Painting Holiday at Mas d'en Llinas

Domaine du Mas d’en Llinas is set in the foothills of the Pyrenees, close to the beautiful village of Castelnou and 45 minutes from the Mediterranean Sea.

Reminiscent of Tuscan hillsides, an avenue of Italian Cypress trees leads one to this beautiful stone Mas, a countryside retreat, which is set amongst the Alberes mountain range and valleys of the Western Pyrenees with Mount Canigou, a beautiful unique mountain standing tall in the background. Set amongst olive, fig and almond trees, basking in sunshine with a huge swimming pool, the house has stunning views of the wild countryside right down to the Mediterranean sea and as such, is the perfect location with a great choice of subject matter for our artists!

This stone house is an architectural gem with traditional French ‘tuiles’ on the rooftops, numerous terraces, beautiful wrought ironwork and a variety of different types of marble throughout the house. It’s iconic tower looms large over this beautiful site.

Castelnou is one of the ‘Plus Beaux Villages de France’ and in addition to art sessions at the house, the painting holiday will encompass a trip to the village for a day of art. Castelnou is home to many artisans with a number of artist’s studios dotted around this beautiful village, a creative set evidently drawn by its enchanting scenery. There will also be a day trip to Collioure, a stunning medieval port that has attracted many ‘fauve’ artists from the likes of Picasso, Matisse and numerous others, inspired by its 13th century castle, 17th century bell tower and charming streets set in a beautiful Mediterranean bay.

The nearest city is Perpignan and the house is 40 minutes from the border with Spain.

ART SESSIONS
Lynda will hold group art sessions in the mornings, guiding students through the stages of selecting their subject matter and teaching them in sketching, drawing, painting preliminary details and using photos as they build up their resources ready to launch into their artwork.

During the afternoon session Lynda will work with each student individually as they develop their work.

Art sessions will take place in a large studio space or under the shaded pergola, or students can choose to position themselves on the various terraces dotted around the house or in the garden.

GASTRONOMY
We are blessed with the services of a highly acclaimed chef, Iain Humphries, who has a Higher National Diploma in classic French cuisine. Iain subsequently worked his way up to opening his own café / restaurant (Nia) in Brighton before opening a further three restaurants in the city. So we are sure that the menu will not disappoint!

DAY TRIPS

Castelnou

Tuesday is market day in Castelnou when we will have a morning of art in the village with the option to stay on for lunch and the afternoon.

Collioure 
On Wednesday there will be a day trip to the beautiful Mediterranean port of Collioure. This medieval seaside town is an artist's paradise which has been a favourite for many creatives over the years.

YOUR EXHIBITION!
An exhibition will be held on the final evening with canapés and bubbles and a handful of local guests to come and admire your work.

There will be a maximum of 14 art students but guests who would like to join without partaking in art are also welcome.

TIMETABLE

Dinner à table on arrival

8-9am: Continental buffet breakfast
9.30am–1pm: Group Art Session
1-2pm: Buffet Lunch
3-6.30pm: Individual Art
8-10pm: Dinner à table

Buffet breakfast on day of departure

All meals and drinks will be included with continental buffet breakfast, buffet lunch and dinner à table. The only exception will be the lunch in Collioure where guests will be required to cover the cost of their meal.

WHAT'S INCLUDED
Accommodation, food, drinks and transfers are all paid for with the exception of the restaurant meal in Collioure.

WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED

Flights and art materials would be paid for directly by guests. One restaurant meal in Collioure is at guests' own cost. Good quality art materials will be offered to artists for purchase in advance and will be ready waiting on arrival.

Artwork can be returned to the UK via car following the retreat.

Lynda's work covers a wide range of subject matter in watercolour, acrylics and oil and she loves how the effects of light can by played out though the different mediums. Her great passion is architecture and landscape, both manmade and natural, which she approaches with strong tone and lively colour. 

INSPIRATIONAL PROJECTS

Lynda was the illustrator for BBC 2’s documentary on Enid Blyton and has recently illustrated Enid’s biography, along with T.E. Lawrence’ biography and Author, Andrew Norman’s account of World War 1.

Lynda’s work can be found in collections belonging to, or has been commissioned by, the Duchy of Cornwall, the Marquis of Bath, British Petroleum, Electronic Data Systems, the National Trust, Buckingham Covers and The National Rivers Authority. She has also produced a video for Townhouse Films.

A REMARKABLE RANGE OF AWARDS

Lynda has won numerous national prizes including the Pro Arte Prize for outstanding work in watercolour, the Daler Rowney Prize for acrylics, the Sennelier Prize for exceptional work in colour and the Caran d’Ache Prize for work in pastel. She was invited to be involved in The Artist Magazine’s ‘Super Prizewinner Exhibition’ in 2016. Lynda has also had her work selected for the Royal Institute Open Exhibition and the Society of Women Artists Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London.

AN ART EDUCATOR

Lynda’s experience in teaching art is built on 25 years in secondary and further education. This led to her dream to go freelance and she now runs workshops, classes and residential courses for art societies and groups throughout the South of England. Lynda also teaches at Dedham Hall’s renowned art courses in Essex and is a tutor for Alpha Painting Holidays. Lynda was recently listed by Artistravel Germany in their list of best 100 tutors in Europe.

Lynda lives in Donhead St Mary near Shaftesbury with Nellie the dog and Charlie and Horace her two horses.

