.  We are staying at a peaceful waterfront farmstead, surrounded by wilderness, approximately 50 minutes from Tromso. 

Sketchbooks will fill with images of stunning landscapes.  Artist tutor Karen Pearson will lead sketching walks into the surrounding countryside to relish the autumn colours, and will take you to visit local art studios showing paintings, glass and ceramics.  Walking and photography opportunities abound.

We have a light airy studio space at the Farmstead to work on our sketches, with views accross the water to the mountains beyond.  

Mary-Anne Bartlett returns to Zambia to tutor a full week of painting at Thornicroft Lodge. South Luangwa is a mesmerizing place to paint, with incredible wildlife populations and continually enthralling sightings.

Spend time with Mary-Anne and our Safari Guides in the National Park and also work up sketches back at our base on the banks of the great Luangwa River. Beware – animals tend to wander through at any time of day. 

Mary-Anne will share her deep love of wildlife, help you think about media and the manner in which you portray the excitement of seeing animals in their natural habitat and talk you through the calm of the landscapes.

Dry and hot, this is an exceptional time to see Africa in the build-up before the rains – dramatic skies and the whole majesty of the animal kingdom before us.  

It is a spectacular time of year for birding – the arrival of the carmine bee-eaters to their nesting colonies makes a noisy colourful spectacle. Goliath herons often stalk the waterways and raptors scour the lagoons and grazing areas for prey and carrion.

Big cats proliferate.  Large prides of lions are now so familiar to us that we know each matriarch and each male’s family history and can chart family groups and events.  Leopard sightings are frequent, and we often see leopards by day lounging in trees.

Lindsey Bucknor returns to Woodbridge for two full days of photography, looking at the landscapes we know so well through the lens and leaning how to portray them more effectively.

Contact us to find out more and book your place on this popular weekend of f-stops and apertures.

Suitable for all levels – just bring your camera!

Watercolours are a delight to use and incredibly versatile, but it’s easy to get discouraged when you first try them as they have a reputation for being difficult. All you need is a bit of help and encouragement!

Join Claudia Myatt for a one day workshop full of techniques aimed at beginners as well as those who’ve had a bit of experience with watercolours but feel a bit stuck and uninspired. Subjects we’ll cover include:

– Trying out different materials – the importance of a good choice of paper.

– Basic watercolour techniques – how to get colours to flow, when to work wet and when to work dry.

– Colour mixing – how to stop your palette turning to sludge

– From bold and loose to gentle and delicate – finding your style

– Line and wash

– Sketching and painting – how to choose and approach a subject

These workshops take place in Art Safari’s riverside studio, where there is a wealth of material to be seen from the balcony and around the quayside.  To help you prepare we provide a short list of suggested art materials to bring with you. 

A light lunch and refreshments are provided.

Cost:  £70, including lunch and refreshments

Must be pre-booked on 01394 382235 or info@artsafari.co.uk

(You may also like to join Claudia on Saturday 20 October for her ‘Drawing for the terrified’ workshop – call us for details on 01394 382235)

The vast labyrinthine medina of Fes el Bali, is considered to be the best preserved old city in the Arab world, and was classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. The entire Old City is a painter’s delight, with an abundance of opportunities to sketch and soak up Fes life. There is brilliant colour everywhere – cobalt blues, rich greens, sparkling white, rose pinks, splashes of gold and saffron yellow, which your tutor Vicky Norman will help you use to capture the ambience and vitality of the places we visit.

You will discover the ancient madrassas and mosques; the many artisans creating traditional crafts including the leather tanneries; the bustling market places; and museums that give you an insight into the history of Fes and Morocco. We will also explore the countryside around Fes and take in the olive groves on the outlaying slopes of the city, nearby villages with whitewashed houses and cobblestone streets, and further afield the striking roman ruins of of Volubilis. 

Our base will be a beautiful Moroccan riad in the heart of the medina, with a stunning central courtyard and a sunny roof terrace overlooking the minaret and dome-punctured skyline.

This trip will spice up you winter with colour, warmth and interest.

Call us for more details on 013964 382235.

Join our first Art Safari to Central America, to Costa Rica (located between Nicaragua and Panama!).

Pack watercolour pans in vibrant colours – azure, sap green, winsor green, viridian, lemon yellow and cadmium yellow for colourful Costa Rica, with its unique spirit and uplifting Latin rhythms. 

Wildlife is at the heart of this itinerary, with an incredible range of sensitive eco-systems supporting a wide variety of species, iridescent hummingbirds, butterflies, tiny poison dart frogs, acrobatic howler monkeys and some rarities like the extraordinary laid-back sloth. 

We explore areas of rainforest, cloud forest, volcanos and drift along rivers through mangroves.  Costa Rica is a World leader in conservation; expect a friendly welcome and enthusiastic knowledgeable guiding.

Coffee is an important element of Tico life; we visit a coffee plantation with our sketchbooks to discover the traditional process from tiny shoot – to bean – to cup, smelling wonderful aromas and savouring the end results.

In bustling San Jose we get a feel for the rich history of this fertile volcanic land and life lived on the ‘dragons back’.  The city museums house dazzling ancient artefacts crafted in gold and jade, time traveling through different belief structures and societies. 

Direct flights are available from London with British Airways to San Jose, making it an easily accessible destination for those travelling from the UK.