Consider these excellent tips and advice for your next painting holiday or course, from helping you decide what to pack and what to take into consideration before you book.

Your top tips for going on a painting holiday

• Your most frequently asked questions about painting holidays answered
• Advice on essential materials for a watercolour painting holiday
• What materials to pack when on an acrylic painting holiday
• The materials you will need to make a success of painting with oils on holiday
• Pastel essentials to take on your art holiday
• Equipment needed for painting holidays

Immerse yourself in creativity

Painting holidays and courses offer endless opportunities to immerse yourself in your art. You also get to paint and discuss your ideas and inspirations in the company of like-minded people.

Your art holiday questions answered

What will the price of my painting holiday include?

All holidays will be different, so it is always best to check the details. Are your meals included in the overall price of the holiday? Do you have to pay extra for trips to different painting locations or are these included? Also note that organisers often allocate en-suite bathrooms on a first-come, first-served basis.

Where will we be likely to stay during our painting holiday?

If the venue is on an estate with large grounds it may be some distance from any shops and restaurants. If you don’t have your own transport available, this could make leave you feeling a little isolated.

If you are staying in a hotel for the painting holiday, it will usually be in a town or village. Other amenities will be accessible and you will be able to absorb more of the local culture. You are likely to take your meals in the hotel or possibly local restaurants. If you have special dietary needs remember to inform the organisers beforehand.

Should language and travel arrangements concern me?

Most companies or hosts will use a bi-lingual guide if they need to. They will likely organize your transport to and from the airport and painting locations for you. If you have mobility problems, check that there are no long-distance walks.

Overseas painting holidays don't normally cover the cost of individual airfares. You may have to organise this yourself. If the organisers are covering the airfare, they will expect you to fly from a particular airport.

Looking for more painting holiday advice? Check out our collection of handy guides with top tips from artist tutors

Will I need insurance and visas?

You should always provide your own health and travel insurance. Some destinations require a special visa, for which you should allow plenty of time for your application.

Will non-painting partners be welcome?

Non-painting partners are usually welcome but make sure they will have enough to do while you are out painting.

Are the art materials included?

Some painting holidays will include all or some of the art materials you will need. If the organisers do include art materials, check that they suit your needs.

If the holiday covers multiple mediums, your should stick with materials that you are fairly comfortable with. This is not the time to experiment with a different medium.

If in doubt - ask your tutor. Most tutors will be more than happy to help you with any questions you might have about the holiday. Some may have a materials list but these are often only suggestions. Always add a few items that you are familiar with to the list.

Watercolours for painting holidays

Apart from pens, pencils and a sketchbook, the most portable medium is watercolour.

For small sketches, all you will need is a kit with some basic colours in pans.

For painting larger pictures, you can squeeze small tubes of colour into the wells of a closable watercolour palette. You can wet these when you are ready to use them. A plastic palette will be adequate.

This selection of watercolour brushes may be all you will need, perhaps with a smaller No. 3 or 4 brush for finer detail. This selection includes a large sky wash brush, a larger square wash brush, a squirrel mop, a swordliner, a large sable and a rigger.

If you work in pen and watercolour wash, choose a pen with ink that won’t run when you apply a wash over it. Good examples might be Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens; Uni-ball Signo; Sakura Pigma Micron or Pentel Technica.

Pens that will bleed when wet can create a wash of different tones, such as Pilot- Hi-Tec-C, Pentel EnerGel and Pentel Slicci.

For simple sketches you can often get away with using a sketchbook with good quality cartridge paper. The heavier the paper, the less it will be likely to warp. Or, you could invest in a watercolour sketchbook. For pen and wash the smoother HP paper is ideal, otherwise go for Not paper.

You can tape sheets of watercolour paper to a lightweight drawing board. You could also use a watercolour block which have three sides of the paper gummed. This keeps the paper taught when wet. When the painting is dry you can release it by running a knife around the edge between the top sheet and the ones below.

Acrylics for painting holidays

When using acrylics en plein air in a warm climate you will have to adopt delaying tactics. Even a gentle, warm breeze can accelerate the drying times. You can slow the process by adding a gel extender or gel medium to your paint. You can also give it the occasional light spray with water.

Golden Open Acrylics remain workable for longer than most other acrylics. M. Graham’s range have an extended drying time of up to one hour. Chroma’s Atelier Interactive Acrylics allow you to reactivate touch-dry paint using a fine spray of water.

Use a tear-off paper palette and discard the sheet when the paint becomes unworkable, or use Daler-Rowney’s Stay Wet Palette.

Oils for painting holidays

Oils are not the ideal medium to use on a painting holiday. If you do use oils Winsor & Newton’s Griffin Alkyd Oils are a faster drying alternative to traditional oils. Water-soluble oils are worth considering. The drying times can be between one and three days depending upon how thickly you apply the paint.

You will need to thin all your oils. If you are travelling abroad make sure thinners are available, as you cannot take solvents on aeroplanes. You can store your oil paints in a plastic bag or box in your suitcase. For ease you could use a traditional palette or a tear-off variety paper palette.

Pastel for painting holidays

The problem with pastels is that you can never have enough colours, so you will have to choose an appropriate selection for your location.

You can work on either pastel paper or card. For larger scales, you should interlace your paintings with glassine paper and roll up into a tube for transportation. Or you could invest in an empty pastel case to protect your work.

Other equipment for painting holidays

If travelling in the UK by car, you will be able to take as much equipment as you like.

Easel

Although some are rather heavy for carrying abroad, an easel is perfect for working in all media. The sturdiest easel is the French easel, which folds into a box. It has a carrying handle and can accommodate most of your painting equipment. Often there will be a drawer that slides out which you can rest your palette on.

If you are using watercolours you’ll want one that can tilt back at an angle.

Pochade box

If you are painting in oils or acrylics, a pochade box works well. You can carry all the materials you need plus a few of your wet paintings. Depending on the size you can hold it in your hand or rest on a table. You can even attach to a camera tripod by fitting the box with a mounting bracket.

Some come with a removable combined panel holder and palette. A divided compartment underneath is also handy for you to store your paints and brushes. A variety of sizes are available and some have removable drawers for storing your paints and other equipment.

Canvas and drawing boards

Canvas is not an ideal support for painting on when abroad as it’s rather bulky and fragile. If you do use it, choose the more rigid canvas painting boards of a size that will fit into your suitcase. Many holiday companies supply drawing boards, but you could take your own. A piece of 5mm plywood or MDF cut to size will be sufficient.

Brushes

Take as many brushes as you may need. To protect them, store in a brush case or holder.

Chair

Many holiday companies supply chairs, but you could take your own. A fold-up stool might be all that you need.

Viewfinder

An adjustable viewfinder is useful as it allows you to change the proportions of your picture format. A homemade piece of card with a transparent acetate window divided into thirds is also a handy tool. You will be able to position your focal point on the grid’s ‘hotspots’ where the lines cross.

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