2025 Painting Retreat
What to expect
-
Painting classes
Learn from me directly and improve your painting skills in a supportive, creative environment. 1 on 1 teaching: collective classes with individual tutelage. All levels welcome!
-
Luxurius accommodations
Stay in a top-rated 4 star luxury hotel ensuring comfort and relaxation. Superior individual bedrooms with private kitchen, private bathroom, and pool, gym, spa included access.
-
Explore the Basque Country
Discover the charm and beauty of the Basque Country, the beach and landmarks, with scheduled activities and free time to explore the city of San Sebastian, Bilbao and more!
-
Cultural experiences
Enjoy local cuisine, visit landmarks, and immerse yourself in the rich culture of the Basque region and Spanish traditions among fellow painters :)
Schedule: 14-21 Jun
- Day 1: Arrival and welcome cocktail, free time to explore the hotel and rooms.
- Day 2: Painting classes and relaxation time in the hotel or evening city walk, optional to choose!
- Day 3: Painting classes and relaxation time in the hotel.
- Day 4: Bilbao trip: explore the city, museums and San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (where GoT was filmed!)
- Day 5: Painting classes and relaxation time in the hotel.
- Day 6: Painting classes and relaxation time in the hotel or Pintxo-pote night in the City, optional!
- Day 7: Beach day/free time and gallery show/what’s next with champagne and farewell cocktail.
- Day 8: Farewell breakfast and departure.
How to Join
2025 Painting retreat
SOLD OUT!
Join the waitlist to get information if any spot gets open and for future retreats!
This isn't the newsletter, it's a separate list only used for retreat information purposes. If you want to also join the newsletter scroll down to the footer of the page.
Why San Sebastian?
— Since this is my first retreat entirely organised by myself, I want to show you the places I know and love and I know you'll love too :) I am from the Basque Country, and I want you to get inspired by the beauty of my homeland :)
Why a hotel?
— Even though we will share most of the day, in a hotel you can also have your privacy with your own room while being supported 24/7 by experts. A hotel is awake day and night and will help you with anything you need.
— Also, you will have room cleaning services, laundry services, included organic amenities... This will remove pressure from you to focus on the classes and the free time will be just to relax!
Why Arima Hotel and Spa?
— LOCATION: I fell in love with this hotel from the moment I visited it for the first time. It’s located in the entry of the Miramon forest, with amazing views to the forest and river where you can walk and be in contact with nature. However, the hotel is also close to the city and beach!
— PASSIVHAUS: Arima Hotel and Spa is the biggest European Hotel certified as Passiv haus. This means it consumes 300% less energy than usual hotels, as they use clean energies such as geothermal and aerothermal energy.
— RELAX & LUXURY: On top of that, they are part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) since 2019.
Foresta Wellness is a gym & spa centre with facilities, equipment and instructors to help you. Water circuits, massages, infrared sauna... all to ensure relax outside the classes.
Arima & Numad Studios
— We will be staying in the Numad Studios located in the Arima hotel. They're superior rooms with queen size bed, equipped with private kitchen, bathroom and with an amazing forest view.
— In each room:
- Water boiler (and coffee/tea all the time!)
- Free wifi
- 41” smart TV
- Safe box
- Lingerie, quilt bio and 100% cotton towels
- A mini kitchen equiped with a fridge, micro wave, induction plaque, cleaning kits, recycling bins...
- Hair dryer
- Organic amenities (in case you don’t want to bring even a shampoo bottle!)
- Laundry/ironing service
Everything included in the retreat price :)
All the info: Arimahotel.com and rooms: Numadstudios.com
How can I get to the retreat?
— Check the "Payments/Other" section below for all the information about logistics.
Where and how will we paint?
— We will have a dedicated private studio for us with a big outdoors terrace to paint surrounded by a beautiful forest, dedicated bathroom/cleaning area and snack/coffee corner. This room will be for us during the entire retreat and we can paint and access even outside the schedule (in case you want more!).
