Art and Culture in the Balearic Islands
Plein Air Painting and Drawing Retreats
on the Island of Mallorca, Spain
April 13-20, 2024
With Jorge and Meredith and the Ridgway Gallery Workshops
Join us as we return to La Serranía nestled in the foothills of the Serra de Tramuntana Mountains near Pollensa. This is our sixth trip to Mallorca and we are looking forward to painting together again. We will focus on the trees and the abundant variety of plant life, as well as the larger view of the sea, sky and rocky coastline. Together we will explore and capture the space, light and tranquility of a Mediterranean island through our drawings and paintings.
The history and culture of the Iberian Peninsula is a topic close to our hearts as this is Jorge’s ancestry. We have been traveling to Spain regularly since 2000 and we want to share it with you over a glass of Tempranillo!
Day 1 – Palma – Plan to spend Friday night, the day before the workshop begins at the Hotel Almudaina in downtown Palma. We will meet there at 10:00 Saturday morning to visit the Miro Foundation. Afterwards our bus will pick us up at 3:00 to take us to La Serranía. Upon our arrival we’ll take time to settle into our rooms and studio and start enjoying the gardens and views of the Tramuntanas. A three course dinner at 7:00 offers a Mediterranean cuisine and local wines. A great way to welcome us to a week on Mallorca!
Day 2 – Pollensa Sunday Market – We’ll taxi into Pollensa after breakfast to see an abundance of local food products! This is a chance to stock up and try something new at our “wine and cheese” cultural evenings before dinner. We can take the 365 wide steps up to the church to get an overall view of where we will be painting and drawing. Back in time for lunch, we’ll get more familiar with our new environment through drawing or painting . Then it’s time to sample our purchases from the market and hear about Mallorcan culture over a glass of local wine.
Day 3 – La Serranía – We’ll spend the day painting in the gardens of La Serranía and also from the gardens with a view towards the Tramuntana Mountains!
It is an opportunity to get to know the plants and trees native to a Mediterranean environment. Sometime, later in the day, we’ll prepare
for our next day of painting at the ocean with a series of color studies and exercises to enable us to capture moving water.
Day 4 – Cala San Vincens – At 10:00 we will take a taxi to this stunning Cala about twenty minutes away. It is so exciting to paint the Mediterranean sea from this beautiful intimate cove! There is also an opportunity to hike to see a great view of the Cap Formentor. Included in this day’s outing is a lunch at a traditional seaside restaurant to sample some of the local seafood!
Day 5 – Studio – Following our day on the beach we will spend the day painting in our studio at La Serranía.
Incorporating the blues of the ocean with the greens of the garden we will create works that express the variety of the native vegetation and trees along with the feeling of space, light and serenity that we have been experiencing during this week of painting together.
Day 6 – A Big Day in Deya! – Today is our trip to visit the Casa de Robert Graves museum and spend some time drawing and painting in his beautiful gardens. We will bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the garden before we continue on to Son Maroig. The former mansion of Archduke Luis Salvador is situated in a great location to see and paint the dramatic rocky coastline.
If time permits we will stop at Valdemossa the town where Chopin spent a winter composing his music.
Day 7 – Our Last Day at La Serranía – We don’t have any formal plans for the last day. It is a day to relax, continue paintings and drawings, take a swim or a walk. You can make a trip into Pollensa for any last minute shopping! Before dinner we usually take a glass of wine into the studio to have a look at our work from the week.
The price for the week is $2,850 based on double occupancy ($2500 for accompanying non-artist partner) and includes accommodations and all meals, with wine, for the week at La Serranía, all ground transportation including to and from the airport in Palma, full day excursion to Deya, all museum entry fees and one lunch at a local restaurant.
The price does not include airfare to and from Mallorca, Friday night hotel in Palma, and your art supplies.
This workshop is limited to 10 participants.
A deposit of $500 is required to hold your space in the workshop.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions.
We look forward to our week in the spring of 2024 in Mallorca!
Warm Regards,
Meredith Nemirov and Jorge Anchondo
Ridgway Gallery Workshops – meredith.nemirov@gmail.com – (970) 318 8444
To see posts from previous workshops – www.meredithnemirov.blogspot.com