2010

ALVARO CASTAGNET in SPAIN

“The Beauties of Costa Brava & Gaudi’s Barcelona”

3 – 9 June, 2010

CATALONIA, COSTA BRAVA & BARCELONA (SPAIN)

Best known apart from the capital, Barcelona, is of course the Mediterranean coast, Costa Brava, with ample beaches and mild

climate, doubtlessly a first rate touristic attraction. One shouldn't forget anyhow that Catalonia offers as well high mountain ranges

such as the Pyrenees in the north. Catalonia has a very marked culture of its own, most evidently of Mediterranean tradition, and is

distinguished of most other Spanish regions in several aspects, not at least by its language, Barcelona is Catalunya’s capital. Catalunya is an autonomous

region inside Spain, with its own language, culture and history. Catalunya was the first nation in the world to have a parliament (called Consell de Cent), which made the laws that

even the King had to follow.

The 200-Km coastline of the Costa Brava is certainly one of the most famous Spanish coasts, stretching from the north of Barcelona over the province of Girona. It is of great natural beauty, with steep cliffs and romantic small coves.

The range of proposals in terms of sights, entertainment, sport, culture and cuisine is endless. Medieval villages like Pals or Peratallada go side by side with the beauty of the coves and cliffs of Begur, Palafrugell, Calella, Llafranch…

Barcelona is considered by many the most lively, brilliant, active, dynamic city at the forefront of the universe. These are some of its highlights.

Modernism:There are many examples of modernist architecture in town. Among the things you mustn’t miss: La Pedrera, La Casa Batlló and La Sagrada Familia. Ciutat Vella: Narrow streets, medieval buildings, the most fashionable shops; the perfect place to get lost walking during the day time, and to enjoy the amazing night life. Las Ramblas: Ciutat Vella central avenue, popular for human statues, and the unique mix of all kinds of people.

Catalans pride themselves on good eating, its excellent gastronomy is characterized by seafood, rice dishes, wines of great international reputation and traditional desserts like the famous "Crema Catalana". You will find some of Spain's finest restaurants here, like the world famous Ferran Adrià’s “El Bulli” in Roses. The region's cuisine features unusual dishes like goose with pears and lobster with chicken, and wonderful seafood stews, paella and a great variety of wild mushrooms. Fine red and white wines are produced here, and Catalan sparkling wines (cavas) are favourite celebratory wines around the world.

COURSE TIMETABLE

ITINERARY AND EXCURSIONS Thursday 3rd June Arrival and check in at hotel. Hopefully some time to relax.

19.00 Welcome meeting and course briefing at Hotel Eden Roc, 17220 SANT FELIU DE GUIXOLS, tel +34 972 320 100. Welcome cocktail and drinks, followed by a buffet style dinner. For further travel information please check the hotel website: http://www.caproig.com

Friday 4th June SANT FELIU 9.00 – 16.30 This is our first painting day. We meet at the hotel lobby to go sketching around the hotel and the Sant Feliu area. Alvaro will finish the day with a critique session to enlighten our artist minds. Then, a well-deserved free time to relax around the hotel gardens, have a swim, a walk or explore further before the exquisite buffet dinner.

DAY DATE TIME ACTIVITY

Thu June 3 19.00

Course presentation & briefing. Welcome cocktail & dinner

Fri June 4 09.00 – 16.30

Sketching & painting in St. Feliu around the hotel & studio. Critique session

Sat June 5 09.00 - 17.00 Trip to Calella de Palafrugell Critique session

Sun June 6 09.00 – 17.00 18.00

Trip to Peratallada Critique session

Mon June 7 08.30 Leaving for Barcelona by coach, painting in Barcelona the rest of the day

Tues June 8 09.00 – 16.30 20.00

Painting in Barcelona Farewell dinner

Wed June 9 By 11.00 Departure before 11.00

Saturday 5th June CALELLA DE PALAFRUGELL 9.00 – 17.00 Meet at the hotel lobby for a lovely painting day in Calella de Palafrugell where Alvaro will delight us with two demonstrations again and help everybody with our own paintings.

Calella: Hidden away from mass tourism lies this charming fishing village Calella, it has some of the most peaceful seaside walkways in Spain. Visitors get intimate views of a gorgeous blue shoreline while walking past the colorful fishing boats that dot the shore or enjoying meals at several shore-front restaurants. Calella is also known for its “havaneres” —old songs Cuban

immigrant fisherman sung for over 100 years in local taverns. Before the tradition completely died out in the 1960s, the community started a summer festival to celebrate the custom and it is still popular to this day. On the beach at night people like to drink “Cremat”, a hot drink made with burnt rum, lemon peel, coffee beans, cinnamon and a coffee in a terracotta pot. Usually drank in the open air to avoid igniting what is around you or yourself even! Sunday 6th June PERATALLADA 9.00 – 17.00 Meet at the hotel lobby for a lovely painting day in Peratallada.

