The Escapes · Spain
Six guests. One villa. The Mediterranean. And time to notice.
Slow down. Look longer. Draw what you notice.
Empuriabrava · Costa Brava · Spain
Maximum six guests
This is not a traditional drawing holiday. No workshop week, no packed itinerary, no luxury-retreat marketing. It's a few days living according to the philosophy of The Relaxed Sketcher.
The experience
There's a villa by the sea, a boat that sails when conditions allow, and two Jeep Wranglers for the days that need no map. Little else has to be planned. Drawing. Looking longer than you're used to. Swimming. Sitting down together. The bays around Cap de Creus, Cadaqués, Portlligat — where Dalí looked before he painted. Rest, and time to notice what's there.
The rituals
The Arrival
Everyone receives a sketchbook, a Sketch Passport, a pen, a small set of materials, a local map, and a personal welcome card. Not drawing yet.
Don't draw yet. First, arrive.
The First Sketch
A small first drawing — ten minutes, the same ten minutes this all began with. Somewhere in the days that follow, there's room for more.
Sometimes ten minutes isn't enough.
The Blue Sketch
The boat trip is no excursion. We sail when conditions allow, towards the coast, Cap de Creus, or a bay like Cala Rostella. Coffee. Sketchbooks. Watercolour. Swimming. Lunch on board or on the rocks. And drawing.
Today we draw blue.
Sketch Where Dalí Looked
Cadaqués and Portlligat — not as a museum visit, but as a question. Then you look for yourself, and draw what you see.
What did Dalí see here?
The Unknown Day
Beforehand you only know: bring your sketchbook, good shoes, something warm. We'll take care of the rest. The two Jeeps stand ready — perhaps towards Sant Pere de Rodes, Cap de Creus, Colera, or an unexpected viewpoint in the mountains.
Some things we won't tell you yet.
The Golden Hour
With the Jeeps to a beautiful spot, at the hour the light is at its best. One task.
Capture the light, not the place.
The Long Drawing
Not everything has to happen in ten minutes. There's room for a longer way of working — Estella's way. No classroom critique, just personal attention.
What deserves more time?
The Long Table
One evening with no programme. A long table, good food, wine, conversation. Sketchbooks may sit alongside. No one has to draw.
Three things you take home
The Sketchbook
Your own work, and the memory of these days.
Estella's Edition Print
Every Escape is numbered. This one becomes Mediterranean Escape Nº 01. Estella makes one original work for it, of which exactly six high-quality copies are made — 1/6 through 6/6. Not sold in the shop; this belongs to this particular group.
The Last Page
The last page of every sketchbook stays blank — until, at the end, Estella writes a short, handwritten observation there for each guest. No certificate, no diploma. Below it, small: The Relaxed Sketcher, Mediterranean Escape Nº 01, Empuriabrava · Costa Brava.
The Six Sketches
On the last evening, everyone chooses six drawings — not necessarily the best ones, but the six that mean something. Looking at them together. A short word on why. No judging, no competition, no obligation to share.
What we're not ready to say yet
There's no fixed price, departure date or availability yet. This is the very first Escape, and we want to get it right before we sell it as a trip. What you read here is the story; the practical side follows once it's right.
Register your interest
No booking system yet — but an honest way to say you'd like to be one of the six.