Course Overview
Be inspired by the Genal Valley - Texture, Colour, Light, Beauty,Tone, line

Learn, or keep developing, a skill for life. Whether your interest is representational, abstract, colour, texture, people, animals or landscape, whether you are neat or messy and whether you have some experience or none, these breaks are about exploring your own interests and potential for drawing and painting as well as learning techniques to help you achieve satisfying results.

"Inspirational teaching, lovely workroom" - "plenty of inspiration and more importantly, a relaxed supportive environment to play with and explore our responses"

"...fantastic range of materials at my fingertips and encouragement to use them - brilliant. I loved feeling free to make a mess and spread out".

The emphasis is always on the pleasure and fun of drawing and painting. Workshops are designed to free people up and each person is supported to explore and expand their own style and interests. Materials and a drawing board are provided. You bring your own hard backed sketch book and your favourite pens, brushes only.

Beginners and the less experienced get plenty of one - one support. Those with more experience get help with problem solving and a chance to refresh their skills in a stunning, inspiring environment. There is also plenty of free time to relax.

Did you know we also offer walking holidays in Spain too?

Holiday	Prices in Euros
7 night, 6 day Art holiday	€667
1:1 tutoring outside of a week or weekend art break	€12
Friday to Sunday (inc. bed, meals and some art materials)	€200
Day workshop rate	€60
7 night, 6 day art holidays: Prices for week inclusive of materials. Generally based on arrival Sundays pm and departures the following Sunday am and includes one free day to do as you please (lunch and dinner not included on this free day). Transfers from and to Ronda on arrival and departure. Accommodation is based on shared occupancy. Breakfast and lunch and some evening meals are served at the house, others are taken at the restaurant and the tapas bar in the village, both serve excellent food. Payment may be made by bank tranfer or credit / debit card online.

Accommodation
La Casa del Llanete is a beautiful restored Spanish house, with breathtaking mountain views, in the middle of a small traditional village, where you get the best of both worlds, a stunning environment and local character; off the beaten track, but not isolated. This is real Spain in the unspoilt, friendly small white village of Alpandeire in the Genal Valley, close to historic Ronda. The village has great charm as well as excellent food in the local restaurants.

Tutor
Between them, Phil Burgess and Nicky Duirs run art holidays, walking and therapeutic breaks at Casa del Llanete. They have years of experience working in the arts and with arts and health organisations. They have also worked with many different groups of people and for organisations as diverse as community theatre companies, schools and colleges, local authorities and the NHS. Workshops at Casa del Llanete are run on a structured but relaxed, flexible and informal style, so that individuals get the most out of their break here.

Nicky trained in visual arts at Manchester Metropolitan University. In her professional work she has taught many people to draw and paint with particular emphasis on exploring art materials and helping people to find and develop their own style. She has exhibited and sold her work in the UK, Spain and the Middle East. She has developed arts projects, run training programmes and supported emerging artist networks. Before leaving Manchester, she was the arts development co-ordinator for Europe´s largest single-site Cancer hospital.

Location
The Valle de Genal lies west of Malaga and north of Marbella. It is approximately two hours from Sevilla, one and a half from Malaga, two from Cadiz and three from Granada. The beautiful city of Ronda is no more than twenty minutes from the nearest villages of the valley. The Genal valley sits between two national parks, Los Alcornocales and Las Nieves.

The valley is divided into two sections, the alto or upper Genal and the bajo or lower Genal. Alpandeire is one of the seven villages of the Alto Genal that includes Farajan, Juzcar, Cartajima, Parauta, Igualeja and Pujerra. The Alto Genal is not on any main through route, like the Bajo Genal which is on the road from Algeciras to Ronda, but the upper valley winds its way between that road and the main route from San Pedro on the coast, to Ronda. Until very recent times isolation and the particularly bad roads (some still are) have kept this part of the valley out of the main tourist routes. Road improvements are now well under way and rural tourism is beginning to find its way into the valley.

The village of Alpandeire sits at the head of the Genal Valley with Chestnut forests below and Limestone crags behind. The Rio Genal flows through the valley and makes a refreshing place to take a dip on a hot day. In the Spring, the Limestone is covered in wild flowers and this area is on the main bird migration path. All year a colony of Griffen Vultures can be seen soaring above the crags.

How to Get to Us
We are 12 miles (17 Kilometres) from Ronda, approximately 1hr 45 mins from Malaga or Jerez airports. By prior arrangement we can arrange for an airport pick-up for you, or collect you from Ronda ourselves.