The Escapes · Spain
In preparation. Dates and pricing will follow once confirmed.
Register your interest →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
A few unhurried days on the Costa Brava, with at most six guests, personal attention and room to draw, sail, swim and eat together. For a few days we live by the philosophy of The Relaxed Sketcher — with no packed itinerary.
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 needs planning. Drawing. Looking longer than you're used to. Swimming. Sitting down to eat 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
Don't draw yet. First, arrive.
Everyone receives a sketchbook, a Sketch Passport, a pen, a small set of materials, a map of the area and a personal welcome card. No drawing yet.
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 isn't an excursion. We sail when conditions allow — along the coast, to Cap de Creus, or to 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
Capture the light, not the place.
With the Jeeps to a beautiful spot, at the hour the light is at its best. One task.
The Long Drawing
Not everything has to happen in ten minutes. There's room for a longer way of working — Estella's way. Personal attention, without classroom critique.
What deserves more time?
The Long Table
One evening with no programme. A long table, good food, wine, conversation. Sketchbooks are welcome on the table. 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 prints are made — 1/6 through 6/6. Not for sale in the store; it belongs to this 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, but the six that mean something. We look at them together, with a few words 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 — just an honest way to say you'd like to be one of the six.