SKETCH + PAINT + CERAMICS ARTS TOUR of PORTUGAL
with
5-17 September, 2027 (13 days/12 nights)
Themed around Portugal's grand buildings and gardens, this tour takes you into the heart of the beautiful Alentejo region, to build your skills and sketchbook repertoire with specialist tuition + 2 days of ceramics and specialist painting workshops, walks, guided tours & music in Lisbon
There's just something about Portugal that makes one want to paint it
Gateway to Europe and one of Europe's most exotic capital cities, Lisbon is, simply, beautiful.
The dramatic hillside setting cradles valleys of colourful facades; masonry of lemon and tangerine faced with blue and white tiles, and every other colour besides, not in wild cacophony, but rather, an elegant tableau just begging to be set down on paper.
So we're heading to Portugal for this 13-day art adventure...
Urban sketching is great fun! - the art of travelling with the lightest possible 'studio' and catching moments in a sketchbook, finding just the right economy of means to record your impressions, which can be worked up into something later, but equally, left in their spontaneous state, surrounded by fragments of your writing to create a unique memoir of a journey, a day ... anywhere.
Lets' begin in LISBON for a rich introduction over 4 days, where you'll discover the city - contemporary and historic - with guided tours at two exceptional private art museums, as well as a history walk with my favourite specialist guide getting to know the azulejos tile history as we go. You'll see the history told in cobalt blue and tin yellow, as well as contemporary tiles of remarkable plasticity.
You'll stay in a 4-Star, easy-to-access boutique hotel with a elevator in the central Baixa-Alfama district. Delicious breakfasts are included and you're in the midst of culinary heaven with wonderful restaurants just a few minutes' walk in every direction. We will use Lisbon's trolley cars, Ubers and taxis, but walking is the easy option to get around most parts of town.
Join a renowned teacher for two watercolour workshops in beautiful garden locations
You're going to visit grand country homes surrounded by historic gardens for watercolour en plein air workshops to learn techniques of rendering garden subjects as well as architecture and sculptural forms. Both destinations offer opportunities to learn more about Portuguese history, with incredible artworks both in and outside of the buildings ....
Your third art workshop is with one of Portugal's most esteemd artists
Today is a full day with a masterclass and a hands-on workshop followed by an art walk, including tranquil surroundings of Lisbon's Botanic Gardens.
Now Get ready for ceramics - Lisbon is built on a vast mountain of clay! Your two ceramics workshops offer the opportunity to learn creative glazing effects on pre-prepared vessels and plates, as well as building a collection of tiles - all ready to take home when you return to Lisbon. Come with ideas of a plan for tiles to use at home, be inspired by Lisbon, but above all lets' play with the pleasure of pattern and the chemistry of colour in a country obsessed with clay!
And Now to Food! - days of creativity, and nights of food and music. What would Lisbon be without fado? Its haunting melancholy described by the word saudade, which many say has no exact English equivalent. I'm inviting you to my favourite fado haunts, enjoying leisurely dinners and sangria. And on other nights? Well, tapas beneath the orange trees of Sé Cathedral and seafood by the Tagus River in the shadow of the Jeronimos Monastery make wonderful destinations with a view.
We then travel by private coach to CASTEL DE VIDE (2 nights), 220 km, staying in a gorgeous historic convento and attached mansion home. Often referred to as the 'Sintra of Alentejo', Castel de Vide isn't 'just' a picturesque medieval town, but a masterclass in light, texture and value control.
Gardens, gentle slopes and architecture will be our subjects to study in various lighting, as you work with high contrast light - whites and shadows, with the stark Alentejo architecture trimmed with vibrant ochre, cobalt blue, or earthy red borders around doors and windows, glowing richly in the golden hour.
Your own-room accommodation is a spacious estate including an old monastery, artfully recreated to provide an inspiration retreat space with olive grove, swimming pool, individually decorated rooms, and a convento dinner by candlelight.
Castel de Vide is where you'll learn to 'preserve' the white paper of your painting, in this case, the bright white-washed walls, whilst you paint the warm ambient light reflected onto them, contrast-balancing cool, dark-violet blue shadows falling against cobblestone paths.
Sounds challenging? You're in the capable hands of your art tutor this week ...
“I keep what I see in a loose watercolour sketch; the time I spend on it leaves its mark on me.”
Your art tutor is ANA MARIA CLEMENTE, who will travel with us throughout our week in the Alentejo. With her masterclass and teaching workshop in the morning, you'll be well prepared to tackle plein air painting in the latter part of the day, or whenever you choose to paint.
Ana is a wonderfully practical, step-by-step instructor, she really shows you how to do it, and she really wants you to be pleased with your work, so her hands-on approach is welcomed by students to whom watercolour is unfamiliar.
If you have more experience, then her advanced techniques, involving collage and many other materials will present new possibilities, and of course we have the art lessons from Lisbon to put to good use too
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For Ana Maria Clemente, sketching is a way of slowing down, looking more closely and keeping a little piece of each place and
moment. A landscape architect by profession and an Urban & Nature Sketcher at heart, she finds inspiration in landscapes, plants, people and everyday scenes.
