Sketch Belgium in 2023!

Grab your sketch kit, and come away with me to the magical city of

Bruges, Belgium ~ May 5-12, 2023

(Save $200 when you register before Nov 30, 2022!)

This fabulous week-long tour is hosted by French Escapade, who will take care of all the logistics. Your only job will be to relax and enjoy yourself.

Sound good? Well, let me tell you a little about the trip…

Bruges is widely recognized as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, and one of the best preserved. Wandering through the city center is like stepping back in time. 

Medieval stepped-gable buildings line the streets and a peek down any alleyway yields a glimpse of life as it was hundreds of years ago. 

The entire city of Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its cultural and historical significance. 

It’s known as “The Venice of the North” because it’s crisscrossed by a series of picturesque canals that reflect the warm colors of old brick and stone buildings. At night, the effect is nothing short of breathtaking.

People I know who have been to Bruges say it’s one of their favorite cities in Europe. There’s something quaint and cozy about it. It feels inviting and more like a village than a big city. I’m excited about visiting it for the first time and sketching, well…everything! Canals, arched stone bridges, window boxes, impressive cathedrals, and cute little medieval cottages. It all sounds so tempting! 

Of course, you could travel to Bruges on your own, but then you’d have to deal with all the hassle of finding suitable lodging, researching “The Top Ten Things to See and Do in Bruges”, figuring out transportation options, and deciding what to do about meals. It’s so much easier and more fun to join my painting tour, hosted by a company which has been doing this for decades. 

As a bonus, you’ll travel with a great group of people who share your interests. The friendships that grow from our shared experiences and love of art are one of the best things about a French Escapade trip.

The Tour: Bruges & So Much More!

So what will we be seeing and doing during our week together?

On May 5, 2023, we’ll be picked up at the airport in Brussels by our tour guides from French Escapade, Jackie and Valerie. Jackie is a native of Belgium and can’t wait to share her insider’s knowledge of the area with us. 

Jackie Grandchamps, co-owner of French Escapade and tour guide extraordinaire!
That's Valerie in the lower right at a wine tasting we had during my recent workshop in CA

After loading a mountain of suitcases into their minivans, (they’re masters at that!), Jackie and Valerie will whisk us away to our 4-star hotel in the heart of Bruges where we’ll settle in for the week. It looks pretty amazing!

The hotel was fully renovated in 2021 and has all the modern amenities,

while retaining its traditional Burgundian charm. 

Breakfast will be served each day at the hotel, and, in addition to a full buffet and the usual coffee and tea offerings, you can also try some dark, rich Belgian hot chocolate! 

The hotel even has a lovely spa where you can book a massage or relax in the sauna or steam room.

Located right next to Market Square, all you’ll have to do is step outside your door to be immersed in the medieval feel of historic old town Bruges. 

Bruges is recognized as one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. Just imagine walking down cobblestone streets which have been there for centuries… 

past winding canals…

soaring cathedrals…

and quaint cottages fashioned of hand-made brick.

And, as if the canals with their arched bridges weren’t picturesque enough on their own…

they’re also “decorated” with swans that slowly cruise the waterways past ancient brick buildings which have stood witness to 500 years of history.

On days 2, 3, and 4 of the tour, we’ll explore the city of Bruges, so you’ll be sure to see the highlights that any tourist wouldn’t want to miss. There’s so much to paint, and I have some great sketching projects in mind to capture the unique character of this Flemish city.

After exploring Bruges, we’ll take some time to venture farther afield to some of Jackie’s hand-picked painting spots outside of town.

One day we’ll visit the cute village of Damme, which is less than 30 minutes from our hotel.

Damme’s history stretches back to the 12th century and its star fort canal still encircles the town. It has a functioning windmill that I’m just itching to sketch plus historic churches, interesting shops, and a beautiful greenway along the canal.  

Another day, we’ll don our sunhats and head for the vast, wild beaches of the North Sea.

There, we can choose whether to paint the grassy dunes, crashing waves…

and cute little beach huts…

or the bustling boardwalk with its cafes, shops, and parade of people.

The seaside resort town we’ll be visiting is known for its spectacular architecture and is filled with 1930s Belle Epoque-style hotels and mansions.

These will be days filled with fun and camaraderie, where you’ll find the perfect balance of instruction, painting time, sightseeing, shopping, and time to meander on your own.

And don’t forget what Belgium is famous for…chocolate, beer, and waffles! 

You can visit as many chocolate shops and waffle cafes as you like…

I promise I won’t tell! 

(I have it on good authority that calories consumed while on vacation don’t count.)

Of course, there will be fresh, healthy food, too, to soothe our guilty consciences after munching on chocolate and waffles. I always marvel when I’m traveling in Europe at how good everything tastes. It comes from local farms, and much of it is organic. That local connection makes a huge difference in the freshness and flavor of what you’re eating.

