Booking opens soon — email us to be notified
Cost
The cost for the 7 night holiday, inclusive of everything listed under "Included in Holiday", varies according to whether you prefer a single room or are planning to share a double. Accommodation is in the El Armador Casa Palacio.
Shared Room: 2027 price TBD SOON!
Per person
Single Room supplement: 450 euros
Per person
10% Discount for Early Bird
registration by Dec. 31, 2026
(When booking use discount code: EARLYBIRD)
Extra 10% Discount for
Non-Painting Participants
(When booking use discount code: PARTNER)*
* Only one discount can be applied per booking
Cookbook Holiday in Cádiz, Spain
May 15 - 22, 2027
with Artist Diane Olivier & Chef Mercedes
Taught in English
Our one-week sketchbook holiday in Spain takes place in the historic Andalusian city of Cádiz. Cádiz exudes a certain mystic quality — attractive, fascinating, and almost magical. Deemed the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, it was established over 3,000 years ago on a peninsula jutting into the Atlantic, at the southwestern tip of Spain. The old town's skyline is dotted with 126 eighteenth-century watchtowers, once built to watch for ships trading with the New World.
NEW FOR 2027!!! We're delighted to announce a collaboration with Chef Mercedes, a true Gaditana who will guide us through the flavors of her native city. We'll shop at the daily farmers market in the old town, choosing the ingredients for three shared cooking sessions — hands that have sketched all morning will chop, stir, and plate together before sitting down to the meals we've made. Under the expert instruction of Diane Olivier, we'll sketch the market stalls, the ingredients, and the finished dishes, carrying our sketchbooks along on visits to local food producers, a regional sherry bodega, and Cádiz's world-renowned fish market.
This culinary-themed holiday will add color and flavor to your sketchbook pages! Together, we'll create a beautifully illustrated cookbook — a keepsake of your time here — that will be lovingly compiled and sent to your home after the journey ends.
Evenings bring their own flavor of Cádiz: a welcome tapas fiesta, a flamenco show at a local taverna, and a farewell dinner at our favorite restaurant in town.
This workshop is designed for all levels, from pure beginners to the most experienced artists. Instructor Diane Olivier's sessions include demonstrations en plein air, individual instruction, and critiques. Drawing takes place each morning, with a review of the day's work to close things out.
We will be walking on old, cobbled streets with your drawing supplies -- participants should be comfortable with carrying their gear on uneven surfaces and should be fit enough to walk unassisted, and be able to manage going up and down steep, uneven stairs with their gear. Our kitchen for cooking demos is in a second floor apartment with steep stairs. Not recommended for people with limited mobility.
At A Glance
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Small group (min 6 participants/max 10) allowing for personalized instruction at all levels
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7 nights
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Accommodation with ensuite bathrooms in Casa Palacio El Armador
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All breakfasts at local cafe
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Welcome Tapas Fiesta dinner
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3 cooking demos followed by meals
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Farewell dinner at our favorite local restaurant
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Visits to farmers market, fish market, sherry wine bodega, cheesemonger & other purveyors of fine foods
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flamenco show at local taverna with a drink included
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10% discount for Early Bird registration by Dec. 31, 2026
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10% discount for non-participants (When booking use discount code: PARTNER)
Included in Holiday
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6 days of instruction
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7 nights lodging in El Armador Casa Palacio
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Daily breakfast at cafe
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Welcome tapas fiesta dinner
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Farewell restaurant dinner
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Three cooking demos with meals included
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Flamenco show, including one drink
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Color cookbook with recipes and illustrations by you, sent to your home after the trip!
Not Included
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Air fare
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Travel insurance
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Medical insurance
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Train fare
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Drawing Materials
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Lunches and dinners are at your own expense, other than the Saturday Welcome tapas, the three coooking demo dinners and the Friday Farewell dinner. There are plenty of tapas bars and restaurants within walking distance to try -- or you can shop at the farmers & fish market to prepare meals in your apartment
Click below for recent reviews:
Wonderful art workshop experience! For me - “the top” was doing blind contour drawing while sitting in the Plaza Mina cafe with our group— just loved seeing the Gaitanos enjoying their own lovely city and getting a chance to observe and draw them and participate in their lovely social tradition. Harf to pick just “one top” because the whole week was amazingly great. So appreciated Diane’s generous teaching style- her ability to explain and teach to a newbie sketcher along with the more experienced. And, absolutely loved Cadiz- where we stayed in the heart of it—- and being offered such an insider’s access to the unique spots thanks to Kate’s great stewardship and management. This is what a GREAT art workshop looks like and is!!!! Highly recommend to sketchers and adventurers of all levels.
Kirsten M.
High praise: Excellent instruction; Well organized; Beautiful location & accommodations --- Callouts:
-- All levels welcomed, with customized instruction based on level
-- Lessons elevated everyone’s skills
-- Flexibility for what (or if) to sketch
-- Collegial, mutually supportive environment -- Special events, e.g. fish-printing, flamenco dancing, local sketch group meet-up, gourmet final dinner
-- Bespoke, fun, engaging
Louise L.
Kate was a thorough and generous host. The accommodations were lovely, spacious, and clean. Diane Olivier is an amazing teacher, I will join this team again!
DK H.
Historic renovated elegance in Cádiz at
El Armador Casa Palacio
Welcome to El Armador Casa Palacio, one of Cadiz's architectural gems, transformed from a noble 19th century palace into luxurious apartment suites. Typically Andalusian with its interior patio, fountain and vertical garden, the building is located in the city's historic center on Calle Ancha, a pedestrian street lined with cafes and boutiques.
We have five spacious and elegant studio suites left, each with efficiency kitchens. Three are three standard studios (for 1-2 people), and 2 deluxe studios (for 1-2 people) with balconies. Each apartment has a living area, kitchen and bathroom. The deluxe studios will be assigned to the first takers!
Drawings by Diane Olivier
Click to enlarge
Drawing Instructor Diane Olivier
Drawing has always been my primary media, working with both traditional and nontraditional materials on scales ranging from small book size to mural size. My subject matter ranges from figurative, landscape and cityscapes to non-representational. The media ranges from charcoal to graphite, to full color pastels to non-traditional mixed media. The sense of touch between the tools and the paper and the immediacy of the mark are important element in my process. It is a dance between the eyes, the hand and the soul.
Holiday Director Kate Kilbourne
Since 2000, Kate Kilbourne lived part of the year in San Francisco, California, and part of the year in her house in Trôo, France... until 2017 when her partner Robert bought a flat in Cádiz, Spain. Now Kate and Robert spend the spring and fall all over Europe, running Plein Air Holidays in France, Spain, Italy and in Croatia where they lived for nine months during the Covid pandemic. Kate is fluent in French and is learning Spanish as fast as she can!