Les Darlings Artistes
Les Darlings News
2011 Painting Holiday
We already have a full group for Bryan's popular Languedoc art holiday which will take place May 15-22. This is a perfect time to visit as the weather is not too hot, so it is pleasant to sit outdoors and paint, and the scenery is particularly beautiful, with fresh spring growth, lots of wildflowers and butterflies.
Visit our art holidays page for the full details of this holiday and contact Bryan for future holiday dates.
Bryan's painting holidays are for small groups of approximately eight people, which gives plenty of scope for customisation, depending on individual tastes and wishes of the participants.
Impressions of Languedoc Exhibition
Our annual Impressions of Languedoc exhibition took place at Courtyard Arts Gallery in November 2010. We had a fantastic turnout at the private view, which turned into quite a party! The exhibition included a diverse range of drawings and paintings created during and inspired by Bryan's painting holiday earlier in the year.
Pre-Christmas Sale at Hertford Art House
The art studios at Hertford Art House were open to the public on two Saturdays in December for Christmas shopping. Many visitors stopped by to meet the artists and browse for unique presents. On offer were original artworks and cards, hand crafted ceramics and furniture.
2010 Painting Holiday Reunion and Exhibition
Participants from the 2010 French painting holiday met up in September for a Languedoc reunion evening, where they compared photographs, tasted some Languedoc wines and, most importantly, planned their forthcoming art exhibition at Courtyard Arts Gallery. It is not obligatory for holiday participants to exhibit their work, but it is a great opportunity to do so for low cost as the gallery and promotion costs are shared among the group.
Promote Your Work on the Web Workshop
Ruth recently ran a successful workshop at Courtyard Arts on promoting your work on the web. The workshop is designed for artists and other creatives to give them information, techniques and tools for exhibiting their work on the Internet. Having studied HTML, CSS, Javascript and other essential web technologies, Ruth has a huge amount of technical knowledge and experience in this area. For many artists, however, figuring out how to get their work online can be a baffling and overwhelming task.
The workshop included simple, free and low-cost tools, with many case studies and examples. The participants, who included visual artists, photographers and needleworkers, went away excited and enthused about the possibilities.
Ruth is now working on a downloadable e-book for artists and creatives on how to set up their own website, and more workshops will be organised next year.
Open Studios at Hertford Art House
To coincide with the Open Exhibitions at Hertford Art Society and Courtyard Arts Gallery, some of the artists at Hertford Art House (where Ruth has her studio) opened their studios to visitors in May. It was a great opportunity for the public to view lots of art and see how the artists work.
We had lots of visitors and also made some sales, so it was very worthwhile. If you missed the Open Studio but would still like to visit and view Ruth's artwork, contact Ruth to arrange an individual visit.
Courtyard Arts Open Exhibition
Both Ruth and Bryan had paintings accepted at the Courtyard Arts Open Exhibition in May 2010. Ruth also had a painting accepted for the Hertford Art Society Open Exhibition – an achievement as only 40% of the works submitted are selected for the exhibition.
Painting Holiday 2010
Bryan's painting holiday in Languedoc took place in May 2010. Despite battling with cold and wind for the first couple of days, everyone enjoyed the trip and some great artwork was produced. Some highlights of the holiday were the wonderful wine tasting at Domaine de Roudène in Paziols village, and our meeting with Monsieur JoJo Pous at Hôtel Les Templiers in Collioure to see the legendary guest book which contains entries from the many famous artists who stayed at the hotel in the past, such as Picasso, Dalí, Raoul Dufy and many others.
Hertford Art House Launch Party
Hertford Art House, where Ruth's art studio is located, had an official launch party on Thursday 3 December 2009. The studios were open and the artists were present. Contact Ruth if you were unable to attend but would like to come along to visit Ruth's studio.
If you're looking for a studio yourself, there are some studios currently available for rental.
Painting Holiday Exhibition 2009
Bryan's French painting holiday in May 2009 was hugely popular. Together with art teacher Gillian Mackenna and a group of artists, we visited the Languedoc region in southwest France. Both Bryan and Ruth have extensive knowledge of the area and can guide artists to superb locations for painting outdoors, as well as good value restaurants, wine tastings and other delights.
Following the holiday, the artists joined together to mount a group exhibition in October 2009, Plein Air Painters of Paziols, where they exhibited work painted in Languedoc or developed after their return home.
If you are interested in the next French painting holiday, contact Bryan for more details.