Hello sweet creative!

When was the last time you spent a whole week just painting and being an artist? I feel so grateful because that’s what I just did at Kelly Rae Roberts’s “Creative Joy” painting retreat in the south of France! Days and days with nothing else to do but create, explore and play from dawn to dusk (and quite a few more hours after that, too), my head and schedule completely free from the oh-so-many other demands of life and running an art business.

And even better: When was the last time I made real-life connections with other creative women, with plenty of time to get to know each other, share stories and giggles, doubts and aha moments, paint tubes and patterned papers? Whether in the (amazing) art studio, on field trips, around a delicious meal or just lounging on comfy sofas reading oracle cards to each other, it was magical to see how naturally we all just “clicked” together, each of us different, yet with so much in a common.

I’m not sure I could find the words to convey what this experience was like and felt like, so instead I’ll share a few pictures. All I can say is that this is exactly what my heart and art needed. I came home with renewed enthusiasm and creativity, which I’m sure will lead to new projects and ideas in the coming months!

The venue:

Chateau Dumas

Our wonderful hostess Lizzie welcomed us into her Chateau, decorated in a delightfully curated “French brocante” style. Lizzie, who is also an artist, was the most gracious hostess, making sure everyone felt welcome, comfortable and so much more. Here are some views of Chateau Dumas and my lovely “Lake View” bedroom:

Time to paint!

After a lovely first evening with drinks, dinner and gifts, the next day was all about painting! It was a lovely surprise to meet Kelly Rae’s artist friend Mati Rose, who was accompanying her and helping during the workshops. After exploring paint to our heart’s content, we then added mark-making, texture, collage… the whole magic of mixed media! My personal goal for the week was to play with brighter colors than usual: Orange! Neon pink! I joyfully stepped out of my soft-palette-comfort-zone and now I’m hooked!

field trips

Two days were dedicated to field trips in the area and were the perfect opportunity to look for inspiration for our art like colors, symbols and textures. As usual, I found myself particularly drawn to weathered textures, vintage colors, heart shapes, doors, angels etc.

We also had the best time shopping and walking up and down the streets of the medieval town of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val. We found ourselves giggling and playing dress-up at the coolest Indian fashion shop. The shop owner could hardly keep up with our noisy bunch, trying out colorful dresses and twirling in front of the mirror!

art & heart

On our last day we put the finishing touches to a whole little book of mini paintings, and a few larger pieces too. I went all in with collage butterflies! Then we had a very moving show-and-tell, followed by an impromptu art show in the dining room. We also set intentions for the next steps of our journey in art and life, and painted the words on each other! So meaningful and so much fun.

A wonderful bonus to this retreat was meeting one of my students Peta from Australia, who after five minutes of painting side by side turned into my new art bestie. At our “international table” we also had Jocelyne from Hong Kong and Raffaella from Luxembourg. There were stories of bunnies, mushrooms, butterflies, care bears (and even at some point, cows…), late-night painting, dance parties and just so much heart ♡.

and on to new adventures!

I’m back home now and still have plenty of unfinished pieces to play with, which is so motivating! A big thank you to Kelly Rae, Mati Rose, Lizzie and everyone at Uptrek for making this magical week happen, and to all the beautiful ladies who just made this the most special time ever. My heart is full and my creative spirit too!

What if painting in an abstract way gave you the freedom to explore your unique voice as an artist: your colors, marks, textures and more? What if you could create beautifully layered paintings that radiate with soul?

Class opens only once a year and it’s happening this September! Click below to learn more:

Leave a comment for me!