She loves capturing moments, telling stories and exploring how drawing can help us connect with the world around us — one line, one brushstroke and one splash of colour at a time.
She will serve as President of Urban Sketchers Portugal for 2026–28, continuing a journey that began when she joined the movement in 2019. Since then, she has taken part in numerous national and international sketching gatherings. Always curious and eager to explore new techniques and materials, she is constantly learning and experimenting.
Her work has been presented in exhibitions and publications, including her 2023 solo exhibition “Gestos de Cor” and the exhibition “Desenho de Natureza – Scientific Illustration and Field Sketchbooks” at Lisbon’s Museum of Natural History, 2025, an experience particularly close to her passion for observing and drawing the living world. Her illustrations have also appeared in books and magazines.
Ana particularly enjoys sharing what she has learned with others, encouraging people of all ages to overcome the fear of the blank page and discover the pleasure of drawing what they see.
For Ana, travelling without a sketchbook and a box of watercolours is almost as unthinkable as travelling without a toothbrush.
It's only 108 km to ÉVORA (2 nights), the capital of the sun-bleached Alentejo region, a region defined by endless vineyads, olive groves and ancient cork plantations. Its capital, Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage city, and, in 2027, European capital of Culture.
Here, in the heart of the medieval walled town, you'll have your own gorgeous apartment in a stunning C.16th nobelman's mansion; be able to swim in the private courtyard, feast on sumptuous breakfasts in the Rococo dining room, and find magnificent viewpoints for sketching and watercolour painting.
From quiet alleys with white-washed buildings and serene grey stone structures, to sun-dappled squares, Baroque fountains, and the medieval fairytale turreted cathedral, you're going to love meandering through Évora until dinner time, when a host of amazing dining opportunities await you
I'll teach you how to make your own hand-bound journal from scratch, which you can embellish with gold leaf to create a special souvenir of your Alentejo memories - the paper will be perfect for watercolours!
In Évora you will have three sessions with Ana along with a guided history walk, a free evening and the second evening you're invited to share an award-winning dining experience.
And Now to the Vineyards! Yes, it's harvest season, and we're off early to collect grapes, returning them to the treading vats, roll up our trousers and get to work! You'll really feel like the hearty lunch once its laid on yet another abundantly laden long table, and sampling the many vintages brought before us is a real treat. Eat, drink and relax before tackling a watercolour sketch with Ana, and snooze on the bus as we make our way towards our final destination close to the Spanish border.
For the next three nights you will stay at a nearby monastery (convento), renowned throughout Portugal and afar for the sheer quantity and quality of its azulejos tiles. With two swimming pools, pine forest walks, commanding views of the Alentejo plain and a fine menu and cellar, you'll want to capture the entire experience in your sketchbook.
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
- 6 nights accommodation with breakfast in 4-star boutique Hotel in Lisbon
- 2 nights accommodation with breakfast in boutique heritage property in Castel de Vide
- 2 nights accommodation with breakfast in 4-star heritage hotel in Evora
- 3 nights accommodation with breakfast in 4-star heritage monastery hotel in Redondo
- luxury bus transfers between cities
- full-time art tutor for 9 days whilst travelling
- 2 professional watercolour workshops in Lisbon
- 1 masterclass and workshop with artist in Lisbon
- 2 ceramic classes in Lisbon
- 1 workshop to make your own hand-bound journal
- 1 guided art walk in Lisbon
- 2 guided art gallery walks in Lisbon
- 1 guided walk through the Convento Sao Paolo in Redondo with architectural historian
- Entrances to heritage properties in Lisbon
- 1 night of fado music with dinner and wines in Lisbon
- 1 gala farewell dinner with wines in Evora
- 1 special Alentejo Convento dinner with wines in Castel de Vide
- 1 typical long table dinner of Alentejo specialties with wines in Evora
- 1 hands-on grape harvest experience (half day)
- 1 vineyard harvest lunch with wines and wine tasting
- 1 half day tour to Vila Vicosa
- Fully supported by, including a Zoom call with, Anna Kwiecinska, prior to the trip to answer any questions
- Curated and fully escorted by Anna Kwiecinska
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
- airfares
- insurance
- entrance tickets for places not listed on the itinerary
- all alcoholic beverages not indicated on itinerary
- any incidental travel not included in the itinerary
- tips and gratuities
COST
We have 4 destinations (Lisbon, Castel De Vide, Evora and The Convento). Your rooms in Castel de Vide and The Convento are all of the same category, so you only have to decide which type of room you want in Lisbon and Evora, to choose which package you want.
3 PACKAGES
COSY = LISBON Cosy Room + EVORA Standard room + CONVENTO a Standard room
SUPERIOR = LISBON Superior room + EVORA Superior Room + CONVENTO Superior room (only 4 available)
DELUXE = LISBON Deluxe Room+ EVORA a Superior Room + CONVENTO a Suite (we have only 3)
Your 4-Star Lisbon Hotel room options:
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Cosy room is a small double (14 m2)
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Superior is 20 m2
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Deluxe is 24 m2
UPGRADES to deluxe, junior suite or suite may be available upon request for Lisbon - please indicate this on your booking form.
