Drawing elephants from the vehicle, Amboseli, Kenya

Enjoy expert tuition and once-in-a-lifetime wildlife encounters with Art Safari painting holidays.

Imagine waking up somewhere that takes your breath away, the sun rising over a silent savannah, the cool mist on a Cornish clifftop, or the vibrant colours of a market street in South India...

"Look - there’s a baby elephant!”

It’s not something you usually hear in an art class. But on an Art Safari in Africa, it’s perfectly normal. Every Art Safari journey is packed with unforgettable experiences, and not just wildlife encounters (though there are plenty of those). Each trip combines expert tuition, shared creative time, and the joy of getting to know like-minded people, all guided by deep knowledge of art, culture, wildlife, and place.

Whether you join us at Suffolk SketchFest, our lively sketching festival, or travel further afield on a painting holiday to one of the many countries we visit each year, you’re signing up for adventure. You’ll feel the exhilaration of fast sketching as new scenes unfold in front of you, and the calm satisfaction of slower, more considered paintings when we settle into a landscape. Our tutors and guides are there to support you every step of the way, helping you feel relaxed, confident and ready to truly see. 

Art Safari was founded in 1999 by travel artist Mary-Anne Bartlett, inspired by a simple belief: making art changes the way you see the world, and it locks memories in place.

“When you paint from life,” Mary-Anne says, “whether it’s elephants at dawn, soft light across a vineyard, or the architecture of an ancient city, you slow down and notice details you’d otherwise miss. When you’re painting wildlife, there’s also the excitement, the adrenaline, of being right there in the natural world.”

Ready to attend a painting course or holiday? Find all the essential advice you’ll need to help you prepare, with our ultimate guide to painting holidays.

Over the years, Art Safari has grown into a close-knit international community of artists, photographers, nature lovers, and curious travellers. While we enjoy warm, dry destinations, we’re equally happy heading into colder, wilder places, from Norway and the Arctic to Antarctica itself. “After leading my first Art Safari to the Antarctic,” Mary-Anne recalls, “I realised the world really was our oyster, and that artists can travel too.”

Mary-Anne in Zambia, 2014

So who comes on an Art Safari? People from all over the world. Some travel solo, others together. Some are beginners, others experienced, but everyone arrives with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a love of learning.

Painting on location is about simplicity, so we help you pare your materials down to what really matters: a good sketchbook, drawing tools, and paint. We’ll guide you through exactly what to bring, so you feel prepared without being weighed down.

Cheetah painting

Our destinations are chosen to inspire: the Silk Route of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia; the wild landscapes of Africa; spice-coloured markets in Morocco, Sri Lanka and India; tranquil colder climates; and the peaceful countryside and coastlines of the UK.

Every Art Safari shares the same heartbeat: to create, to learn, and to be fully present. You’ll return home not just with photographs, but with artwork that tells the story of your journey, sketchbooks filled with moments, light, movement and place. Supported by experienced travel professionals and fully protected by ATOL and AITO, Art Safari holidays allow you to relax and focus on what matters most: observing deeply, learning joyfully, and translating the world into paint.

To follow future journeys, read stories from the road, and hear about upcoming opportunities to paint in inspiring places, join the Art Safari journey today by subscribing to the newsletter.