Studio Facilities
The Painting School is situated on the first floor of a large house and comprises: a north facing main studio with plenty of natural light, a large discussion room, a studio/kitchen and bathroom. We provide the following studio materials: Easels for indoor and outdoor use, portable stools, drawing boards, clips, a selection of palettes, work tables, solvents for oil paint use and spray fixative. What you need to bring with you depends on the kind of work you plan to do. In general consider bringing a work apron, paints, brushes, pencils, charcoal, eraser, paper and/or other picture supports of your choice. You should also bring any other mediums or materials, not covered in this list, that you feel you may need.
Students at work in the studio (see slideshow below for more images of students at work)
Accommodation
Students have the use of a number of gîtes (officially approved holiday cottages) in the village, each of which, besides bedrooms and bathrooms, has a fully equipped kitchen, a lounge and a balcony or garden, most of which have extensive views over the surrounding countryside. Normally bathrooms are shared between two or three students, but private bathrooms may be available at an extra charge.
Castelnau de Montmiral has a population of just under one thousand. It has a hotel, the Hotel des Consuls, two restaurants, a pizzeria, a salon du thé, a bar, a grocery store, a post office, a pharmacy and a doctors’ surgery. Wifi is available at the Painting School and in some of the gites.
Meals
- breakfast
A communal continental breakfast will be served daily in Au Baladin de la Gresigne, a local salon du thé that features a terrace with panoramic views.
Front facade and panoramic views from the balcony
- Evening meals
We arrange four evening meals when everyone eats together as a group. These take place on arrivals day, on the second day, on the last day and on one other day during the course. The first and the last of them of them will situated at the Painting School and cooked by a processional chef. The other two will be at local restaurants.
- Other meals
All other meals students arrange for themselves. For those who wish to eat out, they can do so at one of the four restaurants or, if they would like a sandwich lunch, at the salon du thé. Anyone who wishes to self-cater can do so in their gîtes, whether separately or in groups, using the facilities provided. Supplies can be purchased at the local grocery store, at shops in nearby Gaillac and, on Tuesday mornings only, at the weekly market in the Place des Arcades in Castelnau de Montmiral. Though the restaurants and the grocery store accept credit cards, students are advised to bring sufficient cash for small expenses, as the nearest ATM machines are 12 km away in Gaillac.
Students at work
The two slideshows below show students at work in the studio and outside in town or countryside. The first shows some of them mixing colours, a key part of the teaching at the Painting School of Montmiral. The second illustrates the blend of seriousness and fun which characterises the sessions.
.
.
Colour mixing
.
Seriousness and joy
.