Mixed Media Travel Journals in Greece - 10 Days SEPTEMBER 2024 USD PRICING with Clair Bremner

Our Mixed Media Art Retreat in Greece features colourist Clair Bremner teaching over an exciting 10 days with loads exciting days to explore one of the most beautiful islands in Greece. Perfect for the artist who wants to sketch and create unique travel journals and acrylic artworks all inspired by the beauty of Greece. There is a painting everywhere you look on this island, quaint greek buildings, turquoise seas, lemon trees, bright bougainvillea trees spilling over houses and more. All with our studio base overlooking the ocean at our accommodation and enjoying an authentic Greek experience. We are heading to Skopelos Island made famous from the film 'Mama Mia' featuring Meryl Streep - beauty is abundant.

Each day will involve a new painting location where you will work with Clair to guide before tackling your own artworks with plenty of down time to shop, swim in the crystal clear waters and enjoy the Greek hospitality.

Clair can paint in a range of genres - landscapes, still life, florals and more and will also work with you to create a travel journal where you can collect ideas for larger artworks back home.

In addition to daily instruction from Clair and staying in gorgeous water viewed accommodation, you will also be enjoying:

- Dinners with a local Greek grandmother cooking & George's homemade pastries and incredible fresh Greek breakfast each morning

- A sailing trip to soak in the incredible turquoise waters surrounding the island with painting in the old village on Alonyses

- A Day trip to see St Johns Church made famous in the movie Mama Mia

- Visits to local tapas bars & restaurants

- Visits to local beaches where you can swim between painting sessions

- Plenty of shopping time for authentic Greek ceramics and more

Artable has built its reputation on providing the best in art travel experiences. Our Creative Art Retreat in Greece package brings together years of traveling and workshop experience to design a holiday that will be not only creative, but relaxing and interesting with guidance from Clair Bremner leading you through the painting experience

Artable painting holidays steer clear of trying to fit too much into one holiday. We prefer to find a place we love and settle in for 10 days to get 'inside' the local culture and experience the scenery each day whilst being creative.

As artists, we look for that magic combination of being surrounded by beauty, being able to live like a local, having the chance to eat fresh, local produce and insider knowledge of the area that we visit. Our accommodation is in shared rooms of 2 with spectacular views of the harbour and is walking distance to town. You can pay a single supplement if you would prefer your own room. You will need to be able to handle some walking on this tour as our accommodation is set up high and we will favor walking wherever possible.

Breakfast is included each morning with some lunches and some dinners included in the price (others allow you to choose & pay for your own meals at a variety of restaurants and tapas bars).

Painters will have painting sessions either morning or afternoon and you can choose how much or how little painting you do. Non-painting partners are welcome to join us at a discounted rate as well and will have plenty to do.

You don't need to feel as though you are a good painter to do this trip, we have taken many beginner painters away to learn with us before and Clair is an expert instructor. You may even have just felt the urge to start painting and drawing - this is a good way to take it up and learn for the first time.

PLEASE NOTE: This tour involves a lot of walking up hills and stairs around the village of Skopelos. Please contact us if you have fears around your ability to cope with this.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

ACCOMMODATION

Accommodation is in the heart of Skopelos in a hillside hotel with ocean views. Rooms are shared between 2 people and we don’t mix male/females in shared rooms. You can pay a ($700USD) supplement for your own room, contact us for details.

MEALS

Breakfast is included each morning as well as 5 dinners & 5 lunches. Other meals are pay as you go so you can choose your own Greek fare in the restaurants and eateries we visit. Some days you will want to have a 2 Euro kebab and head to bed and other days you will want to banquet!

CLIMATE

The climate at this time of year is painting perfect. You can expect weather around 18-25C (70-80F).

CLOTHING

You will need to pack art clothes as well as nicer clothes for dining out. Pack some cool weather clothes for evenings and early mornings. A rain/wind jacket is a good travel companion to have. Sturdy walking shoes are recommended, there are lovely walks around the island. We have included sailing on this trip and plenty of opportunities to swim & relax.

TRAVEL/TRANSFERS

You need to find your way to Skopelos on day 1 and we will pick you up from the main port. You may need to overnight somewhere in Athens or Skiathos depending on what time you come in, feel free to contact us for hotel details to arrive earlier or stay longer. 

