Join Róisín Curé as she returns to Atelier Clos Mirabel for a fun week exploring the joy of sketching in ink and watercolour. Create your own totally original artwork and discover a beautiful area of South West France.
About this course:
As an artist, confidence is key. The path to confidence comes down to two things: volume of work produced, and being guided correctly. In this immersive, week-long course Róisín Curé will encourage you to sketch wherever and whenever you can, thereby building a habit that will lead to a lifetime of joyful creativity.
Over five days of tuition, Róisín Curé will demonstrate and teach the key elements that will raise your game as an on-location sketcher:
- composition
- accurate drawing technique
- mechanics of watercolour for beauty and control
- keeping to a limited colour palette
- values
At the start of the course Róisín will give you her newly-published book called “Sketch Manual”, packed with simple techniques for all the basic subjects you’re likely to encounter: a perfect blue sky, trees in full leaf, shadows, people and so on. All of these techniques will be demonstrated in person by Róisin over the course of the week.
Each day we’ll be out and about (or in the studio in the case of bad weather), choosing small scenes in which you can capture a beautiful vignette of the area, with the technique of the day being given centre stage. Food, buildings, landscape, people, interiors – or whatever we encounter – the aim is to discover the beauty in the everyday, while developing the habit of blurring the distinction between your life and your artistic life. Each vignette will be small, so you will never feel overwhelmed.
Please note this programme may be subject to change depending on the weather.
Please ensure you bring sensible walking shoes, layers, waterproof jacket, water bottle, sunscreen and a hat.
Vignettes of the Pyrenees: Sketchbook Masterclass – 2027 Course Outline:
Saturday
4.00 – Check-in time from 4pm onwards
Guests arrive, settle in and explore Clos Mirabel.
6.00 – Welcome drinks and dinner
Sunday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
10.00 – 1.00 Introduction and drawing accurately
• What makes a pleasing vignette? Composition and story.
• Materials used: pens, paper, watercolour, brushes, white gel pens, inks.
• Drawing accurately – Róisín’s technique explained and demonstrated.
1.00 – 2.00 Lunch
2.00 – 5.00 Into the surrounding vicinity to put the technique into practice. Students will find one or two small vignettes to sketch, putting the drawingtechnique into practice. Individual instruction.
6.00 – Aperitifs before a 4 course dinner in the Manor House or on the terrace.
Monday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
10.00 – 1.00 Watercolour Techniques (Limited Colour Palette)
• Watercolour techniques demonstrated, with emphasis on using a limited colour palette.
• Students will find a vignette in the immediate vicinity to sketch, incorporating the limited colour palette.
1.00 – 2.00 Lunch
2.00 – 5.00 Students will find a small vignette and incorporate the techniques of the morning, with individual instruction.
6.00 – Aperitifs before a 4 course dinner in the Manor House or on the terrace.
Tuesday
8.15 – 9.15 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
9.30 – Depart for field trip to Plateau du Bénou and Bilhères Village in the Ossau Valley
10.30 – 1.00 Using light and shadow to learn values.
• Making watercolour pop: today the emphasis will be on techniques of light and shadow and the use of values, leaving white space. Demonstration.
• Students will find a small subject to try out the techniques demonstrated.
1.00 – 2.30 Lunch in a local auberge
2.30 – 5.00 Discover Bilhères Village: Students will start to fill their sketchbooks with confidence using the techniques learned so far. Individual instruction.
6.00 – Aperitifs before a 4 course dinner in the Manor House or on the terrace.
Wednesday – Free day (Lunch is not provided)
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
We suggest wine tasting in local vineyard, explore Pau or beyond
6.00 – Aperitifs before a 4 course dinner in the Manor House or on the terrace.
Thursday
8.30 – 9.15 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
9.30 – Depart for field trip to Les Halles indoor market in Pau
10.00 – 12.30 People in Action
• Students will sketch small vignettes with an emphasis on capturing people in action
1.00 – 2.00 Lunch at Clos Mirabel
2.00 – 5.00 Into the nearby vicinity to make sketches emphasising light and shadow. Individual instruction.
6.00 – Aperitifs before a 4 course dinner in the Manor House or on the terrace.
Friday
8.30 – 9.15 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
9.30 – Depart for field trip to the local village of Jurançon including the outdoor market
10.00 – 12.30 Capturing the moment
• Róisín will expand on what the group has done in the previous day’s market and demonstrate some valuable tricks for speed and efficiency.
• Róisín will emphasise the importance of sketching all the time, wherever and whenever possible.
1.00 – 2.00 Lunch at Clos Mirabel
2.00 – 5.00 Students will spend the early afternoon revisiting the techniques of the week.The remainder of the afternoon will be dedicated to revising the techniques of the week, with individual instruction and finishing off artwork for the evening exhibition.
6.00 – Evening exhibition with aperitifs in the studio space of Atelier Clos Mirabel
7.00 – Farewell dinner – 4 courses in the Manor House or on the terrace
Saturday
8.30 – 9.30 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.
