Course Dates:

July 6th—10th, 2026 | June 7th—11th, 2027

In this special oil painting retreat students will learn the technique and practice of painting directly from life outdoors—En Plein Air—in one of Scotland’s most famous and picturesque locations: Inverness, Loch Ness and the surrounding highlands.

In this 5-day workshop, Ayrshire Atelier’s co-founder Lee Craigmile, will take you to various epic locations around Inverness and Loch Ness in the north-east of Scotland. You will first learn how to scout for painting locations and what to consider in selecting both a stunning view and a practical location to paint from. He will then teach you alla prima painting technique: how to work up a painting in a single session, aiming immediately for direct colour-values as observed in nature. He will discuss how to approach colour, composition, proportion/drawing, and dealing with an ever-changing light effect due to whether and time of day. In this course students will use sight-size technique to approach the landscape from a visual perspective, whilst also emphasising value-relationships and the handling of a limited palette of colours. 

Book an Upcoming Course

Spots on this course are highly limited in order to create an intimate learning experience and to maximise each student’s time, one-on-one with Lee, so don’t hesitate to book now!

Course Structure

Each day of the course will be divided into two sessions with a lunch break in between. Working directly from life, on location, students will build up their paintings following the unique stages of Lee’s particular method of painting, each step of the process building upon the previous step and culminating in an atmospheric and dynamic landscape painting.

Morning Session (9am - 12pm)

Students will gather at the morning’s allocated meeting point and travel together to the painting location for that day. They will then learn the plein air painting process by watching an in-depth demonstration by Lee whilst he simultaneously lectures on the various concepts to be covered that day.

What you will learn on this course:

During this class, Lee will guide you through the various stages of establishing an oil painting en pleinair. You will also gain an understanding of core principles and concepts of oil painting generally.

Key Stages & Core Concepts Learned:

• How to organise one’s gear & outdoor painting setup

• How to make observations & take measurements directly from nature using sight-size technique

• How to create a successful, dynamic composition 

• Alla prima painting technique—working a painting from start to finish in a single session

• How to break down a complex scene into a simple series of colour-values using Lee’s unique ‘Levels System’

• Colour Theory and palette organisation

BOOK NOW

Required Course Materials List

We recommend you buy all your supplies in advance of the workshop. 

All materials can be purchased on either Jacksonsart.com or Cassart.co.uk or supremepaint.co.uk unless stated otherwise. Most materials below have a specific product link in gold.

However, if you are traveling internationally and are looking to make packing lighter, you can get most of your paints (with the exception of Genuine Naples Yellow), your mineral spirits and basic linseed oil at the Cass Art Store in Glasgow or Edinburgh, which you will most likely be flying into. Otherwise, to buy supplies in advance you will have to do so from an equivalent art supply store in your own country and pack your materials.

Oil Paints:

• 1x 40 ml tube of each of the following Michael Harding colours:

Titanium White, Ivory Black, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Raw Umber. 

• 1x 40 ml tube of Naples Yellow Light

• 1x 40 ml tube of Vermillion Extra

  
  

Brushes:

• Hog hair filbert sizes 0,2,4,6,8. Ideally, two of each. Makes sure you select LONG HANDLE

• Sable round size 1 (LONG HANDLE)

Mediums:

• Gamsol (odourless mineral spirits). For those traveling by plane to the UK, Gamsol will be provided for you if you cannot make it to an art supply shop.

• Chelsea Classical Studios’ Cold-pressed linseed Oil (118 ml)

Supports

• Jacksons’ handmade boards

OR

• Raymar Panels L64C

I recommend students buy two 20 x 30 cm. panels, three 24 x 30cm. panels, and one 30 x 40cm. for their pleinair studies.

Easel & Other Required Items:

• 1x New Wave Pochade Box

• 1x portable tripod

  If you already have a pochade box/tripod set-up by another brand, that is fine. But please, no French Easels or table-top easels!

• 1x Metal palette cup with lid OR small glass jar with lid

• 1x Palette Knife 

• Brush case/holder

• Brush cleaning tin with air-tight lid

• 2x metal clamps

• Masking tape

• Paper towels/kitchen roll

Accommodation & Travel details

Traveling to Inverness

For those traveling internationally: it would be best to fly into Inverness Airport. As it’s a very small airport, you may need to fly into London or Glasgow first, and get a flight from there. The airport is just a short taxi ride from the town centre. Alternatively, you could fly into either Glasgow or Edinburgh and then get the train up to Inverness.

For those traveling from the UK mainland, you could either:

• Drive yourself in your own car, which will also allow you to drive straight to each day’s painting location, rather than relying on public trasnport.

• Travel by train: there are frequent trains leaving daily from Glasgow and Edinburgh.

• Fly into Inverness airport.

Everyday Travel to Painting locations

Prior to the first day of the workshop you will receive a detailed itinerary via email, which will outline the painting locations for each day of the workshop. The itinerary will explain how to get to each location via public transport in detail. Please bear in mind that most painting locations will require either bus ride and then some moderate hiking in order to get to. Feel free to send us an email if you have concerns about the hiking and whether this workshop will be suited to your needs. Bus fees and all public transport costs are not included in the tuition fee.

Accommodation in and Around Inverness

Inverness will be the home-base for the workshop, where we will meet up every morning before traveling to the day’s location. We could reccommend the following hotels:

Heathmount Hotel

River Ness Hotel

Blackfriars

Holiday Inn

Alternatively, there is a range of B&B’s to choose from, which can be booked via Airbnb.com or Booking.com

****Please book your accommodation as early as possible, as the workshop takes place during peak tourist season****

Packing

As the weather in Scotland is highly unpredictable, and can be very chilly and wet even in the summer, we recommend that you pack for your trip as if you were camping. You will want to dress in layers to prepare for any weather, and be sure to bring good, sturdy walking shoes/hiking boots and a waterproof jacket with a hood. A large umbrella is also a good idea, if it’s possible to bring with you, as this can be attached to your field easel in the event of rain.

Food and Drink

Inverness has an array of shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs which will be suitable for breakfasts and dinners. However as we will be traveling to remote, scenic locations most days, we recommend that students bring lunch with them to eat on location. There are a range of stores close to the morning meeting point, which would be ideal for grabbing a portable lunch.