Painting holidays for beginners: a tutor, a sketch pad and a village in Cantabria

Painting holidays for beginners work best with three things: a tutor used to people just starting out, the materials waiting for you, and good company once the brushes go down. Spice Escapes puts all three into the Spanish Drawing and Painting Break with Tuition in Cantabria, northern Spain, taught by Dale Scott, with sketch pads and a canvas provided. It is 7 nights in a house called Agara, on a holiday most people book on their own.

Not held a brush since school? Here is how the tuition works, what to pack, what a village lesson looks like and why a small group helps.

Never painted? The week is planned for you too

The break is for people just starting out as much as for those who already paint, and Dale is very experienced at helping every level. Any medium is welcome.

The week gives a beginner one thing to think about at a time. Each outing has its own subject, and Dale teaches a technique for it: the sea at Comillas, a village church at La Colsa, a bridge at Bárcena Mayor, a mountain view on the pass to Carmona, and still life back at the house.

The plan is a guide, and Dale adapts it to flight times and the weather. It runs 25 Apr 2027 – 2 May 2027, from £929. See the dates and book online on the holiday page.

What to pack, and what is waiting when you arrive

• Nothing to paint with? Sketch pads and a canvas are provided, and we can order a beginners set for you to collect when you arrive. It comes home with you, so you can carry on. Ask us about it when you book.
• Your own kit, if you have some. Bring it.
• A waterproof and a warm layer. For Santander, about 50 minutes from the house by car, the World Weather Information Service gives average highs of about 17°C in April and 19°C in May, with rain on around 15 days of each month. These are long-term averages from AEMET, Spain's weather agency, not a forecast.
• Shoes you can walk in for the coast, the villages and a mountain pass.

Our guide to packing light covers the rest of the case.

A village lesson: one bridge, one technique

Take the day at Bárcena Mayor. Our itinerary calls it home to the most wonderful bridge for a lesson, and to excellent bars.

Turismo de Cantabria describes a rustic and highly picturesque village in the heart of the Saja reserve, in a valley between low hills, with two main streets and squares. The houses are the local type: two storeys of stone, a gateway below and balconies above.

For someone new to drawing, that is a lot to take in. So the lesson is about one subject, the bridge, and Dale teaches a technique for it. Everyone has the same subject, so you can see how others tackle it.

Lunch is provided, at the house or as a picnic. If the group would rather try a local restaurant, that is at your own cost.

Why a tutor and a group beat a book or a video

Learning from a book or a video, nobody tells you what to change. Here Dale runs the lessons, so there is someone to ask.

The group matters as much. After a day on the same bridge or the same stretch of coast, the evening starts with something to talk about. Spice Escapes runs small hosted group holidays for people in their 40s, 50s and 60s, as our over-50s solo holidays page explains. If this is also your first group holiday, our guide for first-time solo travellers helps.

Agara is a twelve-bedroom former restaurant with local wine, beer and spirits to help yourself to, and a very friendly resident dog. Three bedrooms have their own bathroom, at a supplement, and the rest share bathrooms. Every Spice holiday has a cost for a room to yourself, which our single supplement guide explains.

Not that week? Two more to take a sketchbook on

Read, Relax & Restore: A Week in Spain's Green North uses the same house and runs 6 Jun 2027 – 13 Jun 2027, hosted by Jackie Whyte. It is a reading week with no tutor, but every room is sole occupancy and there are three meals a day.

Croatian Chillout is 7 nights on the island of Lošinj, half board at Hotel Punta, with the colourful harbour promenade at Mali Lošinj and a boat day round the archipelago. It runs 1 May 2027 – 8 May 2027, hosted by Jackie Whyte.

Browse more holidays in Spain and our culture and discovery holidays.

Questions people ask

I have not painted since school. Will I hold the others back?

No. The break is planned for every level, including people just starting out, and the tutor is very experienced at helping all of them. Each outing has one subject, which keeps it simple.

Do I need to buy materials before I go?

No. Sketch pads and a canvas are provided, and we can order a beginners set for you to collect when you arrive.

Can I just draw, rather than paint?

Yes. It is a drawing and painting break, all mediums can be used, and sketch pads are provided.

What if I arrive not knowing anyone?

That is how most people arrive, because most people on Spice holidays book on their own. Arrivals are split across Saturday and Sunday, and from then on the house and the painting days are shared.

Ready to pick up a brush? See the dates and book online

See the dates and book online on the Spanish Drawing and Painting Break with Tuition page. Availability: 9 places left.

For questions about kit, mediums or rooms, ask Rob Thompson, owner and holiday host at Spice Escapes, through our contact page, or ask Rosie, the chat on the holiday page.