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EMILY BALL AT SEAWHITE‍

CONTEMPORARY DRAWING AND PAINTING COURSES‍

PORTUGAL COURSES 2025

Inspiration from Land and Sea in the Algarve

Images: flora, fauna, rugged coastline of the Algarve (Emily Ball, Ros Hodges)

Dear  ‍ ‍ ‍

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This Autumn, we’re excited to be offering two very special courses in the Algarve.  We have teamed up once again with the wonderful Rosalind Hodges  - villa Host and fellow artist - to bring you two weeks of painting, drawing, relaxation, sunshine, delicious food, stunning beaches and good company – you won’t want to go home!

With the chill of winter seeming to last forever, it feels like a great time to be thinking about warmer, balmier days ahead. These restorative courses could be something to look forward to once the hustle and bustle of the Summer is over. The rocky coastline and untouched sandy coves around the small fishing village of Salema offer endless inspiration to artists, as Emily herself will testify:

“I have visited this beautiful place many times and have had the opportunity to study and paint there too.  The beaches, sea and Atlantic coast are beautiful but I find that my fascination and inspiration comes from being amongst the extraordinary plants growing out of the parched red earth.  There is a stark, bleak beauty and toughness that I love.” ~ Emily Ball

Image: the paths surrounding the villa (Emily Ball)

The two courses on offer are quite distinct from one another.  The first is a taught course, led by Emily and focused on helping you make studies that truly connect with your surroundings and your practice as an artist. The second week is a residency, where artists are invited to work alongside Emily and each other as they spend a precious week immersed in their practice, without the usual demands of everyday life.

“The course in the Algarve allowed me to detach myself from the normal grind & to focus just on art without distractions.” ~ Wendy Heaps

Join us for one of these special courses, or choose to do both! The taught course and retreat beautifully compliment one another; continuing from week 1 to week 2 will enable you to maintain your momentum and free flow into a unique self-governed daily practice for the second week.  Book both weeks and enjoy a 10% discount.

Read on to find out more, or if you can’t wait and are ready to book yourself some quality, creative ’me’ time, click on the links below to head straight to our website:‍

Please note that for each of our Algarve courses, it is important that you feel physically able enough to walk and carry a day pack 2km, together with an ability to walk on narrow, uneven, hilly coastal earth paths. If this is not possible then the gardens and landscape that surrounds the house do provide ample inspiration.

THE LOCATION:

Inspiration from Nature in the Algarve‍

Image: Ros Hodge's villa (Emily Ball)‍

 Our Portugal courses are set in a beautiful coastal Nature Reserve at the Western end of the Algarve - just a short walk from the fishing village of Salema with its rugged untouched coves, and wilderness paths leading to unspoilt beaches.  You will be staying in the comfortable and spacious villa of artist Rosalind Hodges, who has many years experience of hosting art holidays and holistic retreats.  The aim of these villa-based courses is to give you the luxury of just concentrating on developing your own creative flow.  So, as well as extensive gardens and a solar heated pool, she ensures that all her guests are made to feel relaxed and nurtured during their stay: local home cooked food, guided walks, materials are all generously provided and organised daily.  Additionally, a professional masseur is available (poa), to ease you into a place of relaxation and personal nurture too.

To make the most of the cooler ends of the late summer days, both courses will have an early daily start, leaving the hottest part of the day for rest and reflection with evenings left open for optional yoga, star-lit walks, and following your own practice.  During your stay, you will be able to work in your own shaded space around the villa, where you can comfortably develop your work.‍

Images: Views of the ‍villa (Ros Hodges)

INSPIRATION FROM LAND AND SEA IN THE ALGARVE

Taught Course with Emily Ball

31 August - September 2025 | from £1800

Arrive on Sunday, taught course Monday – Friday, leave Saturday

Course fee includes accommodation, tuition, all food and materials‍

Image: making studies on the beach (Katie Sollohub)‍

This one-week course is an opportunity for you to invest in yourself and grow your authentic practice. It’s all about discovering what it means, to make studies of depth, which are full of possibility. Rather than finished pieces, the focus for this week is on exploration, discovery, process and depth.

