Artful Travels
Art Workshops & Retreats Curated Art & Small Cultural group Tours
-Pablo Picasso
Upcoming 2023 - 2024 Tours
Watercolor Painting in the Cotswolds with Robert Atkey
September 16-24, 2023 - Experience the scenic Cotswolds region with Britwatercolor artist Robert O’Brien, AWS, NWS. Robert will lead watercolor demonstrations and plein air painting sessions capturing the picturesque landscapes and unique charm in the heart of England’s Cotswolds. Spend a week in a country inn in Lower Slaughter, a settlement which dates back over a thousand years and is famous for being one of the most beautiful towns in the Cotswolds. Pretty stone cottages, rose flower gardens, and gently flowing streams will provide artistic inspiration for plein air painters. Non-painters are welcome to join us and spend the week immersed in some of England’s most enchanting villages.
Holland - Art & Cultural Treasures
September 29-October 7, 2023 - Discover the Flemish and Dutch masters on a small group barging tour through Holland with artist and art lecturer Don Smith. We’ll tour museums, local sites and enchanting villages and country sides dotted with windmills and bicycles! A highlight of our museum visits will be to the Mauritshuis in The Hague to see their extensive art collection and works by Johannes Vermeer, including the Girl with the Pearl Earring. Ports on the trip include Amsterdam, Haarlem, Delft, Leiden, and Gouda, and a full day in Amsterdam to explore the world-famous Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum next door. We’ll spend seven nights on a 24-passenger, well-appointed barge The Lena Maria.
Upcoming 2024 TouRs
Painting & Sailing in Croatia
From Dubrovnik to Split. Experience the beauty of Croatia and plein air painting with Robert Masla on a small group sailing tour through the breathtaking islands of Croatia with artist Robert Masla. In addition to the islands, we’ll tour ancient cities and UNESCO World Heritage sites with captivating coastlines for inspiration - all from the comfort of our private, luxury 41 Meter yacht.
Paradores & Pousadas
March 18-April 1, 2024 - Discover the best of the Iberian Peninsula while traveling overland from Lisbon to Madrid. Enjoy captivating sites, excellent cuisine and the magic of Iberia's rich Roman and Moorish past. Along the way, we'll stay in historic paradores and pousadas lodgings in Portugal and Spain.
The Journey is everything
Explore the world while traveling in the comfort of a well appointed barge or motor sail yacht. Stay in historical architectural treasures.
Who we are
Artful Travels works with dedicated artists and experienced travel partners.
Jeanne Fontaine
Founder/Travel Director
A passion for travel, love of the arts and a deep appreciation for the teaching artist is the inspiration for Artful Travels. Jeanne has led small group cultural tours nationally and internationally since 2003. For nearly 30 years, Jeanne was the Courses Curator for the Museum School at the Springfield Museums overseeing the scheduling and implementation of studio art, art history and science classes for adults and children. In 2003, Jeanne took on the responsibility of coordinating the travel as well as the museum school classes. In this capacity, Jeanne had the privilege of working with amazing artists and teachers while coordinating and escorting international and local trips.
Artist & Teacher
Lisa Regopoulos
Working in pastels and teaching this versatile medium are two of Lisa’s favorite passions. First impressions of a scene, life in real time, the beauty of the now are the moments she wants to capture. That is why plein air painting excites her most. Her plein air work is fresh and evokes the feeling of whatever is happening at that moment in time. It’s that emotion in her pastels that engages her viewers, and has earned her numerous awards and collectors of her work.
In September 2022, Lisa led a painting and barging tour through the Barbizon region of France.
Artist & Teacher
Robert Masla
Robert is an award winning, internationally exhibited artist whose canvases, murals and portraits can be found in galleries, private residencies, corporations and film. With extensive teaching experience in all media, Robert conducts workshops from his home/studio in rural Ashfield, Massachusetts, where he lives with his family, and from their home/studio South – Casa de los Artistas, in Boca de Tomatlan, Mexico.
In April 2022, Robert led a painting and barging tour in Holland.
“I have been painting in the watercolor medium for over fifty years. One of my main objectives in watercolor painting is to create light through the use of shadow. In painting ordinary images, I find a fascinating interplay between the two. The transparency of the medium helps in bringing shadows alive while allowing the light to glow.”
Since moving to Vermont in 1977, Robert O’Brien has focused his work on landscape and architectural studies. Vermont, with its distinct four-season climate, provides the artist with a wealth of subject matter and ever-changing light effects.
Over the past 28 years, Robert has won nearly 80 distinguished awards for excellence in watercolor in national juried exhibitions.
The artist finds beauty in the ordinary, subtle reminders of everyday life in rural New England.