The South of France has the ideal climate and environment (spiritual and visual) to study painting or drawing. This area continues to inspire people to paint and enjoy holidays with purpose. It can bring out the best in you and your art. David and Sally McEwen invite you to stay in their home in Lodeve, a quiet, scenic, relatively undiscovered part of France.
David’s painting, drawing and art courses are designed for beginners and experienced painters alike and are adjusted to suit you and your needs.
Previous course members have been students with a wide range of abilities; beginners who needed to learn the basics, others requiring technical advice and experienced painters wanting guidance or consultation from a professional painter and teacher.

We have enjoyed our stay immensely and have learned so much. We can’t wait to come back next year
— J&C, Scotland

Most days start with short technical demonstrations (I DO NOT paint a scene and then expect you to copy my style), then it’s either work in the studio or garden or it’s off to any of a dozen local scenes waiting for you to paint. No matter how many paintings you complete, I can guarantee that you will go home with a fresh way of looking at colour, form and composition and of thinking about painting.

Dinners "en famille" give students and guests a chance to discuss the day's events.

Relaxed dinners provide time to discuss the days progress and the next days plans. Guests can exchange advice and comments on each others work – but NOT blows!

The only equipment you will need to bring is your favourite medium, the best quality you can afford, pencils and a small sketchpad and, if you are working in watercolour, a pad of gummed-edge good quality paper.

More paintings have been spoiled by using poor quality brushes than almost anything else, therefore bring the best quality brushes you can buy.

Occasionally, you may find you don’t complete a picture, therefore a small camera to photograph the scene is useful — remember Degas used photos to paint from and if it was good enough for him, then it’s good enough for us!

Laughing is a big part of the workshops.

The most important aspect of your time at L’Atelier du Soulondre is that we want you to have FUN. We hope you will learn a lot about painting, come to love Lodeve, eat wonderful food, drink amazing amounts of wine, enjoy stimulating conversation, relax, but most important of all… have fun!

The length and dates of your holiday depend on you, as David and Sally live in Lodeve all year.

For rates, please go here.