Art workshops and vacations add a special layer to your trip. Last year we talked about art residencies. These are places where you can stay and create art for a period of time. 

Many of us are not going to stay at a location for an extended period of time and create art. We want to go to a destination for a normal amount of time, but also create art while we’re there. Art workshops and vacations are the answer.

There are special tours where you travel to a country and stay at a beautiful location.  At the location you are able to paint and experience other art forms.  Some of these are week-long adventures. Others are just for the day.

Art Vacations

Many tour companies offer week-long art vacations where the whole purpose of the vacation is to make art. These are perfect for artists of all levels. You choose these vacations based on your skill level and the destination you want to travel to.

Blue Walk offers art vacations in France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. You create an illustrated travel journal/sketchbook and paint the places you visit. There are so many benefits to keeping a travel sketchbook.

Responsible Travel is another company that offers painting vacations in many European cities. One of their packages includes an art cruise in Scotland.

Let’s explore what a week at one of these art vacations would look like. The Winslow Art Center offers week-long art classes in Umbria, Italy. You stay at the beautiful Castello di Petroia hotel, a 10th century castle with 16 bedrooms. Each day includes breakfast and lunch at the hotel. This is followed by a full day of painting instruction, using either watercolor, oil, acrylic or gouache. You choose your painting medium. Experience the joy of pleine air painting (painting outdoors).

These art vacations include spending about a week in a beautiful location and creating art each day.  Some people do not want to spend their whole vacation creating art. This is where specific art workshops come into play.

Art Workshops

These types of workshops are just for the day. Viator is a company that connects you to many art workshops. Book a workshop through Viator or a similar company. Search their art workshops based on your preferred destination.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country in Central America that I visited in 2022. I purchased beautiful handmade crafts from the artist Caro, an Argentine woman who has made Costa Rica home. Costa Rica is a great place to take an art workshop.

There are pottery classes held in the city of Limón. Learn about the indigenous people who have been creating pottery in Central America for hundreds of years. Use a pottery wheel as well as learn hand-building techniques.

In Santa Teresa, Costa Rica there is a silver studio that offers jewelry making. Use a torch to sculpt metal into beautiful rings.

Whether you take a true art vacation or attend an art workshop, you won’t regret adding art to your trip. Take a piece of your destination home with you. 

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