Art retreats: Stepping back to move forward

Art retreats are in many ways just the opposite – you’re not retreating but engaging. You meet more people, you do more painting (or drawing or sketching), you make strides in your mastery of your medium. You are treating yourself to time dedicated purely and simply to your art – but you’re doing it with other people. And isn’t that great? Not that many people are starving artists in the garret, but time alone in the studio or in front of the drawing board can be lonely. During a retreat you’re surrounded by other artists. You can swap viewpoints, make supportive criticism, share frustrations – all that wonderful human contact that poor old Vincent could have done with. And they are equally valuable to the beginner