— We will combine lessons on my easel/table and painting time with rounds of me going to your easel/table and answer your individual questions.
— We will also have a projector system to ensure you also see some zooms in a big screen. And a professional filmmaker to record my lessons and send them to you in video format after the retreat!
Can we paint also in our free time?
— Yes! The room is available for us during the whole retreat. We can leave there the materials for easy access, paintings drying or we can keep painting in our free time.
Will we paint indoors or outdoors?
— The main lessons will be in the studio since I will be connected to a screen to also record my lessons (to have them forever!) :)
— But the studio room has a big terrace surrounded by the forest, and we can choose to paint indoors and outdoors in every session. Depending on the weather, your mood… You can paint wherever you want, and I will just go to your easel every time:)
Materials: which materials should we bring for the classes?
— EVERYTHING will be provided by me :) But if you have paint and brushes, I encourage you to bring them too: the goal is to learn to paint with what you have. While I will give you paints to explore and use, it’s nice if you also learn to paint with the materials you already own. If you don’t have any or you really don’t want to bring a thing, I gotcha :)
— Materials provided:
- Painting Pochade Box
- Tripod and accessories
- Oil paints by Gamblin Colors
- Brushes by Trekell
- Painting paper and panels
- Palette knives
- Solvent free mediums and thinners (to avoid fumes)
- Sketchbook and markers
- Painting jars, rags, wet wipes, towels, cleaning supplies...
- Packing supplies
- Awesome gifts (that are kinda materials, but secret!)
— Pre and post retreat I will advise you where to buy materials if you need, with some discounts I can offer :)
How are we going to pack the paintings?
— We will paint with mediums and paint that are fast drying. Most of the things will be dry in 24/48h, even faster in hot days. But still, the schedule is adapted so the paintings have the last day for extra dry time.
— During the last day I will mount a packing station with glassine paper and some materials. This paper will act as barrier and protect any wet part so the painting doesn’t get ruined during the flight back home.
— Still, if anything is super wet, because you used a lot of paint and almost no fast drying medium for example, I also offer the option to ship them myself to your home during next weeks :)
Is there anything pre retreat or post retreat?
— Some weeks before the retreat, I will create a WhatsApp group and Google Drive folder with all the participants. In the folder we can add materials, photos during and post the retreat, all the video lessons recorded too.
— In the WhatsApp group we can answer all the questions prior to the retreat, send reminders and materials during the retreat, and keep in touch post retreat :,)
Will be the classes projected or recorded?
— Yes. We will have a professional filmmaker to help with that.
— I will have a camera pointing at me connected to a bigger screen to project what I paint all the time. This is helpful in case you don't want to come to my easel all the time.
— Plus, we can have some ever lasting memories :,)
*We value your privacy and will respect if you don't want to be even near a camera.
What's the required painting level?
— All levels welcome. In my classes I teach a different way of painting and understanding colors. Since it's a different process than the usual taught traditionally, I start from the beginning.
— This way, beginners can catch up from the basics and enjoy a progressive learning curve, while experimented painters can also enjoy un-learning some myths that are usually taught and learning different and fresh perspectives.
— Some weeks before the retreat, we will meet via WhatsApp and you can tell me what's your level and goals. This way I will focus on that during our week together.
What’s the meal plan?
Tilia Deli & Café is the restaurant that will provide all the meals for us.
“A commitment to healthy and quality cuisine, based on seasonal and local products.”
- In the mornings, we have a buffet breakfast with more options than you can taste. Also gluten free and vegan options!
- During morning classes we will have a coffee break with sweet and savoury options.
- In Day 1 and 6 we will have a welcome/farewell cocktail service with some drinks and wine with snacks.
- Lunch and dinner meals can be discussed prior to the retreat, with some options to choose from depending on your individual taste.
- In Day 4 (during the trip) we will have an “Hamaiketako” typical basque snack in noon: a bocadillo de tortilla, fruit and some snakcs.
