Join Laura Silburn at Atelier Clos Mirabel for a 5 day botanical art workshop in the French Pyrenees ~ South West France. Enjoy wonderful surroundings, delightful accommodation and delicious meals.
About this course:
Explore the botanical delights of this flora-rich part of the world in the Autumn. Laura will help you examine a chosen plant or vegetable through careful observation and sketchbook work. You will then compose an image that reflects its natural character whilst observing botanical truth. You will be guided on how to take your planned drawings through to a completed botanical watercolour and then the techniques to take your picture to the ‘next level’ using dry-brush finishing.
Laura teaches extensively in her home county of Cornwall in the UK and online. Laura has work in the RHS Lindley Library and the Shirley Sherwood collection, which shows at the gallery in Kew Gardens, The Hunt Institute, the Florilegium of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, and the Eden Project Cornwall.
For more information from Laura Silburn about her Botanical Art Course in 2025 watch her video
Botanical Art Course – Outline Programme:
Saturday
4.00 – Check-in time from 4pm onwards. Guests arrive, settle in and explore Clos Mirabel
6.30 – Welcome drinks and dinner
Sunday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
9.30 – 12.30 Studio Session: Exploring/collecting plant material from the estate. Posing and preserving plant material
12.30 – 1.30 Lunch at Clos Mirabel
1.30 – 3.30 Siesta or free time in studio
3.30 – 5.30 Studio Session, sketching and accurate drawing of plant material. Looking at different composition styles and how we might portray our subjects
6.30 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House
Monday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
10.00 – 12.30 Studio Session: short talk on ‘fixed light-source’ and why we use it, completing a tonal study of our subject, transferring our line drawing to watercolour paper
12.30 – 1.30 Lunch
1.30 – 4.00 Studio Session: Colour matching and practice painting, initial washes to build form
6.30 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House
Tuesday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
10.00 – 12.30 Studio Session: Continuing with washes to build form, blending and perfecting washes
12.30 – 1.30 Lunch
1.30 – 4.00 Studio Session: continuation from morning. Starting to use dry-brush for sharpness and detail on our subjects
6.30 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House
Wednesday – Free day
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
Day out, exploring Pau or beyond/wine tasting in local vineyard.
6.30 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House
Thursday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
9.30 – 12.30 Studio Session: Adding sharp detail and textures through dry-brush techniques – a more controlled use of watercolour
12.30 – 1.30 Lunch at Clos Mirabel
1.30 – 3.30 Studio Session: continuation from morning
3.30 – 5.30 Works critiqued and readied for the exhibition on Friday evening
6.30 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House
Friday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
10.00 – 12.30 Studio Session: finishing our pieces using dry-brush techniques and glazes to enhance colour
12.30 – 1.30 Lunch at Clos Mirabel
3.30 – 6.00 Get ready for evening exhibition in the Art Workshop.
6.30 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House
Saturday – Buffet Breakfast and departure (Check-out 11am)
Non-painting guests: we are more than happy to welcome non-painting guests, accompanying partners, family or friends. There are plenty of activities to experience around Clos Mirabel, that will make your holiday unforgettable Click here for more information.
The Art Studio offers a spacious open plan layout of 75 m2. It is available at all times during your stay. Click here for more information.
