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…
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…
A poster attracted our attention a couple of days ago. “Presentation of Robotics” on the Riva in Vrboska. Intrigued we sauntered down to the waterfront (Riva in Croatian) and wintessed a fun spectacle. There was a bunch of enthusiastic primary and secondary school kids crowded around a bunch of machines. It turns out Croatia is…
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…
Since I wrote my article on Red roofs as part of the landscape last month, I’ve been looking with different eyes at buildings – and paintings of them. So many artists over the years have taken architecture as their subject, including red roofs (Camille Pissarro) and even blue roofs (Paul Gaugin). So let’s have a…
At the heart of Vrboska is one of the more unusual churches that you’ll ever see – the church fortress of St Mary of Mercy has high walls, battlements and an impressive ravelin defending the front door. Originally financed by the local people, it was extended and fortified in 1575 to be a refuge in…
Announcing our Hvar Artist Retreat for 2015 – 6th to 14th September! After missing last year due to family commitments, we’re back for 2015! Our itinerary will be similar to the very successful event in 2013, though we also have a couple of new locations in mind, depending on interest. We’ll be based, as ever,…
This week marked the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto on 7th October 1571, which still ranks as one of the major events in the history of the Mediterranean, and indeed around the world. The Ottoman fleet was defeated by the Holy League in what was the last sea battle to be fought by man-powered…
There’s something rather attractive about the colours and textures of rust. It adds a warmth and interest to metal objects, and although it can be destructive, it’s also rather lovely. Rust, that is iron oxide, often has flakes and crusty layers in a complex mix of shades, as the process involves both oxygen and water…
The word for a door in Croatian is vrata, which comes from the old Slavic word vorta. It’s always plural, in the same way that trousers or pants are in English. And vrata means both the opening, and the object we use to close it up. Now that may be a wooden door, glass door or wrought-iron gate, inside or outside, in the house or garden or field – vrata covers all types.
Go Hvar 
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