Photo by: Kathleen Jacobs
Location: New England
PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

Vinalhaven Island, Maine Nature Painting Workshop

Plein-Air Landscape Sketching and Painting

Region

North America

Destination

Vinalhaven Maine

Dates

September 19-24, 2024

Duration

5 days

$2895 in Single Room

per person, double occupancy*

*U.S. dollars based upon minimum of 7 participants. There is a small group surcharge of $300 if 3-6 participants. We try to accommodate travelers who request single accommodations, as well as travelers who are looking for a roommate. If a single room is requested (subject to availability), or if we are unable to find a suitable roommate, there is a single room surcharge of $450 Credit per person if shared room.

Tour Overview

Overview

In this drawing and painting nature workshop students will be immersed in the beautiful views of Vinalhaven on the coast of Maine. Vinalhaven is not your characteristic Maine destination, it will feel like stepping back in time, without the typical New England tourism or development.  Arriving by ferry, you will stay in the only hotel on the island. Days will be devoted looking and exploring using the painting and drawing medium of your...

Overview

In this drawing and painting nature workshop students will be immersed in the beautiful views of Vinalhaven on the coast of Maine. Vinalhaven is not your characteristic Maine destination, it will feel like stepping back in time, without the typical New England tourism or development.  Arriving by ferry, you will stay in the only hotel on the island. Days will be devoted looking and exploring using the painting and drawing medium of your choice.  There will be several evening salon-style reviews and conversations about the work,  allowing for group discussions about process and ideas in a supportive environment. Join me this fall to paint in nature on this pristine coastal island for the perfect artist retreat for like-minded landscape painters. This departure is limited to a maximum of ten participants. We always welcome tour companions who are not artists. The trip’s leisurely pace will provide ample opportunity to wander around town and enjoy time with the locals that call this island home.

There is wireless internet at your accommodations. Individuals can pay for parking fee at the Rockland Ferry parking lot along with fee for walking on the ferry. We will notify you if there are other participants living in your area, so you can carpool to Rockland. Keep in mind that the Maine coast weather forces us to be flexible, but not to worry, there are plenty of scenes to capture right from your accommodations. There is also a lovely art gallery to explore.

Kathleen Jacobs and About this Class

In this class students will start with intuitive sketches of the natural hills, trees, and foliage of the landscape. Students look carefully to make pencil compositional studies to settle into the view of such a special place. Working in any painting medium, students will make small intimate paintings in one sitting. Like Corot, students will look to investigate composition, using form, shape, line, and color while working in nature. Emphasis will be placed on capturing the feeling of the landscape, without over analysis. We will use the historic color paint palette of Corot to express emotion.

Kathleen Jacobs will provide individualized instruction during plein air excursions, demonstrations, discussions, and presentations that will provide the format for an intensive exciting learning experience. Working small, participants will work to create work with a spirit of place. Her teaching emphasizes looking at the landscape and to understand the formal elements of painting, shape, color, space, form while responding to the grace, order and beauty that is in front of you. There will be ample opportunity to discuss each other’s work and to discuss other international painters throughout history to enrich your experience.

Fitness and Health
Walks and hikes can be on rough terrain and up to a couple miles in length. Trails can be uneven, slippery. You need to be able to climb uphill or over rocks. All participants need to be agile and able to manage their own gear and luggage in and out of the vehicle. Anyone who is reasonably fit should be able to take part in most of the activities. If you have any special needs or any physical condition that you feel might prevent you from fully participating, please contact Strabo Tours with your concerns (607-423-2525).

Tour Itinerary

September 19: Home-Rockland-Vinalhaven

Vinalhaven is 15 miles off the coast of Maine from Rockland, and it is the largest of the 14 year-round island towns of Maine. You can reach the island by taking the ferry from Rockland. You can leave your car in the parking area by the ferry and walk on to the boat, Kathleen will meet you when you reach Vinalhaven. After checking into the hotel Kathleen will go over the itinerary for the week and enjoy a lobster bake for your welcome dinner. (D)

September 20-23: Vinalhaven, Maine

Each day look as Corot did, to interpret the soft color-palettes. The hazy landscape paintings and poetic scenes of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot helped define plein air painting today. Like Corot we will seek to see and express the dreamlike quality of the color and light, while staying true to our “first impression” to capture the quiet dignity of the natural world.

You will be drawing or painting in beautiful areas, with a mid-day break for lunch in one of the local restaurants, or perhaps a picnic lunch. Each day explore something new, including a boat yard, lobster wharf, many natural areas where you may encounter seals and a variety of seabirds ( Double-crested Cormorant, and Black Guillemot).

Vinalhaven is a quiet, scenic lobstering village. It offers an array of scenic walks and nature trails such as Lane’s Island Nature Conservancy, and other natural areas such as Basin Preserve for sunrise. We will find land and seascapes at Granite Island and The Carrying Place. Lobster fishing is one of the main sources of income on the island; therefore we will spend time at several excellent harbors. You  can enjoy a sunrise, and after dinner, you may head out for a beautiful sunset.

Kathleen will make various presentations during your stay, at mid-day, evening, or perhaps an early morning if the weather prohibits the group from being outside. (Continental breakfast each day, Dinner the last evening)

September 24: Vinalhaven-Rockland-Home

There are several ferry times back to Rockland. A schedule will be sent upon enrollment.