ANOTHER STRING TO HER BOW
We went to visit Lynda at her annual art exhibition, which she started up 3 years ago along with other artists from the local area. This is a project close to Lynda’s heart that brings together artists from the local area and visitors to appreciate their work in Lynda’s local church and community space, St Andrews Church, in Donhead St Peter in Wiltshire.

Meet the Artist video coming soon!

The 9 bedrooms are all named after sites of interest in the region. There are 6 bedrooms with ensuite and 3 bedrooms with shared bathrooms.

Canigou , the Tower is a large room with super kingsize bed, has 360 degree views of Mount Canigou and surrounding mountains and down to the sea. There is an ensuite WC and a freestanding bath, for a perfect soak to take all of this in. It has a large terrace with some of the best views from the house.

Roc de Majorque is a large studio room with sofa and super kingsize bed, ensuite with walk in shower and a lovely terrace overlooking the valley and down to the sea…and the dramatic sunrise!

Peyrepertuse is a large studio room with kingsize bed, ensuite bathroom with shower over bath and shares a large terrace with the tower with views of Mount Canigou and some of the best views from the house.

Collioure is a large room with kingsize bed and ensuite bathroom with shower over bath and its own terrace with views down to the sea and sunrises to die for!

Eus is a smaller room with kingsize bed with its own shower room and shares a bathroom with Alberes.

Alberes is a medium size room with kingsize, four poster bed plus a small double bed separated by a low wall and shares its bathroom with Eus.

Castelnou is a medium size room with ensuite with a large walk in shower with french doors to the garden and beautiful views across the valley and down to the sea with an amazing sunrise.

Galamus is a large room with ensuite with a bath, french doors with beautiful views of the garden and across the valley with a stunning sunrise.

Carcassonne is a large studio room with shared bathroom, french doors with lovely views of the garden, across the valley and down to the sea and beautiful sunrises.

All of these rooms can be arranged as twins with the exception of Eus.

Roc de Majorque can be arranged as a triple.

Please see the gallery page on the website for more photos of the rooms.

PRICES (in GB Sterling and Per Person)

Carcassonne – large room, shared bathroom with shower, french doors to garden
Sole occupancy £1,410 / non art £1,260
Double or twin with a friend or partner £1,210 / non art £1,010

Eus - Smaller room, private shower, shared bathroom with Alberes
Sole occupancy £1,435 / non art £1,285
Double or twin with a friend or partner £1,225 / non art £1,025

Alberes - medium room, Kingsize bed + small double, shared bathroom with Eus, french doors to terrace
Sole occupancy £1,470/ non art £1,320
Double / twin with a friend or partner £1,245 / non art £1,045

Peyrepertuse - large studio room, ensuite bath/shower, french doors to terrace
Sole occupancy £1,595/ non art £1,445
Double / twin with a friend or partner £1,315 / non art £1,115

Collioure - large room, ensuite with bath/shower, french doors to private terrace
Sole occupancy £1,595/ non art £1,445
Double / twin with a friend or partner £1,315 / non art £1,115

Castelnou - medium room, ensuite with shower, french doors to garden
Sole occupancy £1,595/ non art £1,445
Double / twin with a friend or partner £1,315 / non art £1,115

Galamus - large room, ensuite with bath, french doors to garden
Sole occupancy £1,595/ non art £1,445
Double / twin with a friend or partner £1,315 / non art £1,115

Roc de Majorque - large studio room, ensuite with shower, french doors to terrace
Sole occupancy £1,720/ non art £1,570
Double / twin with a friend or partner £1,385 / non art £1,185

Triple with friends £1,254 / non art £1,029

Canigou - The Tower, large room, 360 degree views, ensuite WC, freestanding bath and large terrace
Sole occupancy £1,810/ non art £1,660
Double / twin with a friend or partner £1,430 / non art £1,230

These are special offer prices to launch our first Painting Holiday at Mas d’en Llinas. We have attempted to get these prices as low as possible while also ensuring we can still offer a great experience for our artists!

We are sure that you will love this holiday and with your support we can hopefully keep prices down year on year. 

FLIGHT OPTIONS WITH TRANSFERS INCLUDED

British Airways
London Gatwick to Montpellier
OUTBOUND – 1350-1650
RETURN – 1740-1840

Ryanair
London Stansted to Carcassonne
OUTBOUND – 1340-1640
RETURN – 1705-1805

Bournemouth to Carcassonne
OUTBOUND – 1235-1520
RETURN – 1545-1625

EARLY FLIGHT OPTION (if you can bear it) – Perpignan airport is only 40 minutes from the house. Access to the house may only be 4pm, depending on previous clients, so you might have to spend the day relaxing by the pool (!) or visiting the local area while the house is being prepared for your stay.

Ryanair
London Stansted – Perpignan
OUTBOUND – 0620-0925
RETURN – 0950-1050

There are return flights to London Stansted from Carcassonne on Sunday / Mondays for those that would like to extend their stay and spend a night or two in this beautiful walled city with its magnificent medieval castle.

Bournemouth flights also fly to / from Carcassonne on Wednesdays.

Alternative airports within 1h30 of the house are Barcelona Girona and Béziers. Or Barcelona and Toulouse are 2h30 away. Transfers are not included to these airports. Girona Airport has a good direct bus service to Perpignan station.

CAR HIRE
If you would prefer to hire your own car, we can offer discounts on the prices, please discuss this with us.

Please get in touch if you would like to book and if you would like further information.