Collioure is a truly beautiful port town situated along the Vermillion coast not far from the Spanish border. Ever-popular with artists; the colourful buildings, imposing fortified chateau, cobbled streets and sparkling beaches and boats provide an endless source of inspiration.
Despite all the odds, the 2020 Collioure sketch holiday (originally scheduled for June) went ahead in August, which is the usually the busiest month of the year in coastal resorts. Nonetheless, my job is to seek out the best sketching spots, and with a little bit of extra legwork some ideal and well sheltered locations were found.
As always, we started with some warm up sketching, to go through some of the essentials of drawing and colour – this was quickly followed by sketches of the lighthouse and the bay. And boats. For a beginner that may sound like a totally daunting prospect – but step by step we worked through the elements one at a time, pausing for tapas lunches and some local rosé wine. It is a holiday – after all!
Short sketching breaks are much more than a holiday. They offer you the chance to really immerse yourself in your surroundings, explore somewhere new, and notice things that normally may pass you by.
The sketches created on this holiday are just lovely, and a great memento of a weekend with new friends.
Collioure is such a fabulous location, Colours of the Mediterranean is already in the calendar for 2021 – at the slightly later, quieter cooler time of year, 17-20 September. Come and join me!
