a painters signature holiday - painting holidays for ... · join us and you will see why. we start...

JapanTheSketch Book Tourof

with award winning contemporary watercolour &acrylics artist

Craig Penny

2

A Painters Signature Holiday

www.paintingholidays.com.auAll enquiries: (+613) 9879 1923 [email protected]

Asia Japan Australia

The Sketch Book Tour of JapanIntroductionAn artist’s dream holiday and a classic adventure that we think would inspire Van Gogh. Many of the impressionists from the late 19th and early 20th century were directly in�uenced and inspired by classic Japanese art. Join us and you will see why. We start in the world famous food city of Osaka before moving to the world famous Arts and Cultural center of Japan, Kyoto.

OsakaOsaka (大阪) is the working heart of Kansai. Famous for its down-to-earth citizens and the colourful dialect. It's a good counterpart to the re�ned atmosphere of Kyoto. Osaka is famous for good restaurants with a wide selection of food classics like udon noodles or dine in a more relaxed style around Dōtombori Arcade.

We visit famous Osaka Castle, a short walk away and beyond is the heart of Osaka along the river. With our artist we seeking out some great urban sketching, unique buildings, gardens and discover the subways when we visit the Museum of Ancient Farm Houses, its beautiful gardens - a great adventure.

Kyoto is “old Japan” writ largeQuiet temples, sublime gardens, colourful shrines and geisha scurrying to secret liaisons. The Old Town areas have preserved the unique buildings and Japanese merchant houses, temples, shrines and ancient tea houses. These can be found alongside more modern shops and city buildings and in alleyways.At night colourful lanterns light up the streets in some of the temple areas. We explore many of the famous entertainment areas and sketch our way around town, along the ancient alleyways taking in the original old style machiyas (old woodwn town houses), laneways and preserved streets. Explore the famous Kamo river and Geisha district and boating through Arashiyma’s autumn scenery - there is so much more to experience.

TheSketch Book Tourof Japan

Itinerary - OsakaDay 1 Tuesday 1 Nov - Arrival & Welcome Dinner Arrive at Osaka International Airport (NIX) and we meet you and transfer to your accommodation by Limousine bus and taxi. Settle in and meet up for a Welcome dinner around 7pm at the Hotel’s Keyaki, Teppan Grill Japanese style Restaurant.

Day 2 Wednesday 2 Nov - Japanese Farm House Museum and SubwayAfter breakfast we meet to experience the subway train system to the Musuem of Ancient Japanese Farm Houses walking through the gardens, stopping in the Tea house for a traditional tea break and some sketching as we go. Stroll back throught the gardens before heading back to the hotel for a late lunch. After lunch join Craig for some urban sketching by the river. Evening at leisure.(This evening Craig, Glen and Mayumi invite you to join us for some udon noodles at Imai Honten or maybe we can dine in a more relaxed style around Dōtombori Arcade.)

Day 3 Thursday 3 Nov - Osaka Castle (Osaka-jō) and sketching in a urban ShrineToday will be an amazing day. We leave after an early breakfast to visit Osaka Castle with our guides for a walk-ing tour of the castle. We stop for a co�ee break before heading out to the centre of Osaka city to Tsuyunoten shrine surrounded by tall buildings for some urban sketching, and a short walk to Osaka Station and some shopping maybe at Diamaru for everything or Tokyu Hands for art materials, gadgets, cute stationery. We take a cab back to the hotel around 2pm. Evening at leisure.

Itinerary - Kyoto

Day 4 Friday 4 Nov - Visit Local Artists Studio & Wazuka Tea PlantationsToday we transfer to Kyoto. We send our luggage to our Kyoto hotel so pack an overnight bag and your sketch-ing things for today only. After breakfast we head out to visit a wonderful and accomplished local artist at his studio in rural Kyoto amid the tea plantations. We stop at the gallery and meet and greet our host and refresh with a cup of tea before launching into sketching around the village with Craig. Our local artist will take us to several of his “inspiration points” in the surrounding area for sketching. We stop for a late luncheon in Wazuka township and farewell our host before travelling to our hotel in Kyoto. (*Please note our luggage will arrive at the hotel tomorrow). Evening at leisure.

Day 5 Saturday 5 Nov - Nishiki Market & Kamo River and ancient alleyways Another earlier start and the best time of day to explore the famous Nishiki Market. We head o� straight after breakfast on a walking/talking tour with our guide Mayumi who will show us all the delights to be had at this famous food market. We have a co�ee break in a groovy little cafe and then join Craig for sketching along the Kamo river and traditional backstreets with 17 century houses, historic buildings, shops and teahouses as we slowly make our way back to the hotel. We are back around 2pm. Evening at leisure.