“I loved painting outside all day and learning how to adapt to outdoor  conditions. The slow study approach was great and the use of words to describe what we’re seeing was a revelation to me. I learned how to be bolder, use  stronger brush strokes, layer colour, immerse myself in the natural environment -to see, smell, feel & explore.” ~Wendy Heaps‍

Through varied practical exercises and group discussions you will begin to  incorporate different processes into your work practice, encouraging a rich plethora of ideas to flow, which will build throughout the week. Emily will encourage you to engage in a dialogue with your work, while exploring, gathering and researching studies.‍

Image: Emily's work station at the villa (Emily Ball)‍

“Walking on the paths brushing past wild fennel, navigating between sun bleached plants, across hills down to the beach and sea, you will make studies that capture a sense of place and fleeting experiences. You’ll be encouraged to notice the glowing red earth, rugged vistas to the sea, the wiry, bleached vegetation and beautiful light – and seek to find their equivalents in colour and marks.” ~ Emily Ball‍

Image:Hot Hill 2 Portugal, studies on paper (Emily Ball)‍

The course is designed to develop your confidence in your own sensibilities; to become creatively courageous and produce work that is visceral, engaging and uniquely personal.  ‍

Image: group discussions, the Algarve (Katie Sollohub)‍

“I enjoyed the regularity of group discussions and teaching , and looked forward to them.  They gave structure to the day and were an important part of learning.” ~ Jane McClelland

 By the end of the week you will have enough work, processes and ideas to fuel potential work for weeks to come.  In fact, why stop at just one week? By combining this course with Inspiration from Nature in the Algarve - Residency and Retreat  - you could build on your learning and further immerse yourself in your practice. There is a 10% discount if you book both!

For more information and to book your place, please click on the button below:‍

INSPIRATION FROM LAND AND SEA IN THE ALGARVE

 Residency & Retreat with Emily Ball

 7 – 13 September 2025 | from £1500

Arrive on Sunday, Residency Monday – Friday, leave Saturday

Course fee includes accommodation, tuition, all food and materials‍

Image: Emily working on th beach (Katie Sollohub)‍

“On this residency you can find out what inspires you and go deeper, balance, connect, draw, paint, write, share ideas, experiment, re-evaluate, play, discover

and explore.” Emily Ball‍

This is a perfect week for working artists – especially those wishing to embed their own practice in the landscape – as well as artists who will be attending Emily’s first week in Portugal, or wish to build on previous Algarve residency experiences.

A residency gives artists the opportunity to live and work outside of their usual environments, providing them with time to reflect, research and produce work. Emily will lead the week, encouraging everyone to immerse themselves in their own internal dialogue with themselves and their subjects.

There will be no teaching given, yet the emphasis will be on support and exchange with a rare chance to witness the artists Emily Ball and host/artist Rosalind Hodges, in their own rhythm and creative processes as they work.

“We will coexist, choosing to work in isolation or alongside each other. It’s an inspiring landscape to work within; you will have time to explore the sea, cliffs and beaches at sun rise, or sublimely sink into the alluring star filled sky each night.” ~ Emily Ball‍‍

 Before and after lunch each day there will be a set time when you can meet with Emily, to share and discuss any creative dilemmas you may be having if needed. At the end of each day there will also be ample time to discuss all of our work/processes, within this supportive collective.

With the support of the light structure  offered by this residency week, you have the chance to be more experimental/intuitive/inventive with your work, and to develop a newly defined work practice to grow from going forwards.

Images: artists working at the villa, Algarve (Emily Ball)

For more information and to book your place, please click on the button below:‍

 TAKING IT FURTHER

 Join us for another creative adventure!

These weeks in the Algarve could be the start of a whole new body of work!  Online and in-person, we have courses in our programme that could help you do just this…‍

 STUDIO RESIDENCY
with Emily Ball
20-24 October (Mon -Fri) £480

 Five days of undiluted painting in a spacious studio, working alongside Emily and a small group of  like-minded artists.‍  “We work hard; the residency week creates a working atmosphere where you turn up, ready to push forward and do serious play! It is inspiring seeing the individuality of each artist in their work and processes.”  ~Emily Ball‍

 PAINT FIT STUDIO RETREAT

Live Online

 with Emily Ball

27-31 October(Mon-Fri)

 3-7 November(Mon-Fri)
£315
 

Paint Fit is all about establishing a daily practice of painting and discovering what really matters to you. Each day starts with a live-online tutorial/demonstration with Emily guiding you through exercises; opening up the possibilities of how you can approach your painting.  Making a commitment to show up in your studio and paint every day quickly gets results - the progress and breakthroughs that participants make during the course are significant and long-lasting.‍

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