The Workshop: Drawing, Painting, & Designing

Now are you ready to hear about the art portion of the trip?

Checking in with a student during a recent workshop

We’ll be keeping a travel journal during our time together in Bruges, creating colorful pages filled with ink and watercolor sketches that capture all the fun and excitement of traveling in Belgium.

We’ll sketch outdoors on location each day, but don’t worry, I’ll give you lots of information about preparing your travel sketch kit before you leave home. You’ll have everything you need to paint comfortably outdoors, and French Escapade even provides folding chairs for us, so there’s no need to carry one in your luggage. (That leaves more room for the things you buy while you’re there! 🙂

My teaching will focus on illustrated watercolor journaling and how to create a colorful, varied, and personal record of your experiences on the trip. 

Plein air demo at a recent workshop

But the fun starts weeks before you hop on that plane to fly to Europe – I’ll be emailing you pre-trip bonus sketching lessons to get the ball rolling and help you warm up for sketching on location in Bruges.

Sharing examples of bordered sketches during an outdoor sketching session

During the workshop, you’ll learn how to design dynamic pages with unique layouts, borders, and hand-lettering styles, and I’ll offer daily demonstrations of techniques for painting the subject matter you’ll encounter each day, everything from a village street scene to an easy technique for painting ocean waves at the North Sea.

My students tell me that one of the best things about my workshops is the fact that I give them a full-color spiral-bound handbook containing all of the information I cover during our time together. It’s packed with great ideas for designing beautiful journal pages, and it includes a section of helpful step-by-step painting instructions showing how to paint the subjects we encounter during the workshop. It goes hand-in-hand with my daily lessons and painting demonstrations and provides a graphic reminder of what was taught and shown in class.

The handbook ensures that you can relax during the workshop, knowing that even if you can’t absorb everything during the week, you’ll have complete information that you can refer to later on and use to paint subjects closer to home, too.

Sharing a laugh with my friend Pat during a recent workshop

With my enthusiastic support, encouragement, and assistance, even if you’re a beginning watercolorist, you’ll surprise yourself with what you can do!

Helping a student with a page of quick plein air sketches

I hope this gives you a good idea of what you can expect on my Belgium workshop trip next spring. This will be my fifth tour with the French Escapade, and I can’t say enough about how well organized their tours are and how generous they are with amenities and extras. Workshop participants on some of my earlier trips have told me that their French Escapade tour was the best they’ve ever taken. That’s high praise from people who have had a wide range of travel experiences with a lot of different companies. 

One thing that sets Jackie and Valerie’s company apart from the others is that they always have someone accompanying their painting groups. They never drop us off in a location without access to a guide or translator or help in an emergency. They cover all the bases and are always there to advise, inform, educate, and care for us. I continue to partner with them because they take such good care of me and my students and provide exceptional service that goes above and beyond what’s expected. They make travel easy and fun!

You'll take hundreds (or thousands) of photos on this tour. Everything is so irresistibly picturesque!

Meet me in Brussels next May and be prepared for a fantastic holiday with lots of built-in time to sketch and paint in your travel journal. I’ll help you create the most wonderful record of our time together, and I promise that you’ll find yourself feeling more confident and excited about your journaling practice when you return home. Something magical happens on these painting tours. I’ve seen it time and time again. You’ll be changed by our time together, and you’ll never look at the world, or your sketchbook, in the same way again. 

Pricing

(Register before November 30, 2022, & save $200!)

The price of the workshop/tour is $3,390 for a shared room, $3940 for a single, if you sign up before Nov 30. (Add $200 to the above prices if you sign up after 11/30/22)

Non-painters are welcome to join and share the room of a painter. They get a $400 discount off the regular price and participate in all the excursions with the group, sharing meals, etc…

But wait! There’s more….

More info...

Read about Leslie here.
Read about the tour operator, French Escapade, here.
Helpful FAQs about traveling abroad with French Escapade
Testimonials for French Escapade
Questions? Contact Jackie or Valerie from French Escapade here or email Leslie.
Register here.

I hope to share a box of chocolates with you in Bruges next spring!

Leslie Fehling's signature

4 Comments

  • If my grandson was not graduating from high school at the same time as this wonderful workshop in Belgium, I’d be with you. Is there any way to purchase the workbook? It seems it would apply to sketchbooks in general rather than this trip alone?

    Reply
    • Darn! Wish you could come along. I’m thinking about offering my travel journal handbooks for sale but haven’t put that together yet. Maybe sometime soon.

      Reply
  • I think I just have to do this trip with you! The photos and descriptions have convinced me to sign up. I will get that done this week. See you in May!

    Reply

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I’m Leslie. A painter, teacher, and lover of all things creative. A sketchbook artist who captures everyday life on the pages of my illustrated journals. I love sharing, connecting, and encouraging people to find their creative voice through sketchbook journaling. Read more about me, my art, and my life HERE.

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