Hvar is the island of wine, and in many vineyards the grapes are ripening, almost ready for harvest. Our 5th day of painting took us right in amongst some old vines, near the village of Svirče. As vineyards go, this one is rather impressive, mostly large rocks with pockets of soil for the vines. Around…
After our trip to the country yesterday, it was was off to the big city today! Hvar may be quite small compared to, say, Split but it sure feels like a bustling metropolis after our other locations. The day starts off overcast, but soon brightens up into sunshine. Our base is Mizarola, in the main…
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…
Day two of the retreat saw us in Stari Grad, the oldest town on the island, and indeed one of the oldest in Europe. As the former Greek colony of Faros, this place was already old in the 16th century, when Petar Hektorović built his summer residence here. Tvrdalj was originally on the waterfront, bristling…
I like to begin our artist retreat with an introduction to Vrboska, our base for the week. Much grumbling amongst the troops as I explained the previous night that we’d be meeting at 6:30am for our morning walk, cameras at the ready! This is, in fact, shortly after sunrise, and by far the best time…
It’s fun to take my sketchbook along on a walk instead of the camera, although it doesn’t half slow down progress! But what I lose in distance covered and numbers of images, I gain in terms of the quality of the scene imprinted on my memory. Places that I’ve sat and sketched are much more…
It’s fascinating to me what kind of equipment other artists choose to take when painting outdoors. We’re all looking for lightweight and compact, but at the same time we want all the familiar bits and pieces from the studio, just, you know, in case! So what do I take in my painting kit? To start…
Interesting how the fates of two nearby prehistoric settlements should go in such different directions. Take for instance Iader and Aenona, both Liburnian towns on the Dalmatian coast, within about 14 km (9 miles) of each other. Both were mentioned by Pliny the Elder some 3,000 years ago. Iader is now a thriving city with…
Leaving Šibenik behind us, we headed northwards up the Dalmatian coast towards Zadar, with a bit of a detour around the lovely Lake Vrana Nature Park (not to be confused with the other Lake Vrana on the island of Cres.) This is Croatia’s largest lake, and a very important stop-off for birds on their annual…
Just inland from Šibenik lies the beautiful Krka National Park. Basically, it’s a deep canyon cut into the high karst plateau by the river Krka as it wends its way down to the sea. There are spectacular waterfalls, lakes, caves, natural rock formations, interesting flora and fauna – plus there’s cultural heritage, starting with the…
Go Hvar 
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