This holiday is perfect for artists of all abilities - beginners just starting out, improvers looking for inspiration or artists who are seeking a holiday surrounded by endless subjects, and like minded people. The holiday is for anybody who wants to relax, have some fun and enjoy painting in a truly wonderful setting.

Most materials for your week will be provided, including pencils, paper, watercolour, acrylic paints, pastels and drawing boards. You are welcome to bring along your own special brushes and media, but quality materials will be provided, so that all abilities can learn and practice techniques with the same tools.

A couple of useful things you might want to bring along would be a camera, a waterproof jacket and a jumper. The days can be gloriously hot, but the evenings can be chilly, especially at the beginning and the end of the season. There is no dress code, but you may want to change for dinner in the evening.

You will be staying with us in the main house or the gite in the garden, on a full board basis. All five bedrooms in the main house are ensuite, the largest bedroom sometimes being shared, and unless requested, we will endeavour to give you your own private room. All rooms are cleaned and supplied with fresh bed linen at the beginning of each week, along with bath and hand towels.

Your stay will include continental breakfast, a light lunch, either at the house or on location, and a home cooked meal in the evening. We do plan to visit a local restaurant during the week, to give the cook (usually Bixxy) some time off. This visit will incur a small additional cost, which we will ensure is as reasonable as possible.

An overview for a typical week is as follows:

Sunday Guests arrive at varying times after 3pm
  7.30pm Welcome Drinks
  8.00pm Dinner

Monday   A leisurely day in the studio and the grounds.

Tuesday
  Morning session Studio and grounds
  Afternoon session Proposed local visit or free time

Wednesday
  Morning session A days tutoring and studio or plein air work or free to roam/paint
  or sketch etc
 
Thursday
  Morning session Studio and grounds
  Afternoon session Free time to continue working on subject, finishing off or a visit
  to the local area
Friday
  Morning session Visit to a local Chateau or Thouars market
  Afternoon session Studio to finish off work and/or free time before goodbye dinner.

Saturday
  Final day Breakfast and goodbyes. Guests are asked to vacate their rooms
  by 11am

THE ABOVE OVERVIEW IS ONLY A GUIDE, AND MAY WELL CHANGE DUE TO THE WEATHER, THE NEEDS OF THE GROUP, OR UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.

A "Standard Holiday" week typically covers -

- Tutorial in watercolour techniques, textures and effects
- Still life using something typically french
- Plein air sketching and painting in various locations
- Developing techniques, and use of : Charcoal, pastels, watercolour and acrylics and mixed media

Your "Standard Holiday" week with us is more of a holiday than a course, and you will be at Bandouille to have some painting fun and relaxation. Our hope is that you will go home with a piece of work, where you have used a number of techniques that you have learnt or experimented, possibly with unfamiliar mediums, and feel that you have achieved something special.

A typical daily timetable would be :-

8.30 - 9.15 - Breakfast
10.00 - 12.30 - Morning Session
1.00 - Lunch
3.00 - 5.30 - Afternoon Session
6.00 - 7.00 - Time to chat and review the day
7.30 - 8.00 - Aperitifs & evening meal

Bandouille has a large farmhouse kitchen for breakfast and informal get togethers, a formal dining room for the evening meal, the large refectory hall and a communual lounge. We do of course have the large terrace facing the lake, and other lovely areas to sit outside on balmy summer evenings.

Bandouille is also the perfect place to relax. We have 24 acres of natural grounds including a large spring fed lake where you can sit, just listening to the sounds of nature, walk through the orchard or just read a book. And you will of course have free time to explore the area at your leisure, taking with you all you need if you wanted to stop and sketch.

Your week with us will include :-

• Comfortable bedrooms with ensuite facilities. All guests stay in the main house or
  the Gite in the garden, and  have the use of the large farmhouse kitchen, dining
  room, refectory hall, lounge and the grounds.

• Full-board accommodation with continental breakfast, light lunch, refreshments
  and home cooked 3 course evening meals, including wine or soft drinks (spirits
  are not included).

• Full use of the Studio, during the day and early evening, and materials.

• Studio, on-site and location painting.

• Excursions to a local market and historic town or village, to sketch and paint.

The cost of our "Standard Holiday" is £745.00 per person (2017). If we have a
visiting "Guest Tutor", the price will be noted on the related "Guest Tutor" page.

  Possible extras

  • Airport - collection / return - £50.00 (pounds) per person.
  (La Rochelle, Poitiers or Nantes. Subject to dates, times and availability of vehicles)
 

• A number of airlines service our local airports. Unfortunately arrivals and departures are not every day, and some flights on the La Rochelle / Stansted route do not include a Saturday departure. To cater for guests using these flights, we can normally plan ahead, and accommodate guests for an extra day / night, with their departure put forward to the Sunday.

  Extra night at Bandouille (Saturday or Sunday) - £75 (pounds) per person. Subject to availability.

If you belong to an art club, and wish to visit with your own tutor and group, this can be accommodated. Please email the requirements of your group, in the first instance, and we can then discuss suitable dates, and a possible "group booking" discount.

Our season will run from May till September (check Calendar). Please telephone or e-mail us with your enquiry.