Portugal 2015 - painting in the sun

In September/October 2015, I had the opportunity to lead a watercolour workshop in Portugal. A group of 12 artists met up in Lisbon for a few days of sketching and sight seeing ( we spent one evening at a wonderful old restaurant where we listened to traditional Portugese folk music called Fado, love it!) , then we flew to the Algarve, along the southern coast of Portugal to a small town called Olhao. My workshop took place at the art school there, called Art in the Algarve,  A wonderful old building with lots of character and colour and just a few blocks walk to the water. We stayed at the art school, in lovely rooms with red tiles and shutters,  were fed well and drank lots of local wine of course.  And we sketched and painted every day, around the harbour front with old boats and fishermen, the local shops with baskets and tiles and lots and lots of fresh fish, and back in the lovely studio at the art school. One evening we had a local girl who was a waitress at one of the Tapas restaurants come sit for us as a model. 

Portugal is a wonderful place, and we hope to return again and discover more of what it has to offer. This was my last workshop before I retired from teaching, bot a sad and exciting time in my life. I will now focus more on large paintings and seeing what I can discover in my art. Thanks to everyone who was part of my workshops that spanned over many years, here in Canada and in places abroad where we had fun, created lots of art, and made new friends. 
If you are interested in Art in the Algarve, you can find more on their website.
artinthealgarve.com
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