March 2024 (5 days and 4 nights)
From 14h (Thursday) until 18th (Monday) March 2024
In this March getaway you will learn with Emma Carlisle, an award-winning illustrator based in Devon, UK.
During the five-day workshop next Spring (March 2024), Emma Carlisle will bring together all she has learned has a lecturer, artist and illustrator and combining that with the beautiful scenery in the Alentejo, region of Portugal.
Emma Carlisle’s work captures the soul of nature and Her paintings breathe life into landscapes, flora, and fauna, revealing the hidden emotions and beauty of the natural world.
Studying with Emma Carlisle in nature is an opportunity to master the art of translating the environment’s essence onto your scketchbook. Under her guidance, aspiring painters can learn to harness the power of the outdoors, letting it infuse their work with authenticity and depth, and develop and create their own scketbook.
Emma Carlisle’s mentorship offers a bridge between technique and intuition, cultivating a deep connection to nature through art.
For the last five years, Emma Carlisle has delved into sketchbooks and mixed media, developing an unique practice and technique, bringing a newfound love of process and experimental sketchbook practices.
Opening herself up to this and sharing her work online has allowed her to work across multiple different areas of art and illustration, including picture books, creating products and prints and working with galleries internationally. After seven years of lecturing on the illustration course at Plymouth University, she took the leap to pursue a full-time creative career.Know more about Emma’s Carlisle work:
Insta: emmacarlisle
March 2024 (5 days and 4 nights)
From 14th (Thursday) until 18th (Monday) March 2024
Shared Room:
1.600€ PP (+vat 23%, only 6 rooms available) = total 1.968€
Single Room:
1.800€ PP (+vat 23%) = total 2.214€
Paid 2 times:
Reservation until 30th November 2023:
1st Payment:
984€ (shared room)
1107€ (single room)
until 15 January 2024:
2nd Payment:
984€ (shared room)
1107€ (single room)
3 full day Art Classes with Emma Carlisle
Yoga Class
Gardening Lesson
2 Dinner
3 Lunches
4 Nights Accommodation (with breakfast included)
Wine tasting Event
Transport from Lisbon Airport to the Hotel (2 hours) and transport in the area.
NOTE: It is available a pottery lesson upon request.
• It is advisable to book the plane after the final confirmation that the retreat will happen, by mid November 2023 or sooner until we have 10 participants.
• If we cannot gather the minumum participants of 10 until the end of this year the event will be cancel and the payments refund to the participants.
THURSDAY, 14 March 2024
The bus will pick the participants at Lisbon airport around 16 pm. It is advisable to arrive at Lisbon airport before 16 pm. Arriving at the hotel Vila Planície, Monsaraz.
FRIDAY, 15 Marchh
After breakfast at the hotel, you will walk 15 minutes to “Sofia In Monsaraz” with our teacher. After the welcoming session, where we’ll introduce ourselves and share our current work, you will start the first drawing workshop.
We will explore materials and mark-making within our sketchbooks and thinking how we can use these for drawing in the afternoon.
After lunch in the garden, served with local produce vegetables, we will have a short demo of how using panels on location can capture both the environment and narrative.
Then there will be a chance to draw around the terrace, with Emma on hand to give feedback and advice 121.
It is time for a wine tasting and sharing our work from the day, before we head to have dinner at the castle, where we can share our best experiences.
SATURDAY, 16 March
The day starts at 9 am with a walk in nature to “Sofia In Monsaraz”, where we will start the workshop at 10.00 am.
We will revisit the drawings from the previous day and identify what we like about them and choose areas we’d like to continue developing.
In our second workshop session, we will think about composing an image and how different mark-making techniques can help build our visual language whilst drawing on location.
After the class, we will gather around the lunch table in the garden; the food might be cooked in the outdoor oven.
In the afternoon, there will be more time for drawing outside, using the techniques we’ve learnt from the morning in our drawings. This may include timed drawing studies, which we’ll bring back to review at the end of the day. Emma will be on hand to give feedback and advice 121.
Then it’s time to unwind with a yoga lesson or a chat around the firepit.
Dinner is not included.
