Paint Safari

Paint Safari is a bespoke painting holiday which takes you off-road by Land Rover to unique and special locations to paint each day. With a glass of wine over lunch, in the shade of the safari awning out in the semi-wilderness of untouched Andalucía you can paint to your hearts content far from the crush of civilisation.

The region of Los Vélez is a painter's landscape. The naturally occurring forms and rhythms, pigmented earth and clear blue skies are already imbued with the rich gestural qualities of abstract modernism. The landscape invokes memories of the paintings by David Bomberg, Ivon Hitchens, Paul Nash and Georgia O'Keeffe.

And there is a drama in this space, as the sun's shadow cuts the mountains, the tangible sense of wilderness, the sense of history, the feeling of awe, all inspire emotive responses to the landscape redolent of so many artists before us. Caspar David Friedrich, John Sel Cotman, J.M.W Turner and John Robert Cozens.

Cortijada Los Gázquez is offering the opportunity to be a painter's location finder and tutor (if desired). Your guide, artist Simon Beckmann, with his intimate knowledge and love of this landscape, will take you to the special places here, places inaccessible by conventional means and unknown by any other. This is a unique opportunity to understand the sights before your eyes and to have the space and time to paint and draw them.

This is a creative and cultural holiday that will leave your senses stretched and fulfilled and your artwork scaling new heights.

Itinerary

Day 1: Collection by taxi from the airport and arrival at Los Gázquez. That evening you will be given an introductory talk with cava before a delicious supper.

Day 2:

Morning: After an inviting breakfast, you will be taken by Land Rover to the ‘alto plano’, a fabulous and virtually unknown location to spend the day painting. As you 'set up' for the morning's work and begin to paint, one of our team erects the awning above the table and chairs, and prepares a very enjoyable lunch.

Afternoon: You can return, uninterrupted, to your artwork. Advice and tuition is at hand should you wish, otherwise you will have the time and space to explore your own creative endeavor.

Evening: Returning to Cortijada Los Gázquez with your days work. Here you will have the opportunity to rest, freshen up, and enjoy an evening meal amongst our small community of professional artists responding to this environment.

*Each day the itinerary will follow a similar pattern although your meals and locations will be different.

Day 3:

After breakfast, you will be taken again by Land Rover to ‘La Muela’, a dramatic mountain location, to spend the day painting. Here the skies are full of majestic vultures circling around the tooth shaped mountain.

Day 4:

Todays location is a hidden valley in the Sierra María populated with truly giant Spanish oaks and abandoned farmhouses.

Day 5:

We will go to a broad, dry riverbed known as a ‘rambla’. Surrounded by almond orchards and covered in wild flowers this is a beautiful spot.

Day 6:

The Montana like landscape of Alcaluche with its rolling hills covered in pine and dramatic limestone outcrops. This is your final night and we will have an early evening review of your work followed by a delicious paella.

Day 7:

After breakfast you will be returned by taxi to your airport.