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April 24 - May 8, 2010 and May 8 - May 22, 2010 |
Discover the fabulous Langedoc
Region of Southern France
with internationally acclaimed
watercolour instructor, artist and author
Linda
Kemp
Experience the culture,
history and people of rural France through your paints!
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Visit the official Le
Monastere web site
Be sure to click on "Types
of Adventure" and then "Painter's Retreats"
http://www.lemonastere.com/
To take a look at Linda's
last trip to this fantastic location!
Visit www.francepaintingadventure.blogspot.com
be
sure to scroll down and view older posts!
Trips
are two weeks in duration with pick up and drop off Saturday mornings at
Toulouse Airport.
To ensure that you receive
the individual attention required to make this an intellectually intriguing
and physically refreshing vacation for the mind and body, registration
is limited to 11 participants.
Painter’s Retreats
Le Monastère offers the highest
value painter’s retreats for groups or individuals anywhere. The vacations
run for two weeks and include accommodation at Le Monastère, all
breakfasts and 12 suppers, the use of easels and camp stools, pickup and
drop-off at Toulouse international airport, transportation to locations
for on site work; free anytime use of our professionally designed studio
and, of course, wine tasting. In addition, the hotel is completely closed
off for the group of painters during their stay.
Groups are limited to 11 artists..... You will paint several days in and around the picturesque village of Limoux, with its medieval bridges and churches, colourful narrow streets, animated market days and surrounding vineyards. On other days your hosts will take you to quiet villages in the region, not too far from Limoux. The sites have been chosen on the advice of the many artists and art teachers who have come to Le Monastère over the years. Each site offers a wide range of subjects from unique and intriguing architecture to typical southern French landscapes: wildflowers, sunflower fields, vineyards, forested hillsides, seaside marshes with exotic birds or waves crashing against rocks surrounding fishing villages, the Pyrenees mountain range on the horizon and much more. In addition the sites have been chosen for comfort. On two or three days you will be taken on a longer excursion to some exotic site such as the high Pyrenees or a Catalan village or one of our famous medieval castles.
Because of the high number of quality sites
we have researched, we aren't tied down to a fixed itinerary. We go where
the weather is best. On the few days where it may not be comfortable to
sit for long periods, we often go sketching here and there and return to
the studio at the hotel to work.

Linda Kemp CSPWC, OSA, SCA
Linda Kemp is internationally
recognized for her unique contemporary watercolours and innovative use
of negative painting. She is the author of the #1 best-selling book, Watercolor
Painting Outside the Lines -A Positive Approach to Negative Painting
(North Light pub.) and the accompanying video (Teaching Art Videos) by
the same title. She is a contributing artist/writer to six additional books
and has been featured in numerous art publications such as International
Artist and American Artist. Kemp was the recipient of the CSPWC A.J. Casson
Medal for outstanding achievement in watercolour in Canada 2008 and Woman
of Distinction for the Arts in 2005. A full time artist, she frequently
instructs and lectures at national symposiums and watercolour workshops
throughout Canada, The United States and The United Kingdom.
Kemp is an elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, The Ontario Society of Artists and The Society of Canadian Artists and is an honorary member of the Society for all Artists. Her paintings and articles have been featured in, Color and Light for Watercolor Painters by C. Schink and in publications such as Twenty Wonders, American Artist, International Artist, Watercolor Magic, Watermedia Focus, Palette Magazine and The Watercolour Gazette. This artist is profiled in Canadian Who's Who, Who's Who of Canadian Women, The Dictionary of International Biography and The 20th Anniversary Edition of Trivial Pursuit. Her award winning paintings are in private, public, and corporate collections around the world, including The Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, U.K.
Linda's home and
studio are in southern Ontario, Canada.
Contact Linda by
email studio@lindakemp.com
Limoux
-This is the Provence yet undiscovered
The town of Limoux
is the home of our base, Hôtel Le Monastère. The medieval
streets of Limoux offer every amenity while maintaining the simple charm
of a traditional southern French town, unspoiled by tourism. The central
square is ringed with cafés, pastry shops, a book store, a variety
of specialty food shops and other merchants. Throughout Limoux are restaurants,
shops, banks, markets, and a cinema to serve its population of about 10,000.
