A Dream Sketching Holiday
Are you dreaming of your next sketching trip? Cast your mind to nine days in Morocco: the desert, the food, the architecture, the oases, the date palms, the people. In partnership with Morocco Ecoway, I am delighted to announce a wonderful trip, planned for September 2021.
My teaching style is to make everything approachable and to break down even complex scenes to ones all sketchers can manage, by studying just one principle per session. The aim is to produce a travel journal full of vignettes that will ignite the senses whenever you look at it in the future; the sounds, the scenes, the sights of a beautiful country.
Our guide is local and knows the area intimately. Wandering the labyrinthine medina of Ait-Ben_Haddou, Skoura and Merzouga, you will have the impression of going back to the Middle Ages.
Read on for the details!
Day 1
Arrival Marrakech at the Marrakech-Menara International Airport. Once we have all met each other, we depart for Ouarzazate, some 200km from Marrakech in the Southeast, taking a road through the High Atlas Mountains. On the way, we will drive through the Tizin’Tichka Pass, at an altitude of more than 2200m. We stop for the night in Ait-Ben-Haddou, located in the Ounila Valley; this is the traditional crossing point for caravans connecting Marrakech to the south of the Sahara.
Day 2
“The Ksar”: Here we begin the sketching. We will draw Ait-Ben-Haddou from the panoramic terrace of our luxurious guesthouse. In the afternoon, we shall visit the historic city, sketching in the shaded alleys along the wadi. At the end of the day, we leave Ait-Ben-Haddou to arrive at one of the largest palm groves in Morocco, where we will spend the night.
Day 3
Skoura: “The Palm Grove”. In the morning, we will discover the splendour of the date palms and the sheltered fruit and olive trees that cover more than 27km2. The local population will give you a warm welcome. The palm grove with its flora and its kasbahs will make beautiful subjects for your travel journal.
Day 4
“The Souq”: the weekly market. We will visit the souq where travelling merchants, artisans, blacksmiths can be found, selling leather products, spices and all kinds of goods. We will immerse ourselves in the middle of the market to sketch and afterwards we will make our way to the Dades Gorge, located at the foot of the High Atlas, and side-by-side with the Anti-Atlas. The Dades Gorge carves its way through the mountains, creating impressive cliffs. In Todgha, you will face two steep cliffs 300m high, separated by a corridor of around twenty metres: an unforgettable spectacle to draw, paint or photograph.
Day 5
The drive from Tineghir to Merzouga (renowned for having the highest sand dunes in the world) passes by a succession of ksour and oases. This region was one of the compulsory crossing points for caravans of slaves and gold from Sudan and Guinea. Your caravan awaits you for a one-hour trip on the back of a camel to watch the sunset from the top of a dune…
Day 6
Depart from Merzouga towards our lodging in Skoura, via Tafilalet and Rissani, the region of Jewish and Muslim saints. The entire day is on the road, full of surprises and adventures.
Day 7
The Kasbahs of Skoura “Amridil”: continuing work on our travel journal, we will sketch traditional architecture and the Moroccan lifestyle. One of Morocco’s grandest kasbahs, this 17th-century marvel once appeared on the 50-dirham bank note. This living museum showcases traditional kasbah life over the centuries.
Day 8
A relaxing morning spent at our guest house, to put the finishing touches to your sketches: all the bits and pieces you haven’t got around to doing yet, under my guidance. After lunch, you will have free time to relax or shop for souvenirs, or simply let the song of the birds guide your steps in the palm grove: your last night in Skoura.
Day 9
After bidding Morocco a reluctant farewell, there is a transfer to Marrakech-Menara International Airport.
Terms and Conditions
Choose 13th-21st September 2021 or 23rd September to 1st October 2021
Workshop Attendee 9 days / 8 nights All Inclusive Price to Include:
- More than 40 hours of lessons, spread over 9 days, for a maximum group size of 15 people.
- Airport / Hotel Transfers
- 17-seater air-conditioned vehicle with driver
- Official licensed guide
- Full board and accommodation, single room, double room for couples, all with private bathroom
- Entrance fees to museums and monuments
- Tourist taxes to be paid on site
- Cocktails / henna party
- Traditional hamam
Accompanying Person 9 days / 8 nights All Inclusive Price to Include:
- Full board accommodation, single room, double room for couples (all rooms with private bathroom)
- Airport / Hotel transfers
- 17-seater vehicle with driver
- Official licensed guide
- Entrance fees to monuments
- Tourist taxes to be paid on site
- Cocktails / henna party
- Traditional hamam
Price does not include:
- Round trip to Marrakech
- Painting equipment
- On-site purchases
Registration and Payment
Please fill out the registration form (see link below) and send it to your teacher Róisín Curé.
Total price for the workshop:
- Workshop Participant: €3000
- Accompanying person: €2750
To reserve your place, for both participant and companion, a deposit of €500 each is required, by bank transfer, Stripe or PayPal to Róisín Curé.
You may pay the balance any time in advance of the workshop, by bank transfer or PayPal, or upon arrival in Morocco.
Cancellation:
- In case of withdrawal by a participant within 90 days of commencement of the workshop, the amount already paid will not be refunded.
- In case of cancellation of the trip by the organisers, a new date will be proposed. Any participant who cannot avail of the new date will be fully refunded of the sum already paid.
- In the event the organisers cancel the trip with no alternative date proposed, all sums paid by the participant will be fully refunded.
Here is the registration form that you can fill in and return to me via email at roisincurepictures@gmail.com:
Thank you for sharing with us this amazing and informative article about Morocco 🙂