THE COURSES
Week-long art course/painting holiday, hosted by one of our talented artists.
2025 DATES
Art courses run for a full week, starting on Friday and ending the following Friday.
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Friday 20 June - Friday 27 June 2025 - Charles Rodwell
Charles' courses are planned to encourage people of all levels of ability to achieve an understanding of drawing and composition together with a confident use of colour.
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Dates TBA- Julia Palmer
Julia studied at Goldsmiths College and has developed her own style of painting, as well as exhibiting widely and sharing her passion with students in school, colleges & studio-based painting classes. She has spent many years in the South of France, which has encouraged her love of landscape and colour. Julia's course is appropriate for all levels of experience in painting and drawing.
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Dates TBA – Fiona Graham-Mackay
Fiona Graham-Mackay studied at the Royal College of Art under the illustrious Quentin Blake. Even before she left the RCA her work was in demand by leading London publishers. Fiona is known for her work with BBC Radio 4 and has also become a regular star in national newspaper articles especially in The Times and the Daily Telegraph, and arts magazines that feature her work.
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Fiona is a highly sought-after teacher, teaching in Italy and France, and running courses at her studio in East Sussex and we are delighted to say that she has agreed to run a course for us at Manoir du Battut in 2024.
Fiona’s course will be suitable for both beginners and more experienced artists and will include tuition in both oil and watercolour. The course will include work “en Plein Air” and will involve painting around the Manoir with trips out to local towns and villages and locations by the Dordogne River. Fiona also encourages artists to fill in a brief questionnaire in advance of the course to help her tailor individual tuition.
THE ARTISTS
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Charles Rodwell
Charles Rodwell studied at the Slade 1974-78 and has made a career from painting and travelling. He taught paintings in all media for over 20 years at the Marlborough Summer Schools and teaches small groups from his studio in Wiltshire. He has accompanied groups of painters to India on numerous occasions. He exhibits regularly and his work can be seen at www.charlesrodwellarts.com
Brought up in a strong European tradition of landscape painting he encourages people to paint ‘en plein air’ with guidance on drawing, composition, colour theory, and practical handling of materials. The importance of the journey from the first working drawing through to a finished painting is explained so that artists can confidently find their own style and path. There will be demonstrations and talks on different subjects.
Basic drawing and painting materials will be supplied and further materials can be supplied on request. Oil and acrylics are available for a supplement of £50.
There will be art tuition each day with sessions in the morning and afternoon, apart from a day off on the Tuesday. The week will include trips to paint on the river at Beaulieu Sur Dordogne, a spot that lives up to its name. For those who want to do their own thing, the tutors will be on hand at the beginning and end of the day to offer advice if required.
Julia Palmer
Julia studied at Goldsmiths College, London 1975 -78 and has developed her own style of painting, while exhibiting widely and sharing her passion with students in school, colleges and studio-based painting classes.
She has owned a home in the south of France for many years, which has encouraged her love of landscape and colour.
“I’m very much looking forward to running a course based within the rich environment of the Manoir du Battut, as well as daily visits out to work from the beautiful surrounding villages and countryside. The course I’m planning will be appropriate for all levels of experience of painting and drawing. All that is needed is willingness to experiment with new mediums and openness to learning from one another”
Basic drawing and painting materials will be supplied and further materials can be supplied on request. Oil and acrylics are available for a supplement of £50. There will be art tuition each day with sessions in the morning and afternoon, apart from a day off. The tutors will be on hand at the beginning and end of the day to offer advice if required.
www.juliagascoignepalmer.com
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Fiona Graham-Mackay
Fiona Graham-Mackay is one of "Britain's foremost portrait painters" says the Daily Telegraph. She has recently twice exhibited and talked at The National Portrait Gallery BP Awards, The National portrait Gallery of Scotland Edinburgh, and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Mall Gallery in London. She is also one of Britain's leading landscape painters with her work covering idyllic river and wildlife scenes in Britain to edgy landscapes and individuals in Pakistan and the Taliban country along the Afghan borders.
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Her painting has been so in demand during the past five years that she has travelled across thousands of miles to fulfil commissions – some of them in less that easy circumstances. For example, at the height of some of the worst tensions in Afghanistan, Fiona was painting in Pakistan and the Afghan border.
PRICE OF ART COURSE 2025
Main Bedroom 1 (King) with en suite shower room: £1,266 per person or £2,110 for two people sharing
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Main bedroom 2 (King) with own shower room: £1,160 per person or £1,975 for two people sharing
Main Bedroom 3 (Large Double) with en suite bath & shower room: £1,160 per person or £1,975 for two people sharing
Two twin rooms each with its own shower room: £950 per person or £850 each for two people.
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Salmon room (Queen) with its own shower room: £950 per person or £1,700 for two people.
Flights are not included in the price. The nearest airport is Brive (35 minutes from the house), Limoges (1hr 40 minutes), Bergerac (2 hrs). Prices include collection from Brive Airport or Limoges if required, for Bergerac and Toulouse you would need to hire a car.
Prices are for full board including wine and art tuition. Hosts have one lunch and one evening meal off per week when we encourage guests to explore some of the local restaurants (not included in price). Your hosts, Nick & Veryan, normally join in and sit with the group for both lunch and the evening meal.
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The main bedrooms have four poster beds or similar. The Twin rooms have single beds each with its own separate shower room, so is cheaper. Sadly due to the fact that this is a French National monument with parts of the house going back to the 15th century, it is not possible to provide an en suite for every room but we like to think that the house makes up for this in character.
We provide tea trays, kettles and hairdryers in each room.
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We expect artists to bring their own paints, brushes and materials, we do have some spare brushes, paints and sketch pads etc. in the studio together with portable sketching easels, and folding seats.
There is a shop about 15-mins from the house, which also provides some artist's materials, canvasses etc although it is not a specialist art shop.
SERVICES
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Breakfast
Start your day with a continental breakfast including fresh croissants, local jams, fruit and coffee or tea, normally served on the terrace or in the courtyard.
Lunch
To allow the creative juices to flow without interruption, we'll also provide a healthy and nourishing lunch with wine included.
Evening Meals
We provide five three-course evening meals with wine during the week. You will have the opportunity to explore local restaurants in the vicinity on other evenings.
Free Wifi
There is free wifi available for guests in the house. Good signal strength is available for mobile phones.
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Swimming Pool
When you're not painting, you are free to relax and enjoy the lovely swimming pool. We just ask that no glass is used around the pool.
