Arriving on 22 August, 2022- Departing on September 01, 2022

Watercolor sketching with Leslie Fehling

Just picture yourself whiling away an afternoon wandering through a quaint French village or sitting on a sunny hilltop, sketching the panoramic view spread out before you. Imagine visiting a local French market and smelling the heady aroma of fresh-cut lavender or enjoying a café crème at a sidewalk cafe with your friends. These are just a few of the experiences that await us during our time together in the fairy-tale beautiful Dordogne region of southern France.

Our home away from home will be Le Vieux Couvent, a beautifully restored convent in the charming village of Frayssinet. The historic stone building is surrounded by gardens filled with climbing roses, perennial flowers, and quiet nooks for reading or sketching. There’s even a bright and airy painting studio on site. And Le Vieux Couvent is famous for their gourmet cuisine; every meal promises to be a delightful adventure as we try local and regional specialties.

This immersive sketching and painting workshop tour is organized to allow time to absorb the beauty, culture, and ambience of our surroundings while also capturing these wonderful memories on the pages of our travel journals. You’ll have time to sit with a sketchbook on your knee, drawing a scene that has captivated you, listening to what’s going on around you, smelling the aroma of fresh bread wafting by from the bakery down the street, and feeling the warm sun on your shoulders. All of your senses are heightened when you’re engaged in sketching, and the entirety of the experience stays with you in an amazing way. Long after the trip, every time you open your travel journal you’ll be taken back to that day when you paused long enough to really connect with an extraordinary place and time.

Travel journaling can mean anything from a few jotted words in a notepad to a fully illustrated daily diary detailing of every aspect of a trip. My goal is for our travel sketchbooks to fall somewhere in between. During our time at Le Vieux Couvent, my teaching will focus on illustrated watercolor journaling and how to create a colorful, varied, and uniquely personal record of your experiences on the trip. You’ll learn how to design dynamic sketchbook pages with unique layouts, borders, and hand-lettering styles, and I’ll offer daily demonstrations of techniques for painting the subject matter you’ll encounter each day, everything from a tree-covered hillside to a fresh croissant. As I demonstrate, you’ll paint right along with me to gain the experience needed to paint confidently when we’re on location. I’ll give you project ideas for our sketching time each day, but you’re always free to explore other options and follow your own muse. And I’ll be there to offer suggestions and help you overcome any challenges you encounter along the way.

Each student will receive a 50-page spiral-bound handbook containing all the information we cover in the workshop. The handbook ensures that you can relax during the workshop, knowing that even if you can’t absorb everything during the week, you’ll have complete information that you can refer to later. With my enthusiastic support, encouragement, and assistance, even if you’re a beginning watercolorist, you’ll surprise yourself with what you can do!

We’re going to have an amazing time together as we immerse ourselves in all that this tour has to offer: painting (of course!), exploring (towns, caves, rivers, and natural areas), shopping (can’t leave that out!), eating (the food will be amazing!), relaxing (in the gardens, in the pool, or maybe even taking a nap in your room)…we’ll have time for it all with this perfectly organized small-group tour.

So, if you’d like to improve your painting skills, learn more about keeping a sketchbook journal, and have more fun than you can imagine exploring some of the prettiest places in southwest France, I hope you’ll join me for this Le Vieux Couvent workshop.

What’s included:

  • Ten nights lodging at Le Vieux Couvent, single or shared occupancy. (We will be the only guests at LVC during our stay.)
  • All meals, except for three lunches (+ lunch on arrival day) and one dinner when we will dine in town.
  • Aperitifs each evening.
  • Excursions to regional points of interest.
  • All group instruction and individual assistance by Leslie.
  • All transportation, including pick-up and drop-off at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, France, and all ground transportation to and from daily outings.
  • Local wines with all included lunches and dinners.
  • 24-hour use of studio and art library.
  • Services of bilingual guides.

 

What’s not included:

  • Your airfare. Be sure to arrive by noon on August 22, 2022 and depart no earlier than 11:00 a.m. on September 01, 2022.
  • Travel insurance for health, baggage and/or trip cancellation/interruption. (In order to be covered for any pre-existing medical condition, be sure to purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of making your deposit for full benefits.)
  • Art supplies.
  • Entry fees to sites, if required.
  • Any items of a personal nature.
  • Tips and gratuities.

 

Payment plan:

Cost for this ten-night workshop is $3300.00 per person for all rooms. Most rooms are set up for single occupancy although a few doubles are available.

A $600.00 deposit will hold your place.

Please reserve your spot before January 01, 2022, so we can confirm our group reservation with Le Vieux Couvent.

Final payment is due by June 1, 2022.

 

Email Leslie at ljfehling@gmail.com for a registration form and payment information.

 

Questions? Contact Leslie Fehling at ljfehling@gmail.com or call 724-747-2955(cell) or 724-627-8044 (home)

 

Visit www.lesliefehling.com for sketches, travel journals, and step-by-step watercolor tutorials.

call us

+33 565 245 013

Le Vieux Couvent Frayssinet 46310 FRANCE,  Email: contact@levieuxcouvent.com