Botanical watercolor with Nicoletalle
19-26 Nov 2023
About The Teacher :
Nicole López, better known as Nicoletalle, is a Chilean architect and artist, based in Santiago de Chile.
With a deep love for nature, her work focuses on botanical watercolor paintings. She seeks to represent the shape and colors of flowers and plants in her work with great detail.
She has been working as an illustrator and an art teacher for the last 7 years, collaborating with organizations and individuals who seek to connect with nature through the practice of painting.
Workshop Description by Nicoletta :
Let me invite you on a journey of seeing the nature of Morocco with different eyes and creating realistic paintings of local flora. During the eight days we will spend together, you will be able to fully focus on nothing but painting and enjoying the beauty of Morocco. We'll begin our program with a variety of exercises on different techniques of applying watercolors on paper and the use of light and shadow in order to create volumes. Later, we are going to study the basics of color theory and start practising how to paint the flowers and plants we observe on site in a realistic style. This course gives you the opportunity to learn my techniques to paint gorgeous flowers, create vibrant colors, paint petals with great texture and bring nature alive through detail in your paintings. Join me in painting and bring the uniqueness of nature's flora to paper, and look forward to keeping your wonderful paintings as special memories of an unforgettable experience. As the teacher's native language is Spanish, this course is going to be supported by a guide and translator. Please feel invited to participate whichever country you are from.
Why you will love this trip
*Essaouira gained UNESCO status thanks to it being a prime example of an 18th-century fortified town. The city walls are an incredible reminder of its past, the medina inside still very much a part of its present. The harbor is chock full of traditional fishermen's boats, and you'll catch them (the fishermen—not the boats) hauling in their catch or mending their nets on the regular. The entire port is ridiculously picturesque, in that gritty, nostalgic kind of way.
*To get into Essaouira's history, carve out ample time in your itinerary to just wander. You likely won't get too lost—the streets are linked in such a way that you're never too far from the main thoroughfare running through its center, the spine of the medina. It stretches from the North Gate, Bab Doukkala, all the way to Place Moulay Hassan, by the waterfront.
- Watercolor paints (tube or cake format) - colors similar to:
- Lemon yellow (cold yellow)
- Deep yellow (warm yellow)
- Cadmium red (medium)
- Permanent carmine or Quinacridone rose
- Ultramarine blue
- Cerulean blue
- Viridian
- Burnt umber
- Quinacridone gold or Yellow ochre
- Sap green
- Burnt sienna
- Perylene maroon
- Perylene violet
- Neutral tint or Payne's gray (optional)
- Quinacridone coral or Opera pink/Opera rose (optional)
- 1 mixing palette
- 1 graphite pencil H (hard)
- 1 graphite pencil B (black)
- 1 rubber/eraser
- 1 blending stump
- round tip watercolor brushes in the following sizes:
- 18/0
- 5/0
- 00
- 1
- 4
- 6
- 1 pad of watercolor paper with the following requirements:
- size: A4 or similar (21x29cm / 9x12in)
- minimum of 20 sheets
- hot pressed or cold pressed (fine grain)
- minimum grammage: 300 gsm
- ideally 100% cotton, acid free
- 1 roll of masking tape
- paper towels
For more details on the itinerary of this trip, I invite you to read the document which you will find below in the section " Itinerary and Book this Retreat ".
v-In case of withdrawal by a participant within 90 days of commencement of the workshop, the amount already paid will not be refunded.
v-In case of cancellation of the trip by the organisers, a new date will be proposed. Any participant who cannot avail of the new date will be fully refunded of the sum already paid.
v-In the event the organisers cancel the trip with no alternative date proposed, all sums paid by the participant will be fully refunded.
Gallery Photos :
Good To Know
Travelers from the US only are required to have a valid US Passport – but it must NOT be due to expire within 6 months of your return flight.
Your flight destination will be Marrakech Menara International Airport (RAK) / Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport. Royal Air Maroc is the only airline that has direct flights from the US to Morocco, from both JFK and Washington Dulles.
You can also book flights traveling through major European airports, as there are many connecting flights to Marrakech through economy airlines such as Ryan Air, Easyjet, Iberia, etc. We’ve found that it is easier to find good connecting flights on the way to Marrakech than on the return, but you can take the opportunity to end your trip with a day or two stop in Spain, France, Portugal, England….
Immunizations are not required or necessary but check here for CDC recommendations.
Weather is predictably unpredictable so be sure to check on the estimated conditions the week before you travel. Even though Marrakech can be quite warm by day, it is usually quite cooler at night so pack light clothes that you can layer. We recommend cotton pants, long skirts, wraps or large scarves over tank and tee shirts, and a sweater or light jacket for chilly nights.
Your most important fashion asset: comfortable shoes for traversing the Medina on sightseeing and shopping adventures!
Morocco is a Muslim country and women generally dress more modestly than in the US or Europe. Like elsewhere, dress codes are gradually becoming more lax and there is a lot of tolerance for tourists, but wearing clothing that covers your best “assets”, and that your grandmother would approve of, shows cultural respect, good taste, and common sense.
The currency here is the Moroccan Dirham, and the exchange rate usually hovers these days around 10 Dirhams/1 Dollar. You CANNOT exchange for Dirhams outside of Morocco, but there are several currency exchange booths in the airport when you exit Passport Control and also located all around the Medina. Larger stores and restaurants may take Euros, but it’s really best to have dirhams.
If you bring large bills ($100) to exchange be sure that they are newer bills with holograms. Otherwise they will slide them back to you with a shake of their head.
Another good option for padding your wallet with dirhams is to use the ATM machines which are located around the medina. The exchange rate is a little better, especially if your bank or credit card doesn’t add foreign transaction fees (some homework for you). Be sure to notify your bank of your foreign travel destination so they don’t flag you for fraud. I also recommend that you bring 2 or 3 cards-just in case you still get flagged (happens!) and find too many things you just can’t live without.
- Free Wifi access in all rooms and common areas
- Bedside Mineral Water
- Hair Dryers
- One-time complimentary laundry service for retreat weeks
Extra items you should pack:
- European Plug adapters
- Electricity Converter for hair appliances (cellphones and computers generally have built-in converters)
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