Classes
This five-day masterclass is a rare opportunity to work with wild specimens gathered by you in the rural heartland of Saxon Transylvania, in a class of just six students, while staying in a peaceful farming settlement in the comfort of a large private house.
Classes will demonstrate the different watercolour techniques used in botanical illustration, using subject matter you have collected yourself from the forests, hills and meadows of an unspoiled corner of Transylvania. We will explore this landscape together in the company of a local botanist, learning about the plants and finding specimens to work from indoors.
Each morning, Işık will demonstrate different techniques and approaches for achieving life-like paintings. You may choose your own wild specimen to practise with and complete under Işık's guidance. The classes will help you to combine scientific accuracy with an aesthetic vision to create beautiful botanical paintings.
Classes take place in the Pod — a studio classroom filled with natural northern light, where each student has their own desk and drawing board.
Dates:
11 October— Arrive at Sibiu Airport; transfer to Copșa Mare
12 October – 16 October — Botanical Illustration Masterclass
17 October — Depart
Level: Intermediate / Advanced
Participants: Limited to 5
Price: €1,600
To apply: james.decandole@outlook.com
Accommodation
The former Saxon village of Copșa Mare is surrounded by species-rich grasslands, deep valleys and high forested ridges of beech, oak and hornbeam. These forests are home to brown bears, honey buzzards, roe deer and wild boar.
Your hosts, Rachel and James de Candole, live year-round in the village in the former town hall — a building constructed in the 1890s during the era of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy and lovingly restored by them as their family home.
You will stay in a peaceful farming settlement in great comfort, with excellent food and plenty of fresh air. This will be a relaxing five days, combining periods of concentrated study with fresh air, exercise (the terrain is hilly, so a reasonable level of fitness is helpful), and good food and wine. Your hosts keep their own horses, all schooled at home in the classical tradition.
The Transylvania Florilegium
The de Candoles own copy number 19 of 150 of The Transylvania Florilegium. During our stay, we will have the opportunity to study this remarkable compilation of botanical paintings depicting the wild flora of Transylvania.
What is included
6 nights' accommodation in your own room
All meals and wine
Airport transfers (within the programme dates)
Masterclass tuition and botanical guide
What is not included
International flights
Travel and medical insurance
Personal expenses
Art materials (see list below)
Recommended Materials
Drawing pencils (2H, HB, 2B, 4B)
Propelling pencil (with 0.35 point 2H, HB lead)
Divider
Eraser and Putty rubber
Sharpener
Ruler (if possible)
Tracing paper
Sketching paper (smooth cartridge paper or pad, 120–160 gsm, A4 or A3)
Watercolour sable brushes (sizes 4, 3 and 2; a selection of finer brushes for detail work, Winsor & Newton Series 7 recommended, though any preferred brand is suitable)
Palette
Watercolour pigments (Winsor & Newton Artist's Value recommended, though any preferred brand is suitable. Suggested colours: Indigo, Payne’s Gray, French Ultramarine, Winsor Blue (green shade), Perylene Maroon, Winsor Red, Winsor purple, Permanent Rose, Cadmium Lemon, Green Gold, Sepia)
Watercolour papers (minimum 300 gsm, hot pressed, 100% cotton recommended, A3 or A4, *Cold press papers are not suitable for this course)
Drawing board (if possible)