Peratallada was declared an artistic and historical site, it’s one of the most important medieval architectural centres being one of the best fortified mediaeval villages. The defence system was made up of three walled sites. The three walls and towers were protected by deep valleys carved out of the rock. This fosse, in some places where it is still visible today, was 7 or 8 metres deep. That’s where the name comes from: Piedra Tallada, Carved Stone

Alvaro will demonstrate again in this beautiful medieval town and delight us with new lessons. Then he’ll help everybody to produce good paintings

We can also wander along their narrow alleys and get lost in time to let these medieval walls inspire our paintings, eat, paint, relax and enjoy life.

Monday 7th June BARCELONA 8.30 Meet at the hotel lobby fully packed to go to Barcelona by coach. It will stay with us all day to drive us around Barcelona, admiring Gaudi’s buildings and stopping to paint in emblematic places such as Parc Güell and

Montjuïc. Alvaro will do his demonstrations there leaving time to do our own paintings. For hundreds of years, Barcelona has been the most dynamic and modern city in Spain. Its commercial port, and its proximity with France and the rest of Europe, made it the perfect setting for many different people to exchange ideas. During this time, Barcelona cultivated a great cultural richness, and thanks to the international projection and town planning works carried out for the Olympic Games, held here in 1992, it is now one of the most modern and dynamic cities in the world. The city is set apart from others by its situation on the Mediterranean coast, with more than 4 kilometres of beach. The Ciutat Vella quarter is constantly being renovated, and is made of 4 very different districts, each one of them with its own character, where you can find everything from the most modern and fashionable shops and restaurants, to the quietest, most hidden little squares. The Eixample quarter is a wonderful example of town planning, and it is the area where you will find the most stunning modernist buildings (lead by those built by the greatest architect of all time: Antonio Gaudí), like La Pedrera or Casa Batlló. In the late afternoon we’ll go to our hotel in the Ramblas to check in and enjoy some free time to explore the heart of old Barcelona, walking towards the sea or getting lost in the many side streets full of charm and buzzing with life.

HOTEL in Barcelona: Hotel Continental Barcelona, www.hotelcontinental.com Rambla de Canaletas, 138 – 08002 Barcelona, tel +34 933 012 570

Tuesday 8th June BARCELONA 9.00 – 16.30 Meet at the hotel lobby and go exploring other unforgettable corners of the Ramblas, the Gothic quarter and the port, under the expert tuition and guidance of Alvaro. This is our last painting day. 20.00 Farewell dinner and get together to sum up this wonderful week with Alvaro Castagnet, his masterful tuition, charismatic personality and fantastic painting! All the fun and achievements in that very special week. Great friends that we’ve made and unforgettable memories… Thursday 9th June Departure day, by 11.00 After breakfast we leave our rooms before 11.00 am, but we’re allowed to use the hotel facilities until it’s time to leave. Sweet memories and new good friends will remain in our hearts. Hope to see you again in another of our workshops. REMINDERS: WHAT TO TAKE & ADVICE -Your personal painting gear: paints, brushes, paper and the rest of materials suggested by Alvaro. -A good light-weight rucksack or bag with enough space for carrying your things plus easel and chair. -Clothes: some short and long sleeved T-shirts, shorts, trousers, waterproof jackets, hats, sun block cream, a thicker jacket for chilly evenings. -Money: You can get money from ATM machines in every town we visit. -Your personal health insurance, E111 card for EU citizens. -Leave passports or extra money in the safe of the hotel, don’t carry it around. You can carry a photocopy of your passport if you wish. THE PAINTING COURSE Alvaro will be demonstrating and giving tuition and critiques from Friday 4th to Tuesday 8th June 2010. Our painting day will normally be from 9.00 until 16.30 or 17.00. Alvaro will start with a demo in the morning followed by students doing their own works with his expert guidance. This schedule will be repeated in the afternoon. Students should bring their own painting materials and equipment. However, stools, light weight easels and drawing boards can be provided on request at no extra cost. The syllabus will contain a progression into what watercolour painting is about. These points will be explored:

Introduction to Watercolours. The philosophical side of “what makes a painting”. Simple aspects of the medium will be discussed: wet on wet, wet on dry, lost & found edges, colour

blending. Understanding values and value ranges within a painting. Perspective exercises will be involved. A painting of a street scene, with European buildings, will give us the perfect subject to look at: colour

mixing, perspective, texture, figures, mood, etc Broad washes to practice colour mixing and wet on wet techniques. A demo of a more complex painting will be performed. Maximum guidance to the students.

