# Sketchbook Retreat with Artists Katrin Wiehle and Mike Lowery in France

Join illustrators Katrin Wiehle and Mike Lowery for a fun and relaxing sketchbooking retreat in the beautiful French countryside. Draw with a group of other creatives while Mike and Katrin give expert tips and lessons on keeping a daily sketchbook. Stay on a stunning 25-acre estate rented exclusively for you for the week-long sketchbook retreat. Enjoy the historic chateau-sized estate dating back to Napoleonic times, with five fully renovated luxury gites, a heated swimming pool, gorgeous gardens, a natural pond, and its own private woodland on the banks of the river Dropt in Dordogne. Soak up the medieval atmosphere of the cliff-top town of Rocamadour and find inspiration in the beautiful bastide towns of southwestern France. Savor delicious chef-made meals paired with fine wines from one of France's most celebrated wine areas.

## Details

- **Dates:** June 10 - 17, 2023
- **Location:** Eymet, Dordogne, France
- **Starting Price:** $4,500
- **Category:** Painting

## Program

### Sketchbook retreat
Join illustrators Katrin Wiehle and Mike Lowery for a fun and relaxing sketchbooking retreat in the beautiful French countryside. Draw with a group of other creatives while Mike and Katrin give expert tips and lessons on keeping a daily sketchbook. Drawing and journaling every day is the best way for artists to find their voice, keep track of their day, and come up with ideas for projects. This retreat will be focused on how to use your sketchbook as a travel diary, a place to experiment with new techniques and materials and declutter your brain with creative daily exercises. Our days will be filled with drawing sessions, great food, and exploration of the stunning French countryside with its rolling vineyards and hillsides dotted with fortified medieval towns. This retreat is for absolutely anyone, at all skill levels from just starting out to working artists. It’ll be a chance to draw, relax, sip some of the best French wine, explore the beautiful surroundings, and socialize with the group. In addition to the hands-on lessons and demos, Mike and Katrin will be leading conversations on topics about art and illustration. Having both worked on dozens of books for kids and adults, and other freelance projects, they’re excited to talk with guests about topics like self-promotion for artists, working with clients, dealing with artist’s block, finding your style, working on children’s books, and any other questions that might come up. Some of the sketchbook lessons will include:Pen and inkWatercolor techniques for sketchbooksSimple hand lettering for sketchbooksFinding inspirationHow to keep a travel diary How to keep notes about your travels Exercises to deal with Creative Block Some of the additional discussions will include:Self-promotion for artistsInstagram for artists Finding your styleWorking on children’s booksAnd LOTS more!

### Day 1: Arrival
Catch the 3:30 PM transfer on June 10 from Bergerac train station and arrive at the retreat venue - a beautiful 25-acre private property surrounded by the wonderful rolling plains and hills of Dordogne. Meet Katrin and Mike and your fellow art retreat participants and settle in your premium accommodation. Explore the exclusively rented property on a lovely orientation tour and discover the common spaces, beautiful gardens, terraces, private heated pool, woodland, and pond at La Palanque. In the evening, discuss the week ahead over a delicious and refreshing dinner prepared by the private chef, paired with a glass of delightful French wine.

### Day 2: Sketching and night tour
After a fun sketchbook activity, Mike and Katrin will discuss the benefits of keeping a daily sketchbook as well as outline the different ways artists can use a sketchbook to keep track of their day, practice new techniques and materials, and make notes. During the week attendees will discover which approaches work best for them.Enjoy lunch at the retreat venue, go for walks in the surrounding countryside, and sketch from the landscape. In the afternoon, Katrin and Mike will show their travel sketchbook approaches and the group will begin their first travel sketchbook exercise. Revel in a scrumptious three-course chef-made dinner with Mike, Katrin, and the group in the spacious dining area of the retreat venue.After a delicious dinner with wine, go on a one-hour candle-lit tour of the Bastide town of Eymet. The tour will be fun and informative, and a great opportunity to find out some interesting facts about the area from local English-speaking historians. Discover the history of the streets and the origins of this beautiful town in the 13-century. Join the local guide in unraveling the many hidden gems and fascinating stories from the time of the Hundred Year War against the English, through to modern-day Eymet.

