Artists Holidays & Retreats in the making

Bali
Kyoto, Osaka & Nara Luxury Tour 
4 - 15 November Early Autumn
Kyoto Autumn in the mountains 2024
Hawaii
Bangkok tour + 5 day Art retreat then
7 days Angkor Temples in Siem Reap, ​
​7 - 18 October 2024
Vietnam 
Hoi An & Danang - April, 2024
​New Year Mild, cool, with clear blue skies
February - March 2025

Recent Travel Highlights

angkor temples, ta prohm, craig penny, sketching, drawing, painting, watercolour, pen, wash, ink,
Angkor Wat Temple, a sight to send chills up your spine.

We had beautiful weather, enthusiastic Art Lovers, an ancient city to explore.
​Artists Holidays really don't get better than this.

water buffalo, siem reap, river, lake, countryside,
Water Buffalo enjoying the water
Fishing village boats, lake, tonle sap, siem reap township, house stilts, fishing, fish trap,
Fishing village on the Great Lake

Some Highlights of Angkor Temples

Angkor Wat Temple and many surrounding temples are an amazing Artist's Holiday you will not forget!
Art Journeys & Painting Holidays have been organizing Artists and Art Lovers Luxury journeys for over 10 years to destinations in Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
We offer the opportunity to indulge yourself with your art. Be mentored by an inspiring professional artist, rub shoulders with other like minded people wanting to share, learn, relax and enjoy their travel experiences.
We have had some wonderful adventures and with great weather, a beautiful hotels and enthusiastic artists. 
plein air painting, sketching, paint holidays,
Artist Cathy Shugg plein air painting at village on the Great Lake
monks, angkor wat temple, courtyard, siem reap, tours,
Monks at Angkor Wat temple
monk blessing, angkor wat, temple tours, painting holidays, workshop sketching,
Rajna had her fortune told at Angkor Wat - good news I think.
village kids, watercolour painting, sketching group, painting holiday,
I had a helper who wanted to hold my palette whilst I painted.
Ta Prohm, angkor temples, sketching holiday, painting watercolour, craig penny,
This is one of my original photos taken on my first trip to Cambodia in 2005. Ta Prohm is still amazing to visit.
kompong phluk fishing village, tonle sap, water taxi,
Kompong Phlluk or The Stilted Village on the lake is home to 3 - 5,000 people.
siem reap alley west, shopping, boutiques, restaurants, pub street, sketching, tour,
Alley West Siem Reap shopping
village restaurant, tonle sap, painting tour group, watercolours, sketch, village,
Lunch at the village - fresh fish, veg and soups, delicious.
Bayon temple, Angkor Thom, elephants, angkor tours, painting holidays,
Famous Bayon Temple ruins after the rains.

Join us for an Art Journey you will not forget! 

2024
12 days - Artists Spiritual Holiday Adventure
to Angkor Temples & Bangkok Artist Retreat by the beach

Japan - Atmospheric temples, sublime gardens, traditional teahouses.

We love Japan

The Sketch Book Tour Japan - 2024  4 - 15 November - Mark these dates on your calendar. 
I have wanted to go to Japan since forever. I went to college on the train listening to Japanese language tapes as I sketched people reading the paper. Never lost my fascination for anything Japanese. My long lost friend Kumiko and I  had some interesting conversations with artist Craig Penny which opened up this itch to be scratched, I spent 2 weeks in central Japan touring around hoping I could come again and again.

Japan 2015 was Painting Holidays first Artists Tour Painting Holiday of Osaka and Kyoto with 11 lucky artists and painters, artist Craig Penny and Local guide Mayumi, whom I met when I was there previously, had a ball.

November 2023, another 12 lucky painters and artists will join us to see what all the fuss is about!
​So excited to be going back to Kyoto.   

The Thing
​that sparked off
Painting Holidays 

For us it was when artist Craig Penny and his wife came to  Siem Reap for 5 days in 2012 to have a look around with the idea of doing some Sketching Holidays based around a 10 days stay and the famous Angkor Temples of Cambodia. 
When Craig & wife Andrea arrived it had been raining solidly for 5 - 7 days and the township was under 1 meter or more of water.
​Tourism had moved to higher ground. 

We went out touring regardless. One of our adventures was a short-cut down an alleyway to avoid the deep water in the town center.
As we navigated the road our driver plunged head first into an unseen hole in the road. The 3 of us sitting in a Tuk Tuk behind him were next.
​We were saved by the local barber and some of his customers who all jumped up to rescue us from the flood waters.
2012 The year of the flood did not deter us. 
"Bloody marvellous!" was Craig's comment about the flood affected journey to the lake and the boat ride on to the Stilted Village.  Just getting to the boats was an adventure in itself with flooded villages and rice paddies, cattle taking refuge on the roads and  (my favourite memory), a little pig with a "grin" on his face taking a bath in the flood waters as village kids played around him.

We still love revisiting The Stilted Village on our tours and sharing the stories with our travellers and guests. It's not always flooded and we all seem to have just as much fun exploring the village area when the water is lower.
​
2023 we include the old city of Battambang staying for few days at Wat Kor Maison hotel in the original village area  made famous by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

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