Sketching and Painting Holidays
Mary King 
We’re never happy, we humans. Are we? If we live in a cold climate, we go to extraordinary lengths to chase the sun. If our everyday is hot and sticky, we seek relief in cool spaces, in shade, or immersion in water. All of this is understandable. Less so, to my mind, is getting excited … Read more
Three nights, two days in which to find it. I was sure it existed, but what if it didn’t? Just forty-eight hours to identify the painting places – or, in this case, to make sure there were plenty. But most importantly, I had to find the perfect place to stay. Hamid (our driver and trusted … Read more
‘You paint good,’ said the young man, whose Tuareg robes matched the walls I was struggling to capture. ‘With a little more practice, you can be better.’ I’ll bear that in mind, I thought, as I huffed up and down uncountable stone steps – each in a shade of blue I didn’t seem to have … Read more
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words, Greek Islands? Is it the infinity of blue, from the water to the sky to the serenely painted chapels, perched on high above rocky bays? Is it a wizened fisherman, mending his nets beside brightly coloured boats in the harbour in timeless … Read more
After a break of several months of personal travel without any Vistas departures, it was both a novelty and a challenge to be back in the saddle; a week ago I hosted a one-day workshop for a lovely bunch of ten ladies in the village where I’m house-sitting for a month. It just so happens … Read more
Opening an email from the owner of our Indaruwa hotel in Sri Lanka, on the Ocean Breezes itinerary, I was delighted to read news of their latest win, as she wrote: ‘Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice award 2025: We are among the top 10% of hotels worldwide!!’ Shangri Lanka is one of our favourite places to stay, but all Vistas … Read more
Beaches…desert…sand-coloured rocks and adobe buildings. From Scotland’s West Coast to southern Sri Lanka and the high dunes of Merzouga, Morocco, we encounter a lot of sand on these painting holidays. But what colour is sand? Quite often, our eyes deceive us. Thinking of holiday destinations around the world, we’ll be aware that there are almost … Read more
Here I am in the lush and luscious nation of Samoa, being a student myself. Struggling with my paper choice, tolerating it like a hair shirt; and quite unable to match the clear, rich-yet-transparent emerald of the water with the watercolour ‘inks’ I’ve been using since December. This got me thinking, and remembering the trouble … Read more
The things I get up to when I’m not leading holidays! The brief sounded reasonable enough: paint a mural onto a garden fence. It was right up my street – the project, that is. The location was Tolga, in the Atherton Tablelands, northern Queensland. It was rather a large fence, long and relatively low, which … Read more
Yes, I suppose I did steal the title for the new trip. But it’s appropriate – the rare, endangered corncrake is significantly present on the unpolluted island of Colonsay. The words slip easily off the tongue; and besides, I loved that book. Any similarity ends there, though and there is definitely no criminality involved in … Read more