TRAVEL INSURANCE

Travel insurance is not included in the cost, is highly recommended and is to be organized by you. Please ensure that you have cancellation cover in your insurance as Artable adheres to strict fees surrounding our art retreats (these are set by our travel partners).

ART SESSIONS

Art sessions will be guided by Clair. Each day a new painting location will decide where we paint. Our accommodation has a beautiful deck area where we can gather with Clair. You can paint as much or as little as you like - this is your art experience.

FLIGHTS

Flights & boat transfers are not included and are to be organised by you. Getting there is part of the adventure!

PAYMENT

THIS RETREAT IS IN USD. We sell retreats to a worldwide audience and the USD is the most universal currency to use. The Artable website will take a $200AUD non refundable deposit. We will use the Commonwealth Bank of Australia AUD-USD exchange rate for the day that you make your deposit and deduct this from your total invoice.

This trip relies heavily on group numbers and we are contracted to our accommodation partners as well. Therefore it is necessary to charge a cancellation fee as outlined below in the event that you decide to cancel. We are not responsible for expenses incurred in the preparation of trips (even cancelled trips), such as airline tickets, travel delays, flight cancellations or health problems - please ensure you purchase your travel insurance. There is no refund if you arrive late or decide to leave early. Deposits secure your place.

A deposit of $200AUD is to be made via our website to secure your spot and we will send you an invoice for the remainder.
You can pay us in installments if this helps.

NON-PAINTING PARTNERS

Non-painting partners are welcome to join us and will feel very much a part of the group and can attend at a discounted rate. We will have someone on hand to guide them.

CANCELLATION/REFUNDS

This trip relies heavily on group numbers and we are contracted to our accommodation partners as well. Therefore it is necessary to charge a cancellation fee as outlined below in the event that you decide to cancel. If we decide to cancel the trip at any time we will issue you with a FULL refund. We are not responsible for expenses incurred in the preparation of trips (even cancelled trips), such as airline tickets, travel delays, flight cancellations. There is no refund if you arrive late or decide to leave early. Deposits secure your place.

Please note our cancellation dates & that Artable charges a $200AUD non refundable fee as your deposit.

Cancellation up to 4th June 2024 - $200 non refundable admin fee regardless of reason for cancellation.

Cancellation from 4 June - 4 August 2024 - 50% of trip cost refunded, less $200 non-refundable deposit.

Cancellation from 4th August 2024 - No refunds (30 days)

Please note our itinerary is a guide only and is subject to changes to accommodate the group and teacher's needs as well as weather considerations. Have a look at our inclusions for a list of what is and isn't included.

A NOTE FROM CLAIR...

Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for coming along to this art retreat. We are going to have a fantastic time and I'm really looking forward to sharing some of my knowledge and techniques with you all.

The art classes will be very casual and they will involve me giving a bit of a demonstration, talking about some techniques and then you guys will have plenty of time to play and experiment on your own. I want to focus on helping you all develop your own skills with painting and drawing in general and also help you loosen up and paint with more freedom and expression.

MATERIALS LIST

This is a suggested materials list, I generally like to follow the “use up what you already have” mantra, so if you already have things at home that you can substitute for items on this list then please feel free to do that.

PAINT: Watercolor and Gouache

We will be working on paper (or in sketchbooks) with both watercolor and gouache, there are no specific colours that you need but I would suggest a good variety of warm and cool colours. Have a look at some photos of where we are going to help you choose colours to bring. You can use watercolor in pans or from tubes, bear in mind we will be painting on location mostly so portable paint palettes are going to be the best option.

MIXED MEDIA: Coloured pencils, crayons or markers.  Water soluble pencils or crayons would be great as they work well with watercolour.  Bring your choice of drawing/sketching materials to use in mixed media sketching.

PAPER: As I mentioned earlier, we will be working mostly on watercolour paper, so you will need to bring plenty of paper. A pad of A3 and A4 would be best.  The paper should be Hot Pressed watercolour paper at least 300gsm.

You can also choose to work in a sketchbook if you prefer.

BRUSHES: You will need a selection of soft watercolor brushes in different sizes, both flat and round will be helpful.

MASKING TAPE: This will be used to tape the edges of the paper before we paint and it will help to keep the paper secure and also create a nice clean edge once removed. I just use regular cheap masking tape that is either 1” or 2” wide.

PALETTE: A large plastic one will be fine.

BAG/BACKPACK: We will be doing some on location painting so you will need a tote bag or backpack that you can carry your journal and art supplies around in.