July 2011 Plein Air Workshop in the South of France - when the fields are gold with sunflowers Dates: July 26 through August 4 (leaving Aug. 5), 2011 Where: We will live at the beautiful and elegant Domaine du Haut Baran, built of pale gold stone and lovingly restored and surrounded by flowers by William and Rosalie Haas of Cincinnati. For photos of it, go to their web site: www.hautbaran.com It is located in the Lot River valley near Cahors, in wine country that, historically, is Roman Gaul. For images of paintings from prior workshops, visit the En Plein Air Workshops page

We paint on Roman bridges and cobblestones, in medieval walled towns, farmers markets, vineyards and magnificent vistas. We can, if we want, have our own tour of the prehistoric cave paintings, translated from the French just for us by William.

This is a perfect place for a workshop. We live in one place but are transported by William to wherever we want to paint; he comes back for us when we want. We breakfast on the terrace, and have cocktails on the terrace at 7:00 and dinner - with wine - at 8:00. Rosalie, with a background in restauranting, prepares meals that can't be surpassed for taste or beauty. Some lunches and dinners are on our own in painting spots or charming local restaurants - one of which is featured in the book, "From Here You Can't See Paris," by Michael Sanders.

Non-painting companions find it wonderful, too. There are the pool and hot tub, hammock and lawn chairs and terrace for reading or just dreaming; lots of places to hike and bike, canoeing and kayaking on the Lot River, touring ancient towns and cities, wine-tasting, even a cooking school, shopping...

William is Franco-American and spent his summers here with his grandparents as a child, even attending the tail-end of the school year with the local children. He loves the area and its history, is an accredited tour guide, knows what are good "morning subjects' and what are good "afternoon subjects," advises us on the menus and the local food.

For convenience, French easels are provided at the Baran, so we don't have to bring them with us. Less weight in our baggage!
Painters work in the medium of their choice - oil, pastel, watercolor, pen-&-ink, whatever.

At a past workshop there were three generations of one family in the group: grandmother, mother, and teenage daughter - all of whom had a wonderful time. The mother, who hadn't painted before, sold one of her drawings to a collector! Can there possibly be a better way to start an art career?

How to register:

Go to www.hautbaran.com, and scroll to the bottom of the page and click onto Reservation Form. Download it and send it with the required deposit to secure your spot. Details about the workshop will be in the Artist Retreat page.

Price:

$2, 995.00 USD per person. Transportation to and from France is on your own. Transportation within France, to and from Toulouse airport and all painting sites and the cave art is included as part of the workshop. Some meals are on our own.

—Judy

P.S. Visit News to see the 2008 workshop featured in American Artist Magazine