Landscape Drawing & Painting with Andrew Wykes
Workshop Details
A week of painting directly from the landscape around BeArtz: the medieval village, the Gave d’Oloron river, the rolling hills and the light of southwest France, with the Pyrenees on the horizon. Andrew’s teaching isn’t about polishing a safe, ready-made style. It is about seeing more clearly and understanding the formal elements of painting, so that each participant leaves with stronger work and a clearer way of looking.
In this workshop you will:
- Paint outdoors: plein air painting is the emphasis of the week, working directly from the landscape at nearby locations.
- Understand the formal elements: shape, surface, space, form and analogy, and how paintings are constructed.
- Learn from daily demonstrations: each day opens with a demonstration, in the studio or outdoors, introducing the ideas and approaches for the day.
- Receive individual tuition: Andrew works one to one with each painter, offering guidance and feedback as the paintings develop.
- Look at other painters: examples of artists from throughout history and around the world, to enrich our understanding of composition.
The setting: The week offers the perfect balance of structured instruction and open exploration, with the buildings and the surrounding nature as part of the experience. You stay and work in a medieval stone guardhouse with its tower and 1,000-year-old spiral staircase, in the heart of Sauveterre-de-Béarn, a historic village above the Gave d’Oloron river. Expect fantastic skies, the sound of the river, and views across rolling hills to the Pyrenees.
A typical day
- Morning demonstration: in the studio or outdoors, introducing the day’s ideas.
- Morning painting: individual tuition as each student develops their painting.
- After lunch: the group gathers to look at the morning’s work, share results and offer constructive feedback.
- Afternoon painting: back outdoors, with Andrew moving from painter to painter to give individual advice.
- Each day a little different: presentations on artists and on composition alternate with studio and on-location work.
Schedule
Details:
- Dates: Arrive 15 July (evening welcome with cheese and wine), leave 22 July 2027.
- Instruction: 16–21 July with Andrew Wykes, including an excursion day and a free afternoon.
- Excursion: either Espelette, with a guided cave visit and lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, or a trip into the mountains, chosen once we know the group.
- Studio Access: Two art studios available 24/7.
- Before or after (not part of the workshop): we encourage you to stay on and enjoy the region, and participants sometimes plan a trip together after the workshop. Favourites include Bilbao and its Guggenheim Museum, and San Sebastián, both in the Spanish Basque Country. See Explore the Area for more ideas.
At BeArtz
- Lodging in a private room in a medieval stone guardhouse with its tower and 1,000-year-old stone spiral staircase.
- Meals are organised with local restaurant partners and enjoyed together as 3-course lunches and dinners 5 lunches and 5 dinners are included.
- Two 24/7 art studios.
Extra costs:
- Airfare, trains, or airport transfers.
- One lunch and one dinner on excursion days and free afternoon.
- Art materials (a list is sent on registration).
- Travel Insurance. Cancel for any reason travel insurance is recommended.
Pricing
Cost: €3,550 per participant
Accommodation is provided by BeArtz. The workshop is led independently by Andrew Wykes
Payment Schedule:
- Deposit: 50% due at registration.
- Balance: Due by 15 April 2027
- Installment plans: Available.
Payment Methods:
- Bank transfer: In any currency (no fees).
- Credit card / PayPal / Stripe: (Fees apply).
Cancellation & Insurance: IMPORTANT. Please take out travel insurance so that you can be refunded should anything stop the class from happening or if you can’t make it.
Meet Your Instructor: Andrew Wykes
Andrew Wykes was born in the UK and studied at Richmond upon Thames College and Epsom School of Art and Design, before completing an MFA in painting at American University in Washington, DC. He has taught art for forty years in schools and universities in the UK, Belgium and the US, and is Emeritus Professor of Painting at Hamline University in St Paul, Minnesota, where he received the Agnes Hulburd Conger Prize for Excellence in the Humanities in 2011.
He has shown his work nationally and internationally, including in London and New York, and his paintings are held in many private and public collections. He has received six Minnesota State Arts Board Initiative Grants and, in 2009, a fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Mayo, Ireland. Andrew is one of four featured artists in the feature-length film Painting the Place Between, appeared on Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year in 2021, and in 2024 was selected for the Project Space Award at the Kolman & Reeb Gallery in Minneapolis.
He is represented by Groveland Gallery (Minneapolis) and Tregony Contemporary (Cornwall).
Recent work
TO REGISTER: please contact Magdalena Groszek at info@be-artz.com
Cancellation insurance – where to find it: BeArtz does not arrange insurance. Because the deposit is non-refundable, we strongly recommend cancellation insurance, taken out in your own country soon after paying your deposit (many policies must be bought within 14–21 days). USA: “Cancel For Any Reason” (CFAR) cover, e.g. via Squaremouth or InsureMyTrip. UK: Trawick Safe Travels CFAR, or standard cancellation cover. Netherlands / Belgium: an annuleringsverzekering, or an “annuleren om welke reden dan ook” option. France: an assurance annulation toutes causes. Please check that the policy covers a course or workshop booking.
Assurance annulation – où la trouver : BeArtz ne propose pas d’assurance. L’acompte n’étant pas remboursable, nous vous recommandons vivement une assurance annulation, souscrite dans votre pays peu après le versement de l’acompte (beaucoup de contrats doivent être pris dans les 14 à 21 jours). États-Unis : garantie « Cancel For Any Reason » (CFAR), par ex. via Squaremouth ou InsureMyTrip. Royaume-Uni : Trawick Safe Travels CFAR, ou une assurance annulation classique. Pays-Bas / Belgique : une annuleringsverzekering, ou l’option « annuleren om welke reden dan ook ». France : une assurance annulation toutes causes. Vérifiez que le contrat couvre bien l’inscription à un stage.
Photos & video: During workshops and residencies we take photos and short videos of the studios, meals and outings, which may appear on our website, newsletter and social media. By registering, you agree to this. If you’d prefer not to appear, just let us know: we’ll make sure you can’t be recognised in anything we publish, and we’ll remove any image of you on request.
Photos et vidéos : Pendant les stages et résidences, nous prenons des photos et de courtes vidéos des ateliers, des repas et des sorties, susceptibles d’être publiées sur notre site, notre lettre d’information et nos réseaux sociaux. En vous inscrivant, vous acceptez cette utilisation. Si vous préférez ne pas apparaître, il suffit de nous le dire : vous ne serez pas reconnaissable sur nos publications, et nous retirerons toute image de vous sur simple demande.