For our third day of painting, we took the road up to the seasonal village of Humac. It’s a very pretty drive, with sweeping views over the Brač channel and much easier to navigate the road after the recent improvements. Humac itself is a farming village, the houses built by the folks of Vrisnik and only used when working the fields or grazing the sheep in summer. In its present form, it dates back to the 17th century.

Humac houses

Note the water channel running between the houses, as collecting rainwater is very important – no other water supply here! Our artists spent time wandering around, taking photos, looking for a favourite view. One of the first things we spotted was a white cat posing on the roof of the konoba!

Cat on a stone roof

This first cat turned out to be one of several around the village, fairly young and friendly. A ginger guy came and sat with me while I painted.

Friendly local

And another inspected my artwork when I’d finished – although he lost interest completely when he found it wasn’t edible!

Inspecting my artwork

My chosen subject was what I guess to be a renovated cowshed, with lean-to shed. I really liked the slightly saggy stone roof, and the orange of the newer stone on the walls.

Taking photos

Others walked up to the church and further, to the panoramic viewpoint. It’s a fascinating place, with all these 19th century farmhouses frozen in time. You can really get a feel for what it must have been like to live and work here.

Old shutters

Some houses are in better condition than others, and the textures of the old shutters and peeling plaster made for some really interesting pictures. And, of course, there’s that water channel from the other side!

Water channel

At lunchtime, we gathered in the beautiful terrace area of the konoba, where Keti and Jakov served us platters of grilled meat and home-grown vegetables cooked under the peka – absolutely sublime!

Ready for lunch

After our wonderful lunch, several of us decided to paint at the konoba. I chose a view of vineyards and that glorious overlook to the sea and the neighbouring island of Brač, with the mainland beyond. Others were painting vines or small details of stone walls. What a peaceful way to spend an afternoon!

Here are my two (yes, two!) paintings for the day. Firstly the one the cat inspected:

Cowshed with stone roof

And here’s my version of the view from the terrace – which I really wish did not have that tree quite so centered!

View with tree