Limoux is a safe and interesting place to stroll on warm summer evenings
when families are out in the squares and men play the game of boules on
sandy courts under canopies of ancient chestnut and platane trees.
Geography
and Climate
The French know
the region as "La Petite France" because its relatively small area contains
nearly every type of geographical feature existing in the rest of the country.
Limoux is located in the Aude River valley, about 100 kilometers from the
Mediterranean beaches to the east, the high Pyrenees frontier with Spain
to the south, the Toulousean plain to the west and the Cevennes forests
to the north. In the nearby Corbières is the semi-arid garrigue
where the scents of wild thyme, rosemary and lavender fill the air. A "must
visit" is Carcassonne, the largest restored fortified medieval town in
Europe, just 25 kilometers to the north.
The weather is pleasant
and sunny. Rain is an exception. April through October temperatures generally
range from 18° to 30° Celsius (65° to 85° Fahrenheit),
with occasional days of 35° C (95° F) in mid-summer.
Hôtel
Le Monastère
3, rue de la Mairie,
Limoux, France
Hôtel Le Monastère is situated in the medieval quarter of
Limoux, a three minute stroll from the town square. The Inn is an integral
part of the town, as it was in the Middle Ages when it was a monastery.
In the 1300s, most of the property was garden and orchard, with the Cordelier
Order using the building for grain storage and a wine cellar. The vaulted
wine cellar, which appears much as it did 650 years ago, has been described
as the best in Limoux for its constant temperature and humidity. In the
Middle Ages, the garden was entered through the still-existing stone portal.
In the centre of the garden was the monastery's well, which now feeds the
Inn's fountain.
The Cordeliers were an order of both monks and nuns under the Franciscans. In Limoux, the order consisted of nuns, who prospered from their flourmill on the Aude River. By the early 1600s, the nuns had amassed enough wealth to construct a new residence on the property, adjacent to the granary and wine cellar. The building was unique in Limoux, following a style popular in Italy employing double tiered stone arches facing onto the courtyard. At some time during the 1700s, the garden's forged iron pergola was added. After the French Revolution in the late 1700s, the monastery was taken out of religious use and served as a way station for Napoleonic soldiers. It was later bought by a wealthy local family who remodeled the interior as an elegant maison de maître. This latest renovation produced the current 19th century guest rooms, as well as the beautiful spiral staircase to the second floor, with its steps carved from the volcanic stone of the Mediterranean town of Agde.
The London Financial Times describes the Inn as "a luxurious small hotel". Each of its five spacious guest rooms has a tiled walk-in shower. The beds are custom made in the Louis Philippe (sleigh bed) style of the mid-1800s and can comfortably accommodate tall guests. The Inn has a dining room, and several common reading and relaxation areas facing the courtyard. The courtyard garden, with its central fountain, nooks and crannies, and pergola covered with flowering vines is a favourite spot for guests to relax. The generally balmy evening temperatures usually allow us to enjoy our evening meals in the courtyard.
To provide the maximum in comfort and space, we never accept more than 11 guests and no smoking or pets are allowed in any part of the Inn. There is no access to the general public. Our guests have a key to the front door and are free to enjoy any part of the Inn as they would their own home.
Our hosts are keeping the 2006 price for 2010! Prices will go up in 2011.
In
addition to workshop instruction your fee includes....
-a spacious room
with private bath (all rooms are double occupancy - one room sleeps three)
-all breakfasts
and most dinners (with wine)
-pick up and return
to Toulouse Airport on Saturday morning at a specified time.
- guided and van
supported outings
-transportation
to painting sites
-admission to museums
and historical sites included in the day's itinerary
-use of bicycles
-maps and advice
for self guided outings
-booking services
for supplementary activities
-all taxes and gratuities
-instructor designed
studio workshop
-use of easels and
folding campstool
Not
included in the price....
-transportation
between your home and Toulouse International Airport
-lunches and personal
expenses such as laundry and telephone
-fees for supplementary
activities
-medical and cancellation
insurance
Please note that
these two trips will most likely also include one night at the Mediterranean!
There will be an
additional fee for your accommodation.
This painting adventure
is limited to no more than 11 guests. Accommodations are shared.