What meals are included?
All meals are included except:
- Lunch in Day 4: we will have free time for lunch in the old town of Bilbao in small groups or individually, so each one can choose where they want to eat!
- Dinner in Day 6 if in the city: we will pay for our own pintxos and drinks during the city night. If you stay in the hotel, dinner is included :)
- Lunch in Day 7 is during free time and not included.
What drinks are included?
- In the rooms there’s coffee and tea free and available.
- During breakfast there’s free coffee, tea and juices served in the buffet breakfast.
- During lunch and dinner wine, beer, sodas and water will be served.
- During classes we have coffee, tea and water available all the time.
- During morning classes we will have a coffee break with sweet and savoury options.
- In Day 1 and 6 we will have a welcome/farewell cocktail service with some drinks and wine with snacks.
- Additionally, each participant will have a 4€(∼5$) ticket per day to spend at the bar with the option to pay for more if wanted.
— All the extra drinks are not included in the retreat price.
Is the spa/gym/pool/sauna included?
— In the hotel you can access to Foresta Wellness: Gym & Spa centre with facilities, equipment and instructors to help you.
— In the spa, you will have free access to the indoor warm pools and water circuits as well as the infrared sauna. You can also book extra massages, facials or even buy some skincare products in their shop. Everything is included in the retreat price except individual massages and products from the shop.
Can we visit the city and beach during the free time?
— Yes! Both are super close to the hotel, and you can take a 10’ bus to get there (bus stop at 1 minute from the hotel door).
— During Day 2, I will go with you so you can see how easy it is to visit the city in your free time, in case you want to go more during the week.
— I will provide you a custom map (made myself!) with landmarks and recommendations.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe/Bilbao and Guggenheim museum
— In Day 4 we're traveling to Biscay. First stop in San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, a small islet connected to the mainland by a human-made bridge, with a small hermitage from the 10th century on top. A magical place where HBO filmed Dragonstone from Game of Thrones :,)
— After that we will visit Bilbao. There we will have lunch and some free time in the Old Town and from there we will go to the centre by tram and visit the Guggenheim Museum.
Beach Day (optional)
— In the Day 7 we will organise a group trip during the morning and have lunch in the city (or a picnic in the beach!). This is entirely optional and you can stay in the hotel/pool/spa otherwise. We will organise it during the retreat week.
*Lunch during this day is not included in the retreat price.
Pintxo-pote city night (optional)
— The Day 6 I want you to experiment the basque night in the city, taking pintxo-pote and visiting the bar and pub areas. Dinner will be substituted by the pintxos/tapas and some drinks if wanted. But if you are not a night owl, and prefer staying at the hotel, you can do that and have the regular dinner at the hotel restaurant with the rest of early birds :)
*Pintxos in the city are not included in the retreat price, but dinner at the hotel is included.
Optional events: what does that mean?
— Everything is optional really. If you don’t feel like attending to a class or event, you’re free to decide. However, I have tagged as “optional” a couple of events in the city of San Sebastian.
— The Day 2, we will visit the beach side of San Sebastian, el Peine de los Vientos by Chillida and Palacio Miramar with its view. I will give you a custom map (made by me :P) with some landmark recommendations to visit during your free time. If you prefer to stay in the hotel, you can get the map and enjoy the city other time :)
— The Day 6 I want you to experiment the basque night in the city, taking pintxo-pote and visiting the bar and pub areas. Dinner will be substituted by the pintxos/tapas and some drinks if wanted. But if you are not a night owl, and prefer staying at the hotel, you can do that and have the regular dinner (included of course) at the hotel restaurant with the rest of early birds :)
— The Day 7 if you want to go to the beach we can organise a group trip during the morning and have lunch in the city (or a picnic in the beach!). This is also entirely optional and you can stay in the hotel/pool/spa otherwise. We will organise this the week before the retreat :)
Some highlights from my previous retreat :,)
