WALKEUROPE
Small Group Escorted Specialty Tours with Concierge Service
Call: 626.616.3448
Email: tomharter@walkeurope.com
Having Fun in Provence!
WalkEurope's
PAINTEUROPE
Plein Air Painting Workshops
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Beautiful Europe Locations
with
Award-Winning Artists / Instructors
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​Maggie Renner Hellmann
Sorolla's Spain!: Madrid / Granada / Alhambra
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Marrakech, Morocco: Zigzag Sketchbooking
November 1 - 7, 2026
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Florence, Italy - Along the Arno River
Painting Along the Amalfi Coast in Ravello, Italy
Magnifica!... Plein Air Painting in Murano, Italy.
Painting in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, France
Antibes, France - Along Cote d' Azur
Join Paint Europe for unforgettable plein air painting trips led by award-winning artists and instructors, including Tara Sweeney, Lori McNee, Catherine Hearding and Maggie Renner Hellmann.
Designed for painters of all levels, from seasoned artists to beginners, these trips offer a delightful holiday experience in stunning European locations.
Capture the beauty of the landscape in your unique style, whether in oil or watercolor, return home with your artwork and cherished memories of your creative journey.
With a small group setting, you'll receive personalized instruction, daily painting sessions, and engaging demonstrations to enhance your skills and artistic experience.
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​​​Non-painter friends and partners of artists are invited to join the trips.
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2026 Paint Europe Workshop Trips
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Sorolla's Spain! with Maggie Hellmann -- Oct 25 - 31, 2026
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Marrakech, Morocco ZigZag Sketchbooking with Tara Sweeney -- Nov 1 - 7, 2026
Recommend Signing Up Early!
Small Group Trips Limited to 15 Artists.​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​About
Tara Sweeney
Tara's Artist Statement:
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“I design travel sketching experiences to help you gain confidence in plein air sketching. I demonstrate how to develop a zigzag sketchbook, one sketch at a time, with expert tips for keeping sketches lively. At each site, we begin with a demo and leave plenty of time for you to sketch. This is a small group so you can expect frequent individual attention and feedback. We’ll sketch on location from medina to market, from city to desert and back again. At the end of an unforgettable week, you’ll have a zigzag sketchbook full of memories and momentum to continue sketching wherever you go.”
*****
Award-winning artist, illustrator and author Tara Sweeney, has been teaching national and international travel sketching with watercolor and ink for nearly 30 years. She holds signature status with the National Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and the Minnesota Watercolor Society.​
Tara is an experienced instructor who has taught over one hundred regional and international watercolor workshops in the last decade. She is professor emerita with Augsburg University, department of art and design. She holds undergraduate degrees in studio art and in textile design from the University of Wisconsin (1978,) and an MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (1997.) Her lifelong love of watercolor and plein air sketching began with studies at the West Surrey College of Art and Design, UK, 1978.​
Recent awards include: Transparent Watercolor Society of America 2024 (Pat Fortunato Memorial Award); MN Watercolor Society 2022 (Best in Show) 2020 (Best in Show), 2023, 2019 (Founder’s Award); National Watercolor Society 50 Stars 2020; 2017 (merchandise award); North Star Water Media National 2021 (Best of Show). Her debut picture book, A to Zåäö: Playing with History at the American Swedish Institute, (University of MN Press, 2019). was a 2020 MN Book Award finalist. ASI’s exhibition, Extra/Ordinary was inspired by the book and showcased the original illustrations. In 2019, Tara represented the Twin Cities in Tours, France in a sister city plein air sketching exchange.
​Tara's website:
T: 651-649-0535
Maggie Renner Hellmann
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Maggie's Artist Statement:
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" My goal in painting is to capture and share my joys and experiences: to describe how it felt to be there.
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Painting is also my conversation with Nature, my way of cherishing and honoring her wonderful gifts.
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Walking along this path, it is my delight to play and explore with impressionistic passions of color and energy."
*****
​Maggie Renner Hellmann is a classically trained, award winning artist painting strong compositions with exuberant color. Her work is firmly rooted in Impressionism, with joyful color and energy uniquely woven into her painterly style.
Maggie has been painting for over 40 years, receiving her bachelor’s degree with honors in Art from San Jose State University and continuing with intensive fine art oil painting studies from life at the Lorenzo de’ Medici, Art Institute in Florence, Italy
and private workshops with other wonderful Master painters along the way.
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Maggie's website:
T: 831-462-9337
Local Cuisine Group Meal in Hydra, Greece
Painting in Sorrento, Italy
Wine Tasting in Santa Margherita, Italy