Brittany Plein Air for Artist Gourmets - an Art and Gastronomy Workshop, Dinan, France

I have been sending out the first copies of my newly-completed brochure about this Art and Gastronomy Workshop in Brittany, France, planned for May 3rd-12th, 2010. Ten days of plein air work during the day and in the evening, the participants will be welcomed with gourmet meals celebrating the superb local seafood and fresh produce. The text of this brochure is posted on the News and Projects Page of my website, http://landscapespainting.blogspot.com/.

The iconic image of this area of Brittany is, of course, Mont Saint Michel.

This is a map of Brittany, a wonderful part of France. The area for the workshop is in North Brittany. Rennes is the main rail link with Paris, with a direct train from the Charles de Gaulle Airport.





The Workshop will be based at Le Clos Saint Cadreuc, a 1633 farmhouse with elegant long grey stone buildings, which has been converted to a beautifully appointed bed and breakfast establishment. Its location on the map below is in blue. Highly recommended by many guidebooks, it was listed in Britain's travel "bible" written by Alastair Sawday. It is located amid wonderful farmland, just a few minutes inland from spectacular coastal scenery, ranging from golden sweeps of beach to plunging cliffs and vast oyster and mussel beds in long reaches fingering into the land.

Brigitte and Patrick Noël are the hosts of Le Clos Saint Cadreuc
and they will facilitate this workshop and provide the wonderful meals. Patrick is not only an artist himself but his deep knowledge of the area, from architecture to botanical gardens or coastal gems, will enable the artists to go to wonderful places to create art. Non-painting partners will have plenty to do as well. Meanwhile, Brigitte is the perfect chef and host of this most comfortable establishment. This is a photo of us dining out one night at Eric and Pascale Lemale's wonderful Restaurant du Décollé on the water, in Saint-Lunaire. (Brigitte is on the right, Patrick centre and I am on the left.)

I will be the leader for this plein air group, having spent many a fascinated and humbled hour working outside in all weather conditions, in Europe and all around North America. Not only have I loved doing this sort of work but I have been lucky enough to be awarded a number of Artist Residencies to work in this fashion. The month I was awarded as Artist in Residence at Les Amis de la Grande Vigne in Dinan in late 2008 led me to plan this workshop for 2010.

The beauty of the area is unforgettable, and May is the best month of spring in Brittany.

I have been unable to fathom how to post photographs of the area in on my News and Projects page on my website, http://landscapespainting.blogspot.com/, so I will add some of them here to give you a flavour of this wonderful area. These photographs were all taken by my husband, Rundle Cook, who was with me in Dinan.

If you are interested in learning more about this workshop, log on to my website, http://landscapespainting.blogspot.com/ and check out the details on the News and Projects page. Or e-mail me directly at jeanninecook1@cs.com for a complete brochure and application form.