The Grand Tour, an invention of the artistically minded British upper classes, has been revived in recent years by a host of companies offering a combination of travel and tuition in the company of like-minded people.
Journey through the astonishing Namibian landscape, painting deserts, sand dunes, salt pans and game reserves, then on through Botswana and Angola to Zimbabwe, where your artistic tour concludes at Victoria Falls. En route, you will stay in luxury safari lodges, often overlooking the waterholes at which animals great and small gather to drink. Art Safari, established in 1999, runs this 16-day “Dazzle of Zebras” tour from 20 February 2018, and then trips to other exotic destinations including the Galapagos islands, Mongolia, Costa Rica and Rajasthan throughout the year. Closer to home, the company offers sketching trips to London Zoo - the ideal warm-up for a more adventurous excursion.
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From £55 for sketching days at London Zoo to £5,217pp (two sharing) for the Dazzle of Zebras tour, including accommodation, most meals, tuition and guides. Flights extra. Contact Art Safari
Painting in the heart of rural Tuscany
Broaden your horizons with a stay at The Watermill at Posara, Tuscany, where painting sessions can be supplemented with courses in self-development, creative writing, Italian, knitting and yoga. Next year’s featured artists include Paul Talbot-Greaves (watercolours and acrylics, 28 April to 5 May), whose work is reproduced above, Andrew Geeson (watercolours 23 to 30 June), Claire Warner (watercolours, oils and acrylics, 15 to 22 September) and Vicki Norman (oils, 6 to 13 October). “Alongside workshops and masterclasses there are excursions to the nearby villages of the Cinque Terre and the town of Fivizzano on market day,” says The Times. The Watermill’s Italian cooking offers another reason to pack your bags: sample menus include creamy risotto al pesto, oven-baked fish between chestnut leaves and Amaretto mousse ice cream.
From £1,560pp (two sharing) for seven nights including tuition, meals, drinks and transfers to/from Pisa. Flights extra. Contact The Watermill at Posara
Writing and painting in Sri Lanka
Stay with an artistic husband-and-wife team in Kandy, at the rural heart of Sri Lanka, where you will take part in a range of masterclasses: the wife teaches creative writing, while the husband leads landscape painting workshops. After five days spent painting the sights of Kandy under the watchful eye of your hosts, you will set out by scenic train to Yala National Park (above). There, on the south-east of the island, you will put your skills to the test among magnificent landscapes, home to Asian elephants, majestic leopards, sloth bears, spotted deer, peacocks and crocodiles.
From £1,490pp, including nine nights’ B&B and most lunches and dinners. Contact TravelLocal
Painting seabirds in Scotland
Travel with the award-winning artist Darren Woodhead to a range of eye-catching destinations near and far, in this recent addition to Naturetrek’s programme of wildlife holidays. They include a four-day trip to St Abb’s Head, Berwickshire (above), where you will sketch and paint the cliffs and their resident colonies of kittawakes, common guillemots and peregrines, and a trip to the Hebridean island of Islay, where the focus will be waterfowl.
From £695pp for a four-day trip to Berwickshire. Contact Naturetrek
Watercolour landscapes in Sicily
Combine sensational Sicilian food with watercolour tuition at a private villa with this Flavours Holidays painting week. The itinerary includes an introduction to equipment and media, followed by instruction on techniques - and, of course, plenty of time to go out and put your new skills to the test in the Sicilian landscape. The week concludes with dinner at the villa and an exhibition of your paintings.
From £1,599pp, with no single supplement, including full board, tuition, excursions and transfers from Catania. Flights extra. Contact Flavours Holidays
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