ART RETREAT
Summer Workshop at Chalet Mathilde
A week of painting Alpine Flowers with Clare Robinson, devoted to the art of watercolour painting in the beautiful French Alps.
Enjoy the cosy comfort of Chalet Mathilde which offers a peaceful retreat right on the slopes of Les Coches. With six en-suite bedrooms, a spacious open-plan lounge and panoramic mountain views, its the perfect base for relaxing and therapeutic art retreat.
Hosted by floral and textile artist Clare Robinson, this workshop is designed to introduce beginners and intermediates to the medium of watercolour, helping you nurture and develop your own style.
Clare will demonstrate over the week and there will be plenty of one-on-one guidance to help enhance your observation and expressive painting skills. A very relaxed, friendly and organic workshop, with everyone working at their own pace.
Plenty of time to relax and breathe in the fresh Alpine air with stunning surroundings with gentle forest walks, use of the hot tub and sauna and a local trip to the pretty town of Bourg St Maurice. If you would like to enjoy some holistic therapies as well, yoga and massage activities are available to book.
A little about your tutor for the workshop:
Clare Robinson BA (Hons) Textile Design is a watercolour artist and textile designer with a love for the painterly and softly drawn images.
She has collaborated with British Heritage brands, designing bespoke artwork and prints for homewares and magazines, also teaching classes and hosting wellbeing workshops for UK charities.
What will the week look like:
Once you are unpacked and settled, we invite you to enjoy some tea or coffee and home baking on the terrace where you can relax after your journey.
A welcome dinner on the Monday night and a chance to meet your fellow guests and Clare, your tutor.
On the Tuesday morning after a light breakfast, an introduction and suggested workshop plan for the week. The day will start gently with a short relaxing walk to collect a few alpine flowers, depending on the weather. All flowers however will be provided for the course.
It's a relaxed, informal and organic workshop, firstly exploring sketching with watercolour and use of some mix media, like watercolour pencils, black pen.
Clare will guide you through the steps to illustrate a variety of seasonal flowers and foliage, experimenting with loose-style and wet-in-wet watercolour techniques, wet-in-dry and details, layering, composition, colour mixing and brush work to convey the textures, colours and essence of your flower.
Finally reflecting on your work during the week and progressing to creating a beautiful floral painting using loose style watercolour to take home.
Art Classes are every morning after breakfast, 10.00-12.30pm with a light lunch on the terrace from 12.30-1.30pm.
In the afternoon, a creative hour 1.30pm - 2.30pm then plenty of time for gentle forest walks, relax and unwind in the sauna/hot tub and additional yoga/massage is available to book and a trip to local villages if you wish.
All meet for dinner at 7.30pm on Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs evening.
Dates:
Monday 8th June - Friday 12th June 2026
Workshop - Tues 9th / Wed 10th / Thurs 11th June
Arrival Monday - Depart Friday morning
Limited to 8 participants
£1800- per person in an individual room
£1600 - per person sharing a room
What's included:
4 nights of accommodation in your own room, all rooms are ensuite
3 freshly prepared meals a day. All wine is included with dinner and dietary requirements catered for
Use of private hot tub and sauna.
Daily art classes
contact for travel suggestions, collection from local train station is available.
What's not:
International flights
Transfer from and to the airport
Travel/Medical Insurance
Personal expenses
Art materials (a materials guide is available)
To book: www.clarerobinson.com
For more info: email: clare@clarerobinson.com call: 07968058297