In Alvaro’s own words: “Every day we will be conducting critique of the painting in progress. I walk among the students’ work, giving them friendly advice on how I think they could improve their work, to help them make the most of every painting opportunity. On the last day, there will be the final critique session, where every student will show the best painting they have produced, and will go home not only feeling great, with their achievement, but realizing how much they have learned after having so much fun, and with a clear understanding of the strength and weakness of their paintings.” Full details with advice on what to bring are sent to you in a separate document. YOUR PAINTING TUTOR ALVARO CASTAGNET Alvaro Castagnet was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He attended the National School of Art and the Fine Arts University and was taught by Professor Esteban Garino. Alvaro’s achievements are many. He was appointed Art Director of the Melbourne Latin America Arts Festival and has won numerous awards. These include: The Alice Baylo Award and the American Watercolor Society prestigious High Winds Medal. The AWS has recently honoured him with the Alfredo Guati Rojo Memorial Award and the Airfloat Systems Inc Award. The Jury of Awards has included him in the 137th Annual Travel Exhibition. These are but a few of his many outstanding achievements. In addition Alvaro has featured in many publications and writes regularly for internationally acclaimed art magazines. His book ‘Watercolour Painting with Passion’ met with worldwide success. He’s preparing his second book at present. In addition he released his 2nd DVD in December 2007, filmed in Cadaqués and Girona and available at www.apvfilms.com Alvaro’s experience in the field of painting and teaching has won him the respect and admiration of his fellow artists and the countless students who have benefited from his tutorship and his passion for watercolour. His demonstrations are quite breathtaking and it is a sheer delight to watch his speed of execution and the simplicity of his statements. These attributes coupled with his ability to show how to capture atmosphere and mood, create rhythm of movement and produce a well-balanced painting. These are the qualities that identify him worldwide as an outstanding teacher and as a master of the art of watercolour painting. Most important of all Alvaro is a warm, kind, compassionate and considerate man full of charisma and good humour. By Don Glynn TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS The wokshop starts in Sant Feliu de Guixols (Girona province) and we will organise your transfer from either Girona airport or city. So your best option is to fly to Girona, about 12 Kms from Girona city and 25 Kms from St. Feliu or get to Girona by train or bus directly from Barcelona airport. After you let us know about your travel arrangements, a transfer to the hotel will be organised so you can join a group for your pick up or return. We have provided more detailed travel instructions on a separate document. The workshop ends in Barcelona allowing you to take the airbus right next to our hotel in Barcelona if you are leaving from there. To get to Girona, Ryanair provides regular buses from the Nord station to Girona airport.

CANCELLATION CONDITIONS & INSURANCE Deposits are non-refundable. Cancellations on final payments due to medical reasons up to 3 weeks before the start of the course will have a 40% refurnd of that second payment. Cancellations less than 4 weeks before the start of a course, there’s no refund of monies paid. You are strongly advised to take out independent cancellation insurance to cover you in the event of cancellations. ACCOMMODATION Hotel in Sant Feliu (Girona province) Hotel Eden Roc Port Salvi s/n 17220 Sant Feliu de Guíxols tel +34 972 320 100 www.caproig.com

HOTEL in Barcelona Hotel Continental Barcelona Rambla de Canaletes, 138 08002 Barcelona Tel +34 933 012 570 www.hotelcontinental.com

We will stay at the seaside hotel Eden Roc in Sant Elm, next to Sant Feliu de Guíxols. The hotel offers half board accommodation with very good buffet breakfast and dinner, including wine. Everyone in the group has a room with a view and ensuite bathroom facilities. The hotel has a big swimming pool, a spa centre, lovely gardens and even a private beach which you can use; it’s situated on a rocky bay. Our studio is a beautiful room with sea views. In Barcelona we will be staying in a hotel at the top of the Ramblas next to plaça Catalunya in the very heart of Barcelona and next to all transports, it’s the Hotel Continental Barcelona. It includes a 24h light buffet. DISCLAIMER The workshop has been priced on the basis of a minimum number of students. If fewer artists have confirmed their booking 8 weeks before the start of the course, EPC reserves the right to cancel the workshop giving a full refund of monies paid or offer a place on another course equal in price. Contact EPC before you book your flights to make sure your course is going ahead. EPC takes no responsibility for the loss or damage of personal property. Whilst every effort will be made by EPC to keep to the programme outlined above, it will, if circumstances warrant it, be subject to change. __________________________________________________________________________ CONTACT DURING YOUR STAY Angela Barbi +34 645 767 403 mobile phone

HAVE AN UNFORGETTABLE TIME WITH ALVARO IN CATALONIA!!