Itinerary - KyotoDay 6 Sunday 6 Nov - Free dayThis is a Free day. Our guide has many tours to o�er you if you would like to book something for this day please refer to our list of what is available. (*Please note these tours are not part of our itinerary and will be an extra cost. Book ahead for what is available day by day throughout the tour.

Day 7 Monday 7 Nov - Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) and the Philosopher’s Walk We are up early and leave by 8.30am. Bring your sketch pads and your camera. We are visiting the “Silver Pavil-ion” to catch it at its best in the early morning light. Then o� to the ”Philosopher’s Walk” a 1.5 klm walk along a canal that passes through villages and suburban streets with a lovely autumn aspect all along the way. We stop for morning refreshments in a lovely little cafe along the way. There are shops and little galleries and several temples if you are in the mood. Craig will stop for sketching along the walk and we �nish near Kyoto Arts Museum to catch a taxi back to the hotel. Evening at leisure.

Day 8 Tuesday 8 Nov - Sumi Painting class and Fushimi Shrine AM – After breakfast we catch a taxi to Fushimi Shrine to experience one of the very popular temples in the area. My fortune teller I hope is there and you can get your palm read as well. After experiencing the “Torii Gates” and temple gardens we walk a short way for a cafe or tea break before meeting our second feature local artist Saori who will introduce us to “sumi” style painting and all the traditions that surround it. She has a studio and art shop and will conduct a lesson providing all the materials. Craig is keen to do some sketching here in the urban streets as they are quite a treat. A wonderful creative afternoon before we catch a cab back to the hotel. Evening at leisure.

Day 9 Wednesday 9 Nov - Arashiyama Boat Adventure and famous Bamboo ForestO� to an early start today. Great things await us. The autumn colour is a key feature of this mountain area and a big local tourist attraction. We start the day travelling to our 2 hour adventure boat ride down Hozugawa River to Togetsui Bridge where we �nish. A real treat. We have a short walk to get a light lunch maybe do some sketching of the bridge or local gardens and houses before we head o� to Tenryu-ji Temple and visit its great gardens feed the huge golden carp and walk through to the Bamboo forest - another quite famous location.We head back down to Togetsui Bridge for a look around and taxi back to the hotel. Evening at leisure.


Itinerary - KyotoDay 10 Thursday 10 Nov - Kinkaku-ji the famed Golden PavilionYes we have saved the best to last. Today we have a late start as we want to catch the last golden rays of sunshine on this beautiful temple so linger over breakfast if you like. Craig will take us out sketching along Kamo river and surrounding areas and be back by 2pm as we head o� to “capture the light” at this wonderful temple. It is worth the wait and has beautiful gardens. Evening at leisure.

Day 11 Friday 11 NovThis is a Free day. 7pm - Farewell Dinner for our group.Our guide has many tours to o�er you if you would like to book something for this day please refer to our list of what is available. (*Please note these tours are not part of our itinerary and will be an extra cost. Book ahead for what is available day by day throughout the tour.

Day 12 Saturday 12 Nov - Transfer to your �ightsTransfer to Osaka International Airport (NIX) for your �ight by luxury limousine coach from JR Kyoto Station.

*Please be advised that this is our proposed itinerary and may be subject to change due to variations in availability of resources and weather conditions that may e�ect our schedule.


Award Winning Artist


Craig Penny www.craigpennyart.com.au Award winning Australian artist, Craig Penny is an experienced practicing artist with a reputation for quality contemporary landscape and cityscapes throughout Australia. EXHIBITIONS & AWARDSCraig has been exhibiting successfully since 1999 in solo and joint exhibitions around Australia, Singapore and USA. He is displayed and represented in a range of private collections and galleries throughout Australia, Singapore, Cambodia and USA. Craig has awards for traditional and contemporary watercolors and acrylics.

Craig’s career has progressed into a range of mediums including skills in computer graphics. As a result Craig has also undertaken a successful career in teaching both traditional drawing, illustration and digital illustration at both Victoria University and Swinburne University. Throughout this time, he never lost his love of using traditional methods and has specialized in Watercolor and Acrylic Painting and illustration.

