www.adamsart.net
May 23 - June 2, 2010
Susan Adams is an exceptioal teacher and painter. Her strength lies in her ability to inspire her students to achieve excellence, and experience joy in the process. “Becoming a good painter is a lifelong journey and begins with mastering the fundamentals, giving one the freedom of effortless expression. Painting is about seeing: not only shapes, values and the color of light, but also finding the essence of spirit within your subject.”
This workshop is open to all levels, however, previous painting experience is advised. Watercolor will be the predominant medium, but any medium is acceptable. We will work both outdoors and inside the studio in a variety of genres. We will use the sights, sounds, smells and textures of the area to inspire our work, whether it be plein air landscapes, still life set-ups, sketchbook drawings or abstractions designed from found objects. We will create unique pieces that combine the magic of the area with your own impression of the spirit within.
Susan is an incredibly versatile painter, equally at home with figures, landscapes, still life and abstraction. Her medium of choice is watercolor, but she also works in oil and acrylic. Susan’s paintings have been exhibited in numerous national and international exhibitions and have received many awards. She is a featured artist in The Best of Flower Painting, North Light Books. Susan is a juried member of Watercolor West, a member of California Watercolor Association, Society of Western Artists, the National Association of Women Artists, and Watercolor Artists of Sonoma County. She maintains a working studio in the Petaluma countryside, where she also teaches classes and workshops.
What's included in this workshop:- Lodgings
- All breakfasts
- 8 dinners
- Transfers from/to Bordeaux, transportation by private coach
- Entry fees for included sites
- Private & Group Instruction & Critiques
Itinerary
Independent Arrival in Bordeaux
Depart U.S.A. on overnight flight to any European gateway city. Catch a connecting flight to Bordeaux. If you fly into Paris, the TGV fast train is an option.
Day 1
4:00 p.m. Meet our Private Coach in Bordeaux for the scenic, two-hour drive into the Périgord and Petit Rousset. Welcome Dinner.
A sampling of our Destinations
Our explorations of the towns and villages described below will often be on bustling Market Days. We’ll visit other villages as serene as stage sets, waiting for us to bring them to life. We will also enjoy a guided visit to a cave with prehistoric paintings, a medieval fortress, a Renaissance chateau and a water mill where they make paper by hand, the old fashioned way.
Petit Rousset – Our home, an 18th century farmhouse, provides many opportunities for painting, sketching & relaxing – in the garden, on the terrace, by the pool, or in our new Art Studio.
Eymet – Our ‘hometown’ is a 40-minute stroll from Petit Rousset, past rows of grapevines, fields of sunflowers and meadows of grazing cows. This bastide has a perfectly intact 13th century center square which bursts with activity on Market Day. Little streets radiating off the square are dotted with houses made of wattle and daub. As we explore, we’ll learn about the medieval conflicts that gave rise to the region’s many bastides.
Bergerac – The town made famous by the poet-Musketeer, Cyrano, is now the capitol of the wine-growing region. At an earlier time, its fame rested upon its tobacco production. A museum of this now much maligned weed documents 15th century globalization. We’ll visit Old Town, with its medieval houses clustered along the banks of the Dordogne River.
Issigeac – A sleepy little hill-town with meandering streets, alleyways and pedestrian paths. No matter which direction you look, bits of architecture or scenes of village life are waiting for you to capture them in your sketchbook or with your camera.
Rouffignac – We’ll celebrate the Dordogne as the capitol of pre-history by visiting this special cave embellished with prehistoric paintings.
Chateau de Monbazillac – We’ll set up easels and enjoy a leisurely time painting this fairy tale Renaissance chateau. You may wish to take a self guided tour of the chateau or taste the golden, mellow Monbazillac wine which gives the region its name and for which it is acclaimed.
Monpazier – Hailed as the most perfectly preserved bastide in Southwest France, the 13th century houses surrounding its totally intact market square, are identical in size, unique in appearance.
Beynac – We’ll visit the village with the Chateau at its summit. Built during the One Hundred Year’s War, the Chateau de Beynac perches high atop a cliff dominating the Dordogne River. Now we marvel at the views of the valley below, but its imposing profile attests to its original military purpose.
Final Day – St. Emilion – After breakfast, depart for Bordeaux. En route, St. Emilion, a favorite of both medieval popes and English kings, in 1999 it was classed a world heritage site, the first vine-growing area to achieve this status. After free time in St. Emilion, Coach drop off at Bordeaux airport and train station. Onward journeys after 4:00 p.m. are advised.
