What could be better than an art retreat in a beautiful place?

Time to draw, walk, explore ideas, talk about dreams, stepping away from our busy lives to be with artists and to further our artwork.

Join Mary-Anne and Claudia for a cosy autumn retreat in Cornwall.  We plan this as a quiet reflective time that’s also full of laughter, fun and development. Time to think, relax and focus on your own creative journey with no distractions. We may also want to take time to explore the surrounding landscape and coast.

We’re staying at a beautiful mansion set amongst idyllic surroundings in Cornwall. There will be time to walk the woodlands and gardens of the estate and sketch in peace, or discover new ideas and techniques in group sessions.

A typical day might start with a refreshing outdoor yoga session (optional!) or an early morning nature walk before a delicious breakfast. Then we’ll get together and make plans for the day. There will be plenty to choose from and you can do as little or as much as you want:

• creative doodling warm up exercises, workshops on different watercolour and sketching techniques
• sketching walks, listening walks, nature journaling
• a one-to-one tuition session with Mary-Anne and Claudia
• free time to work on your sketches and paintings

This wonderful art retreat is centred on Boconnoc House – a Georgian mansion nestled in the Cornish countryside only 20 minutes from the coast.

Surrounded by rolling hills and sprawling woodland, the vast estate grounds are picture-perfect, so much so that it has been used as a filming location for The Three Musketeers and My Cousin Rachel, as well as popular BBC drama Poldark. The indoor spaces are as inspiring as the outdoors, so whatever the weather there will be a choice of subjects and plenty of space to paint  – or just curl up with a book!

We will visit some of the historic villages and ancient sites nearby, including smugglers’ coves, tiny harbours and the moors.  There will be no shortage of inspiration, indoors or out, whatever the weather!

Each evenings we dine well, eating produce from the estate cooked by our own chef as we talk about the days painting excursions.

Both Mary-Anne and Claudia work in watercolours but you can of course use any medium you prefer. They both have a passion for filling a sketchbook with ideas, impressions, colours and observations when out on location and have a wealth of enthusiasm and knowledge to share, as well as tips on how to develop your sketches into paintings or other projects.

Spaces are limited so let us know as soon as possible if you’d like to join us. There’s a choice of 16 magnificent rooms for us to sleep in – from grand state four poster bedrooms to charming attic hide-aways, so let us know your preferences quickly!