during our exploratory trip to Quimiac, France, in 2006.
We've decided to try our Quimiac adventure once again., but in June of 2009 instead. We've made every effort to keep the price reasonable and most features of the workshop will remain the same as last year: five or fewer students per instructor,one meal per day provided, lodging in a large family vacation house, two field trips
away from the village, and a farewell celebration at a local restaurant. What will be different is that instructors and students will live together in the same house. If we enroll 10 students, Nancy Tankersley and Bethanne Cople will instruct, if we enroll 5 more, Sara Poly will also teach (and we will start filling the second house) and if we enroll more than 15 students we will also have Ed Cooper (or another equally able instructor) to fill out the workshop. Our enrollment limit is 20 students.
2009 Fees
Private room, private bath - $2700
Private room, shared bath - $2400
Shared room, shared bath - $2200
Tuition only - $1000
For those desiring more privacy, accommodations at the local hotel are available at www.relaismarine.fr .
Airfare is not included in the above fees, transportation to and from the train station in LaBaule is included in the above fees.
Transportation to off-site painting locations provided.
We advise that you do not make non-refundable air reservations until we ensure that we have enough students to book this workshop.
Please enjoy the photos below from our 2007 workshop!
Day #1 - Georgia and Laura on the beach at Quimiac fighting off jet lag!
Bethanne innocently engages Ed in a conversation about the "knife" versus the "brush"....
Ed and his class draw the buildings on the cliffs above Quimiac beach.
Model Elizabeth strolls the Quimiac beach for the "moving figure" class.
Elizabeth poses in the village of Kerhinet (our first field trip away from Quimiac), a restored farm village complete with grass roofs.
Even in busy LaBaule, the bike and the fresh bread are everywhere!
Dining in a charming auberge in the village of Kerhinet.
Morning mist in the walled city of Guerande, 20 minutes from Quimiac, where some of us spent an afternoon painting and enjoying the market.
A typical midday meal at the "compound".
Assistant Meredith (American) and Chef Gracianne (French) presented us with delightful "fusion" meals.
Often their sunbathing was interrupted by the necessity of preparing meals!
Day off in the modern beach town of LaBaule.
The beautiful beach at LaBaule, 30 minutes south of Quimiac.
Rodney, our chauffeur, sous-chef, masseur, plumber and "can do" staff member, entertains the kitchen staff.
Model Elizabeth strolls the the lanes of Guerande.
Laura and Kay shopping the street market in LaBaule.
With rising gas prices, Sara, Ed and Tim decide to try an alternate form of transportation....Rodney advises the use of duct tape.
La Roche Bernard (henceforth known as Bernie's Rock) was our second field trip. We had a beautiful view of the LaVilaine River.
Carol, Nancy and Karen tackle the complexities of buildings and figures!
Elizabeth poses for the afternoon figure group.
Lunch at a creperie at La Roche Bernard.
Lynn starts to look French!
Louis, a talented portrait and wildlife artist, who invited us to his attic studio in La Roche Bernard.
On our last day of instruction, Meredith gave Elizabeth a break from modeling.
This is Bernie's sketch of Meredith....
Elizabeth, our lovely model.
Here we are at our final midday meal.
We gathered for a final critique...
Sara and Ed during the friendly critique. Note that Ed is never without his brush!
Later that evening, we gathered at Ed's favorite restaurant which specialized in "huitres", the delicious oysters of the region.
Karen laughs at one of many funny painting stories...
Giving up on the landscape, Sara attempts to teach the "can-can"!
Bethanne demonstrates her knife technique.
Nancy does an impromptu portrait demo of Gracianne.
Ed demonstrates other uses of the brush.
Sara models what the well dressed plein air painter wears....
The sun sets on our beautiful Quimiac painting adventure....
Memories of a beautiful place...
Low tide reveals the oyster beds.....
High tide showcases the cliffs...
The saltmarshes....
The windmills.....
The architecture...
The miles and miles of salt......
The open-air markets every day of the week....
The charming villages.....
Friendly natives......
A Fond Farewell...
Student Allison prepares to board the bus to the airport, carrying many wet canvases and memories of this special place in Brittany...
To view Allison's fabulous French photos, go to www.allisonsangree.com and click on "blog".
