Painting Modules, Adventures, and Hikes

Our Basic Painting Modules are an introduction to painting and are in places that are quickly and easily accessible. They are highly recommended if you have no previous experience or are rusty and in need of a refresh to give you a taste of what to expect on our hiking trips.

All of our hikes are based on the difficulty level of the hike itself and not on the level of painting experience. We have specially developed the Wandering in Nature hikes to be relatively easy in order to maximise your pleasure in nature. Our Hiking Wild outings are on the other hand more strenuous and require a decent level of fitness. Anyone is welcome to come whether or not you have taken any Basic Painting Modules.

Basic Painting Modules

These models are arranged in a progressive order that will help you to advance in an organic way of learning that’s fun and instructive. It is suggested to follow this order if you are a complete beginner and want to learn the fundamentals to get comfortable. However you are completely free to pick and choose as you like and can go on any of the excursions without prior training if you choose to dive in head-first. We use oil paint as our medium of choice as it’s the most lively, textural, and forgiving to use.

Colour Training

CT 1 - In this introductory colour training course, we will focus on understanding what are the essential materials needed to get started, how to set up, which brushes and palette knives to use and how, introductory colour theory and paint mixing, as well as how to be safe using certain materials.

Using a limited palette of colours, you will learn how to obtain secondary colours from the primaries, and from there create tertiary gradients. You will also learn how to create black, greys, and browns from the primaries which is probably the most useful thing to learn in painting as desaturating colours to represent the colours you see in everyday life are the most prevalent.

common mediums, brushes and material used in oil painting materials and being familiarised with basic safety precautions. how colours work together starting with using the primaries to create secondary colours, tertiary colour schemes, mixing techniques, to produce desired effects. with practical application

CT 2 - This course builds on your knowledge of CT 1. analogous colours, complementary colours,

We will focus on how to mix colours directly from nature.

We will focus on how to create compositions, understand the importance of atmospheric perspective in landscape painting, reproduce the exact color of nature by observation, to block the colors that represent the main shapes, to build the painting into a coherent whole and to put the finishing touches.

Color training course content: Full day painting Palette (specially designed for outdoor painting that you will use on hikes), brushes, paints, paint boards, mediums, cloth rags / paper towels, gloves (latex free) and all cleaning products for brushes and palettes Coffee, tea, cold drinks and snacks for breaks Aperitif and canapes at the end of the day

What you will need to bring: Backpack, painting apron (you will get dirty so strongly advised), appropriate clothing for painting and weather, hat, comfortable shoes for walking and standing.

Paint Sketching

Sketching with paint is a very freeing skill to have and in this course you will learn how to quickly mix up thinned down paint and sketch freely and confidently. Basic drawing skills are essential in setting up the right composition, perspective, and fine detailing in your paintings. With simplified techniques you will quickly gain confidence in your ability to place the frame to build out your paintings.

In this course you will learn as its name suggests to sketch with paint. This is a great way to start using paint that is loose and open-ended. By quickly blocking in colour, you will have a general view of where you need to go. By boldly sketching in colour, you will surprise yourself as to what you can achieve in little time. You will learn which brushes you need to create specific effects, usually we start with large brushes to lay in the general composition and slowly go to medium then smaller brushes.

Composition

In this course, you will be able to go out and look at a scene and know the theory and techniques of how to set up a composition that works with satisfying results. Knowing how to choose a subject matter that interests you and transform it into a painting that works technically as well as emotionally will be the major component for this course.

Perspective Essentials

Learning the basic principles of perspective are crucial in translating what you see on the three dimensional plane to creating with paint the illusion on a two dimensional plane. We will cover the necessary practical skills involved in creating believable perspectival scenes.

We will cover the essentials such as one and two point perspective categories that most landscapes fall into and how to place objects in two dimensional space that appear realistic in terms of size and shape. We will also cover atmospheric perspective which is very important in landscape painting as we observe how colours, sharpness and size change depending on the foreground, middle-ground, and distant horizon and what paint mixes are needed to obtain these effects.

Object Focus

This module focuses on learning to paint specific objects to help you simplify the learning process. Knowing which colours and brushes to choose, what to block in first painting the overall basic shapes and how to build on top up until the last details so your object resembles what you’re looking at in a free, loose manner. Painting these objects will be explained and examples shown so you can quickly master how integrate these elements into the big picture. The main objects we will learn to paint are trees, skies/clouds, water, land, mountains, and animals.

Hikes

Our day hikes are varied, the different places will be mountains, forests, waterfalls, lakes and rivers, and marshes. The difficulty level of the hike will be listed for each specific hike and we suggest you take a close look before choosing as a different minimum fitness level is required depending on the hike.

What the day hike includes: Organized hike to and from a specified location All painting equipment used during color training (you will need to leave room in your backpack for this) Glass of wine or beer at the end of the hike

What you will need to bring: Backpack Snacks, lunch, drinks Appropriate clothing and hiking shoes Paint apron (if you don't want your clothes to get dirty) Sunscreen Hiking poles Sunglasses Hat

We value your business, the more time you spend with us, the more you save. Below is what you will save by booking the plan that suits your needs.

Wandering in Nature

‘Wandering in Nature’ focuses on working with the time and/or energy you have. Either we have little time because of work and life commitments so need a concentrated outing. Other times you need a moment with less physical exertion that allows more time to paint.

You don’t have to go far to find beautiful spots to paint, it’s all about getting somewhere fast to start painting as quickly as possible. Sometimes you only have a few hours yet still want to disconnect from everyday worries.

Other times you just don't feel like walking for miles to enjoy majestic places. You just need 15 to 30 minutes on foot and the rest of the time you can get lost in the landscapes and the painting.

Come with us on our ‘Wandering in Nature’ outings specifically designed for your needs and renew your mind, energy, and spirits!

Our Wandering in Nature excursions are also easily accessible by car or public transport unless stated otherwise. The distance of the walks we go on are usually short, between 15 - 40 minutes depending on the activity and distance to destination.

Hiking Wild (coming soon!)

For the more adventurous wanting a challenge, ‘Hiking Wild’ will take you to the more remote parts that take a little bit more time to get to. Half-day and full-day hikes are just the beginning! Hikes with one, two, or more nights camping for the magical and intense experience you need to reconnect yourself to nature. These outings are truly to get away from it all to fully immerse yourself in the awesome power of the wilderness and absorb the light, colour, and energy that only Mother Nature can provide.

‘Hiking Wild’ is the perfect antidote to the everyday grind. This outing is designed for those who are in relatively good shape, go hiking and camping often and who like a physical challenge but want to try something new. With ‘Hiking Wild’ you’ll get that good hike in to those remote places only accessible by foot and have plenty of time to bask in the glorious beauty of the magnificent alpine vistas and immortalise that moment in paint in company of like-minded people.

All our Hiking Wild hikes are based on the difficulty level of the hike itself and not the level of painting experience. Access to these hikes will be made as easy as possible however certain destinations may require a vehicle.

Team Building