Paints and Supplies


Craig’s Materials listCraig recommends you include tubes/pans of the following colors: Titanium White acrylic, Cobalt Blue, Prussian Blue, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Hookers Green or Viridian Green, Dioxin Purple, Australian Sienna, Burnt Umber. Others you might consider: Pthalo Blue, Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, Terre Verde, Indian Red, Raw Umber, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and of course there are many more.Water Color Travel sets and a Travel Diary are a convenient way to sketch plein air when travelling. There are wonderful travel diaries available, this is a great way to remember your holidaysBrushes: We suggest you bring an assortment of your favorite watercolor and acrylic brushes.Papers: Arches medium cold press Watercolor pads (A2 or A3 size) are easy to manage and �t �at in your suitcase, highly portable and very convenient for on site sketching prior to taking a piece to the studio to paint a �nished piece.Pastels : A great way to paint the temples.Graphite Pencils: Bring a good range of 2B to 6B pencils sharpeners and erasers for your useColored Pencils, Pastel Pencils, Watercolor Pencils: Great mediums that can enhance your paintings or become �nished pieces in their own right. Again easy to transport light and compact when travelling.Disposable Palette: Plastic or paper disposable palettes are easy to manage, light and compact.Easel: easels, support boards and masking tape are available at the studio.

Travel TipPack supplies into a plastic sealable bag for travelling in your suitcase - not hand luggage. There is no requirement to declare these good to airline or other baggage or �ight sta�.

Quality 4 Star Hotels & Traditional Riverside MachiyaIn Osaka we choose to stay in quality 4 Star hotels close within easy reach of our tour destinations, food, shopping and night life. All accommodation includes good quality restaurants, bars and lounges, some have a pool and excercise facilities, massage and beauty salons. Rooms include �at-screen televisions and contemporary bathrooms throughout along with all the room ammenities you would expect.

KyotoLocated very close to the famous “Geisha” district and night life along the Kamo riverside our 4 Star Hotel has great commanding views of the cityscape and country side. Located close by is shopping, restaurants, night life and dining precincts as well as Temples that light up at night with street markets and entertainment everywhere you look. We o�er the opportunity to stay in a stylish renovated “machiya” or traditional style townhouse for two up to 6 persons for a night and experience a di�erent side of Kyoto. See our booking page for details.

*Please note The accommodation displayed on this page is our �rst preference. Accommodation may vary subject to availability at the time of booking for the Painting Holiday dates. Accommodation bookings are con�rmed prior to �nal payment (two months before we leave). Alternative accommodation venues that may be selected will be to a similar standard - Painting Holidays

Accommodation


More important stuffWeatherOne of the best times to visit Kyoto, and Japan for that matter, is in the fall during the foliage season. On aver-age, the leaves in the Kyoto area start to change colors at the end of October and the middle of November. It is truly amazing to see Japanese temples, many of which are set in the lush foresty hills, in the kaleidoscope of fall colors. The contrast of the bright yellow and scarlet leaves and the blue sky just adds to the romance.

The temperature is mild and pleasant, and it can range from 12°C to 20°C (around 50°F to 70°F). The days are sunny, and the rainy season is long gone (Japan's summers are considered as a wet season). At night, the temperature drops, though not drastically, so do come prepared for colder evenings. The foliage season is considered a high season for travellers.

MoneyThe local currency in Japan is Japanese Yen. Rates are available at money exchanges banks travel agents and online for your currency. Our rates are all quoted in AUD$ for fees and services. Japanese Yen is required to be used whilst in Japan and foreign currencies can be exchanged at local banks and possibly our hotel. ATM’s are available however many are local only so �nding ATMs that o�er international services can be a bit tricky. Many banks have facilities and 7 Bank (7 Eleven stores) is quite handy

Visas, Passports & CostsJapan has recipricol agreements with many nations including Australia, USA, UK and many more so that a visa is not required for tourist visits for up to 90 days. Please check with your countries Japanese embassy website for details or with your travel agent. Your passport must have a mini-mum of 6 months validity.

AirlinesWe meet you on arrival and transfers are by Limousine coach to Osaka Umeda station where you are again met and transfer to our hotel.Transfer is approximately 90 minutes from Osaka airport and then approx 15 minutes to the hotel.

Minimum Numbers and Alteration to Holiday Rates Each Painting Holiday has been priced on the basisof a minimum number of guests travelling. In the event that fewer than the minimum numberof guests have con�rmed their booking 60 days fromthe date of commencement or there is an unforeseenrate change in the cost of travel and accommodationservices, Painting Holidays reserves the right to o�eralternative arrangements to proceed with the Holiday at a modi�ed price or cancel the Holiday, giving a full refund of monies paid.


a painters signature holiday - painting holidays for ... · join us and you will see why. we start...

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