SUNDAY, 17 March
The day starts at 9 am with a walk in nature to “Sofia In Monsaraz” .
Once we arrive, it is time for a gardening lesson. During this session, half of us will garden, and half will draw the gardeners; then, we will swap, allowing us to experiment with drawing figures and plants.
After that, we have a coffee break and then our third class, thinking about ways to combine mark-making, materials and colour to develop the feeling of an image.
Around 13.30h, we will savour our lunch in the garden and then get ready for one final drawing session outside with Emma on hand for advice and support.
Just before the end of the day, we’ll come together to share our drawings and set ourselves personal goals to work towards in our sketchbooks in the future.
Before dinner at the local restaurant, we will enjoy a cocktail and make plans for our future as artists.
MONDAY, 18 March
After breakfast at 9 am you return to Lisbon, and estimated arrival time is 12.30h. On the way to Lisbon the bus stop in a local pottery shop, for 45 minutes.
Everything is organised to detail so that nothing will prevent you from enjoying all the peace and quiet of the Alentejo. All the rooms have air conditioning, full and private bathroom, shared or private balcony and outdoor access.
This accommodation is a 15-minute walk from the workshop venue and passes by the menhir and the Alentejo plain, ideal for reflection before starting work.
From 14h (Thursday) until 18th (Monday) March 2024
Shared Room:
1.600€ PP (+vat 23%, only 6 rooms available) =
total 1.968€
Single Room:
1.800€ PP (+vat 23%) = total 2.214€
Reservation until 30th November 2023:
1st Payment:
984€ (shared room)
1107€ (single room)
until 15th January 2024:
2nd Payment:
984€ (shared room)
1107€ (single room)
– Deposit due to Secure your place in the event, end of November: 984€/ 1107€
– It is advisable to book the plane after the final confirmation that the retreat will happen, by end of november 2023.
If you would like to make a direct booking: info@sofiainmonsaraz.site
Internacional roundtrip airfare, transport to the place, alcoholic drinks, boat trip, activities not included in the itinery, hotel incidentals including room service, materials list, expenses during free time, laundry service and hotel bar, food and beverages not included in the itinerary. COVID-19 test, if applicable.
We require all participantes to have a personal travel insurance that at minimum covers medical emergencies and cancellations. We do not provide travel insurance for the retreat and each participant is required to have their own individual travel insurance. The place, where the retreat happens, has an Insurance that covers accidents. Will not be responsible for refunding any lost trip funds if you have to miss your scheduled trip.
We cannot guarantee to accommodate vegan, gluten free or dairy/egg free, and some allergies.We are unable to accommodate participants with severe food allergies or food intolerances. Please contact us in advance of registering if you have any dietary questions.
It will start when arriving at the hotel, Thursday and finish when you leave the hotel, by Monday. We are not responsible for any non-retreat activity that a participant decides to purchase outside of the retreat and such activity will not form part of the participant’s contract with us. The bus transport is insurance secure.
This retreat includes one walking tour, where the ground may be uneven and you may be on your feet for several of hours at a time and should be comfortable walking 1km.
The supllies list will be sent with the Booking Form.
You may cancel before the end of November and receive a full refund minus 50€ fee.
Your payments will be split in two, with an initial deposit to secure your place on the retreat.
After you have completed your registration you will be sent an Invoice to complete your deposit payment. Payment can be made by Banktransfer or PayPal in euros. Additional costs may apply where special accommodations are made available to participants.
In this event we will accept until 15 people. The event does not include spouses, partners or friends if they are not taking the workshop.
If we cannot gather the minumum participants of 10 until the end of November the event will be cancel and the payments refund to the participants.
Other questions about this retreat please contact: info@sofiainmonsaraz.site
For more info or questions please consult here our Terms & Conditions.
Rua do Chafariz, nº 6 Aldeia do Outeiro
7200-179 Reguengos de Monsaraz
(+351) 266 557 091
Sofia in Monsaraz Ⓒ 2023 – All rights reserved | Identity design by Jorge Silva | Video created by Janz Anton-Iago | Photos by Ana Paula Carvalho
We will contact you with the details for payment.
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