Landscapes & Seascapes Painting Weekend

This is a two-day course

For our Seascapes and Landscapes Weekend you will spend two days using our Artists’ Retreat as a base to explore some of the beautiful scenery and views around Inishowen, Co. Donegal.

Each morning we will gather at the cottage retreat with teas, coffees and locally made scones with homemade jam, giving ourselves time to get introduced and set up for the day ahead.

Saturday morning will be studio based getting everyone caught up and comfortable with colour ideas, composition layouts and plans for our painting adventures.

Lunch will be served around the table with vegan based soup and breads, a tour of the garden and preparations for our afternoon adventures.

On Sunday afternoon, returning to the cottage, we will enjoy a late lunch and begin to gather our thoughts and directions in pulling together our work. Each artist may have an average of four paintings to show for their weekends labour!

Depending on weather and wind direction we may visit different sites around the north and east of the peninsula, approx 10 min drive away. Participants may be required to use their own transport to/from sites. We will endeavour to car share where possible.

We will work both in the studio and en plein air weather permitting. This course is suitable for Beginners to Advanced painters. Each of you will be supported to work at your own pace with a little additional encouragement to complete your work.

In case of poor weather, please also bring your own photographs and/or sketches/drawings as painting references...just in case :)

Seascapes

Together we will explore shape and composition. This can be difficult when painting seascapes and many artists revert to horizontal lines and brushwork which can bring the eye off the canvas resulting in confused focal points and less powerful captures.

The colours blue and green are incredibly flexible and varied depending on pigment base, saturation and intensity of your colour mixing. We will demystify how to achieve the gradual changes in your green and blue tones for sea and sky, in the studio before going onsite to practice what you have learned.

We will discover how we can communicate and translate distance and depth in painting using desaturation of colour and tips and hints about colour theory and mixing.

Landscapes

We will visit some of the most dramatic and lesser-known areas of Inishowen, Co. Donegal, from hillsides to Irish boglands, lakes and farms. Landscape painting is an art of its own.

Choosing a perspective and translating that perspective from life, in a unique and considered way, is crucial to the development of a successful en plein air painting. Often, we make everything so complicated for ourselves that we lose the essence of what we are trying to communicate through our painting.

This course is designed for all abilities and levels and considers composition, atmosphere, space and distance, values, colour temperature and much more. We will also look at colour graduation, with handy tips on painting skies, clouds and trees with both knife and brush.

An alternative to on-site painting will be available in the Studio, if weather is poor. We are delighted to offer projected imagery and the use of photographic references which you are invited to bring for your own use.

Those who choose stay at our Artists’ Retreat Accommodation are very welcome to access the art studio in the evenings, the outdoor seating area and gardens, and the fire bowl.

Our Cottage Gallery exhibits the artwork of resident artist Sinéad Smyth, including drawings and paintings both old and new. Works are available for sale on enquiry. You can view Sinéad’s latest work at www.sineadsmyth.com

Cost €160 for the weekend (accommodation not included).10am-4pm on Saturday and Sunday. 8 participants. Tea/coffee & scones provided. Light lunch provided.

Please bring your own materials. We can supply materials at a reasonable price, but you would need to let us know in advance.

A suggested Materials List will be emailed four weeks in advance of your course. Please let us know of any dietary requirements on booking.

Materials: Oils and/or Acrylics

Accommodation

We have reduced rate accommodation in two twin rooms (for up to four people) at our Artists' Retreat during our art course weekends. It's reduced because the living room/kitchen and toilet areas are used by other course participants during the day.

Our reduced Painting weekend 2025/26 rates are €50 per person sharing, €75 for two nights (Fri & Sat). Or €70 per person single room supplement, €100 for two nights (Fri & Sat). Please contact sinead@artstaysdonegal.com to book as booking is not available on the website for these weekends.

If our artists’ retreat accommodation is already booked, we can recommend other local places to stay nearby.

You can view our rooms here: artstaysdonegal.com.