Travel with us to explore the enchanting French Riviera or Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
walk in the footsteps of the worlds most beloved artists.
Eat, Paint, Love our way through this region of France 
 as we follow the brushstrokes of the masters 
Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Renoir & Chagall

“This is why journeys are useful, they enlarge the space that is around us.”
― Henri Matisse

Itinerary:

Apr 23   Arrive in Marseille Airport 

We are Met at the airport by our private driver and whisked away to the beautiful Provencal Hill town of Les Beaux  

Apr 23 - 25  ​Benvegudo Les Beaux  

Authentic "Provence" life   Hotel Benvengudo is located in Provence.  This region is in Southern France near to the Camargue, the Château des Baux de Provence, Arles, and the French countryside - near Carrières de Lumière. With easy access to Marseille International Airport and the TGV in Avignon.   
​We arrive and have lovely dinner  with wine and  relax and paint in the gardens  

Provençal traditions and contemporary luxury
Benvengudo is a traditional Provençal country house located on seven acres of private park and gardens.  Their own swimming pool and tennis court, satellite TV, air conditioning, and WiFi. Every window gives on to or beautiful private gardens, pine trees, lavender fields and olive groves.

Apr 24 Day trip to Saint Rémy de Provence 

Today we explore the world of  Vincent Van Gogh with our friend Alexandra   
After a lovely breakfast at our hotel  we will meet our guide and head to Saint Rémy de Provence
Visit Saint Paul de Mausolée, the former psychiatric hospital where we'll see the room of Van Gogh and the landscapes he painted, stroll through the village and stop for lovely lunch.  Sit and paint in some of the exact spots where Vincent painted from 1889 - 1890.   

​Vincent van Gogh spent one year in the mental hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Despite his unstable mental health, he was very productive: he made about 150 paintings in a year, including Almond Blossom.  Lets paint in the courtyard and be inspired to paint our own Almond blossom.   

Apr 25  Arles 

 

Claude Monet and Jean Renoir, two leading lights, were entranced by the seductive landscape and intoxicating southern light. In their footsteps came French and foreign post-Impressionists, from Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin to Paul Cézanne​

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​The wave of avant-garde artists continued, from Picasso and Braque in their Cubist incarnations, to Chagall, Matisse and Dufy. Van Gogh and Gauguin are associated with Arles, Cézanne with Aix while Matisse is linked to Nice. The Nabis were post-Impressionists who styled themselves as followers of Gauguin.  Bonnard, the painter of sensations, lived in a hillside villa above Cannes.

Les Fauves, founded by Henri Matisse in 1905, were dubbed “wild beasts” for their fondness for lurid colours.  Other Fauves included André Derain, Dufy, Marquet, Maurice de Vlaminck and Georges Braque. After passing the winter of 1916-17 in Nice, Matisse settled there. One of his most important works is the chapel in Vence.

Pablo Picasso lived on the Côte d'Azur notably in Antibes and Juan les Pins, and worked on Cubism with Georges Braque in Céret in 1911. Picasso spent much of his life on the Mediterranean coast, and in 1946 he was given the keys of the Grimaldi Palace in Antibes to use as a studio. The château is now home to the Musée Picasso.

At the end of the Second World War many artists were drawn to the South of France. Russian-born Marc Chagall settled in St Jean Cap Ferrat in 1949, where the azure blue light and seascapes inspired the artist with new ideas. His Bible-based works fill the Musée National des Messages Bibliques in Nice.

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Look out the Window - Paint what you see

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Meet Our Team

Work in Progress

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SUE THOMPSON

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ART

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