Provence, France
June 24 – July 1 / 2023
– Sold Out!
Food / Wine & Cultural Adventure
Led by ~ Scott Williams & Niki Gulley ~
Like Paris, Provence is someplace that evokes strong emotions that beckon the inner artist in all of us. Travel the back roads admiring the country manors, chateaus and castles set among vibrant purple fields of lavender and golden sunflowers guaranteed to make you smile. Add to that some of the best food anywhere and once more, it is someplace that everyone just has to experience at least once in their life.
If you are a painter or photographer, we have designed this workshop to expand your creativity and further your artistic voice. Choosing which aspect interest you, where we will help guide you to capture on canvas or film, the spectacular architecture and rich tapestry, that is Provence. Join us as we explore the abundant riches that Provence has to offer. Imagine the chorus of monks chanting as you admire the commanding views from the ramparts of a thousand year old Abbey.
What trip to Provence would be complete without its star attraction, those amazing fields of lavender. Our excursions will take us in search of that perfect field that captures the essence of Provence. Walk in the steps of Van Gogh through the city of Arles and into the countryside where he spent his time in the asylum. Next spend some time touring in the old city section of Aix viewing their open air markets before poking your head into their cathedral built on the grounds of a Roman temple.
If your taste for Roman architecture hasn’t had it’s fill, marvel at this engineering feat as you walk across the Pont Julien bridge dating to 3 BC. These are but a few of the things that await you on your Provence adventure. Once more, as with Paris, Provence has its own style of cooking that amounts to culinary acrobatics where food is a religion and wine carries a Papal heritage. Which means a visit to Châteauneuf-du-Pape for some of the best wines in France. Provence is an adventure around every corner, that is just waiting for you to discover.
Niki will conduct the Plein-Air Painting Workshop from different picturesque locations daily, teaching through a combination of demos, discussions, assistance and critiques. Sessions will be broken into different morning and afternoon locations, with plenty of time in between for shopping, sightseeing or to dine al fresco for a leisurely lunch.
Scott will take the photographers on daily walking tours where you will have the opportunity to experience France through your lens as Scott guides you to use your camera to define what you see while achieving your own artistic vision. As with the painters, there will be daily destinations with time allowances for exploring on your own.
So come join us as we take you on an inspirational exploration of Provence and its surroundings with an emphasis on observation and perception as we help you develop your own style.
Space is limited to 12 participants on a first-come basis, so we encourage you to enroll as soon as possible. There will also be space open for non-participating partners at reduced rates on a limited basis.
Work Shop includes:
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- Lodging for 7 nights amid the picturesque Provence landscape. (Pricing is for shared rooms)
- Private van transportation to various hill towns, including side trips to Les Beaux, Greoux les Baines, Roussillon & Aix en Provence
- Wine tasting in Fontvielle & Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
- Abbey de Montmajour admission.
- Breakfast
- Emergency Medical insurance
- Instruction, guidance, experience and fun
Your cost for all of this is $4,595 and to reserve a spot, simply send a completed application form (the forms will be provided by email upon request) along with your deposit of $1,500 per person.
A second payment of one half of the remainder after deposit is due by Oct. 1st, with a final payment due by Nov. 19th. We can take credit card payments, however it will incur a 3.6% fee.
For those wanting a single occupancy room, there will be an additional cost of $950.
There is a discount of $350 for people wanting to join us on the trip as tourists, but not take the workshop. We will also attempt to set up optional events when available at an additional cost for participants not interested in the painting/photography sessions.
Airfare to the workshop is not included, and you are responsible for your own travel arrangements. We will provide transportation from the Marseille (MRS) airport on Saturday, June 24th at one appointed departure time, as well as all transportation within Provence and the return to the airport in Marseille on Saturday July 1st.
Our return to Marseille on the 1st will arrive around 9am, which means that you will need to book a later flight that day.
We also suggest that you arrive a day or two early on the front end to get over jet lag in order to make the most of your Provence experience. We started doing that years ago and it has made a huge difference.
Our trips, while not overly strenuous do require a reasonable amount of physical fitness. In order to derive the greatest experience from our destinations, we spend a fair amount of time walking within each location. Our goal being that each person should see and experience as much of the scenery and culture as possible during our excursions.
In the event of inclement weather, alternate arrangements will be made for museum visits, etc. Once deposits are received, there will be no refunds for cancellations as trip arrangements will have been made. We suggest trip insurance for travel difficulties or unforeseen illness.
Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way and we hope that you will be able to join us!
Scott Williams 214-289-8512 / Niki Gulley 214-803-5812
Email Scott at, photoguy@blind-squirrel.org if you are interested in joining us.