### Day 3: Sketching and wine tasting
We will spend the entire day creating at the retreat venue, warm up with a few sketchbook exercises, then set up en plein air in the riverfront garden to continue sketching the gorgeous surroundings.In the afternoon, Katrin and Mike will discuss children’s book illustrations and how to use your sketchbook as a springboard for new concepts for your own books. Topics covered will include submitting book ideas and other aspects of the children’s book market or other illustration markets. After dinner, gather on the private terrace overlooking the fields and pool of La Palanque and enjoy a premium wine tasting, facilitated by the team from Grand Mayne. Grand Mayne is the local vineyard that provides the private label wine you will have enjoyed with your evening meal as part of La Palanque’s private label. Their wines have been awarded multiple medals since 2010, the latest being in 2020: the Gold Medal at The Drinks Business Sauvignon Masters for the Reserve Sauvignon/Sémillon 2017 and the Silver Medal at Concours Général Agricole de Paris for the Sauvignon 2019.The team from Grand Mayne will come and provide a relaxed and enjoyable evening of excellent wine tasting. Let the highly experienced and knowledgeable team explain how they create their award-winning wine, and take advantage of their presence to ask as many questions as you like.

### Day 4: Sketching in Rocamadour
After breakfast, join Mike, Katrin, and the art group on a full-day trip to the spectacular Rocamadour — a superb cliff-top medieval village overlooking the flattering Dordogne river. On your transfer, you will be accompanied by an English-speaking tour guide who will provide commentary and useful background information en route to your destination. At the heart of a regional nature park, Rocamadour is perched above a natural canyon giving it astounding views of the unspoiled landscapes of the valley and nature retreat. Take photographs to be used as future reference material and walk around the narrow cobbled streets with fairytale stone-wall houses and terracotta-tiled rooftops.Enjoy a delicious lunch at an authentic French bistro in town and continue your exploration and art classes on the trip. Visit the sanctuaries of Rocamadour and the "Plateau de St. Michel", where a fragment of a sword is embedded in the cliff wall — said to be the famed Durandal, the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin in French epic literature. A crucial stop on the 'Way of Saint James' for hundreds of years, the sanctuaries of Rocamadour have attracted pilgrims for centuries, among them kings, bishops, and nobles.Stop in a beautiful square for a guided sketchbook session. Mike and Katrin will also discuss how they make notes and take photos for making a travel sketchbook diary. Later, stroll from the sanctuaries to the lower town and admire the passers-by and gorgeous medieval buildings.In the late afternoon, get transferred back to La Palanque in time for a scrumptious 3-course dinner paired with fragrant wine.

### Day 5: Sketching trip to Issigeac
Eat a hearty and delicious breakfast and go on a sketchbook trip to Issigeac, a beautiful Bastide town 30 minutes away from your retreat venue. The 15th-century medieval town stands out from other Bastide towns in the area due to its cylindrical structure, with narrow, winding streets that curl like a snail in its shell. Overflowing with history and historic architecture, Issigeac flaunts spectacular half-timbered houses — like the 'Maison des Têtes' on the corner of the Grand Rue, with some very ancient carved heads on its upper level, or the quirky 'Mushroom house'.The town provides ample opportunity for exciting sketches for your journal. Participants will have many opportunities to stop for optional on-site sketchbook time.Stroll through the alleyways and passages and discover hidden courtyards falling to ruin, but retaining their "Romeo and Juliet" style balconies and medieval charm. Take a peek at the Eglise Saint-Félicien in the town center, and stop for a sketchbook session on a quiet street sheltered by white-washed or stone walls.

### Day 6: Sketching and Eymet market
After an early breakfast, go on a 10-minute walk to Eymet. Visit the local farmers' market, quaint shops, beautiful pavement cafés, and pottery workshops, and gather inspiration for your travel diaries.Head back to the retreat venue in time for lunch and a creative sketchbook exercise, then continue your sessions with Mike and Katrin into the afternoon and sketch from the charming surroundings.Treat yourself to a three-course chef-made dinner served with wine.

### Day 7: Sketching at the venue
After our morning session where we will reflect on the week and share our experiences, artists will spend the day adding finishing touches to their travel diaries.Then, celebrate your achievements with Katrin, Mike, and the art group over a special farewell dinner with drinks. Artists will have an opportunity to ask any remaining questions about keeping a sketchbook or illustration markets and show off their progress from the retreat.

### Day 8: Departure
Enjoy breakfast and catch the 9:30 AM transfer to Bergerac train station on June 17. (Arriving at Gare Bergerac train station at 10:35 AM.)

## Instructors

- **Mike Lowery** - Author and Children’s Book Illustrator 
- **Katrin Wiehle ** - Author and Illustrator

## Accommodation

### La Palanque

### Standard shared room

### Superior shared room

### Standard single room

### Superior single room

## Book This Retreat

Visit [https://uptrek.com/retreat/sketchbook-retreat-katrin-wiehle-mike-lowery-france](https://uptrek.com/retreat/sketchbook-retreat-katrin-wiehle-mike-lowery-france) to make a reservation.

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