All participants
pay instructor fees.
$2,950 payments are
to be divided as follows:
- Deposit cheque
$500. made out to Le Monastere Adventures dated when sent as deposit to
hold spot.
- Cheque in the
amount of $2,050. made out to Le Monastere Adventures and post dated two
months before departure
- Cheque in the
amount of $400. made out to instructor (Linda Kemp) post dated two months
before departure.
All three cheques
are to be sent in at the same time to our Ottawa office.
Rosemarie at our Ottawa office will be happy to answer any questions - 1 800 810 8076
To register please contact Linda to secure your room on the dates you wish. You will then receive an email with a registration sheet to be completed and mailed to Rosemarie with payment and post dated balance.
This
is a Le Monastere Artists Adventure
Welcome to Le Monastère
Adventures
We live in one of
the most interesting, beautiful, and climate-friendly areas of France.
The extraordinary success of Le Monastère Adventures is built on
a simple philosophy. The infinite system of country roads is quiet and
ideal for cycling. The countryside is semi-wild, full of flowers and birds
and wonderful for walking or hiking. The history is deep and fascinating.
It is still an authentic area, unspoiled by development. If you want to
know what Provence, our next-door neighbour, was like 50 years ago — this
is it!
We see our task as eliminating all the pressures and stresses usually associated with visiting a new and foreign region, and allowing our guests the freedom to simply to enjoy everything it has to offer. We meet you at the airport or pick you up at your hotel in Toulouse or Carcassonne on Saturday morning arrival and take you back on Saturday morning departure — so no car rentals or train and bus connections to worry about. Our small, intimate hotel is outstanding in quality and is reserved solely for our 'Adventure' guests. The food and wine is fabulous and you don't have to worry about paying for 'extras'. The principal owners, Chris Georgas and Fabienne Montserrat, and their staff are there to interpret, guide, explain and support all our activities in the region.
An enormous advantage to our guests comes from Chris and Fabienne being a part of the local community. This presents you with a rare chance to 'get under the skin' of a wonderful culture, and even to make friends in and around the town. It is no accident that no less than seven Canadian and American guests of Le Monastère have bought semi-retirement residences in Limoux and have integrated themselves into the local hiking, cycling and painting associations, as well as the wine and food scene.
A Le Monastère
Adventure is for the mature and the thoughtfully discriminating person
who enjoys new experiences and learning about the local history and culture,
as well as having good fun and getting a well deserved rest from the busy
life and pressures of home.
Adventure
Hôtel
Le Monastère will be our home base and painting studio for the duration
of the trip. Linda will lead watercolour/sketching lessons and demonstrations
in the studio or garden. Then it's off for the day (by van) for sightseeing
and painting!
Every day is a new adventure organized by your convivial French and Canadian hosts, who take care of the time-consuming and stressful details usually encountered on self-organized vacations. Each outing has an historical or cultural focus, sometimes coinciding with fairs or other celebrations in nearby villages. You visit wondrous gorges and mountain meadows, ancient villages and hilltop towns, fortresses and castles, abbeys and cathedrals.
Some of our "sorties" are entirely by foot — over an ancient riverside Roman road or along the scenic ridges overlooking the Aude River valley which allows you to breathe the fresh air and meld your spirit with that of the countryside — smell the flowers, hear the birds, feel the breeze on your skin.
Guided outings are offered five days per week - Wednesdays are free and market day is usual enjoyed in Lemoux. But if you wish to go off on your own on a particular day, we provide you with maps, other information, and a bicycle, if you wish.
Tender, Loving Care
Our itineraries are
relaxed and provide lots of time to take pictures, taste the delicious
local wines, or even pick roadside berries, rosemary and thyme. Your hosts
are highly knowledgeable in the history, geography and culture of the region,
and liven the outings with interesting history.
For
information contact:
Linda
Kemp
or
Sonja Cuming Box
176, Trent River, Ontario, Canada, K0L 2Z0
Le Monastere Artists
Adventures
Phone 1 705 653-2253,
e-mail cuming@sympatico.ca
or
Rosemarie Gerber: Le Monastere Adventures....1 800 810 8076 email:monastere@compuserve.com
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