5-12 September 2025 – Weltevrede Fig & Guest Farm
(Optional extra 13/14/15 Die Hel -Gamkaskloof)

Join me for a one-of-a-kind Art Retreat nestled at the foot of the Swartberg mountains, where we’ll explore the art of Travel Journaling in Pen & Ink & Watercolour, and create Miniature Travel Oil paintings. Painting on a smaller scale means you can easily take your materials with you—whether on a hike or a bike ride—and it gives you more time to explore and create. With the stunning Swartberg and Prince Albert landscapes around us, inspiration will be everywhere!
Our home for the retreat is the peaceful Weltevrede Fig & Guest Farm, an oasis just 25km from Prince Albert. Surrounded by lush river valleys and towering peaks, this secluded working farm is the perfect place to unplug and immerse yourself in creativity. There’s no Wi-Fi in the houses (except at the farm’s charming store and coffee shop if you absolutely need to check in with the outside world), no electricity, and no cell signal, allowing you to fully disconnect and focus on your art.
Don’t worry though, you’ll have access to charging points at the coffee shop for cellphones and power banks during the day, you will have use of portable solar power banks that I will bring along, and the accommodation is equipped with gas-powered amenities, including a fridge, stove, oven, geyser, and heaters and paraffin lamps, ensuring your stay is comfortable and cozy.
ONLY 7 SINGLE SPOTS AVAILABLE OR 5 SINGLES & 4 SHARING PARTICIPANTS.
Where will we stay?
Weltevrede Fig & Guest Farm – https://www.figfarm.co.za/
The accommodation offers the ultimate Karoo experience, with spacious rooms, large verandas, and breathtaking views. In the evenings, the quiet and clear skies will reveal the Milky Way in all its glory, perfect for stargazing. 🌌
There are 3 houses on the farm:
• 🏠 De Hoek – offers luxury, upmarket accommodation with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The weary soul can find rest on the vast stoep, gaze at the sunset or relax in front of a fire on a cold winter’s night. Romantic lamp light enfolds everything in a rosy glow; the sputter of the wicks put you to sleep.
Early mornings will find you in the orchards, picking fruit for breakfast or making a few bottles of preserves. In summer the pool provides relief from the heat and beckons you to take a midnight swim.


🏠 Vredenhof – has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. No effort was spared to ensure that this house is a home away from home. It has a big king-sized bed in one room and extra-length single beds in the other room. A beautiful Victorian bath invites you to lay back, relax and lose yourself in the moment.
In summer you can cool down in the pool and in winter you can sit in front of the old black stove, while the fire dances and casts shadows on the walls.


🏠 Klein De Hoek – is a lovely small cottage and has often been called a writer’s retreat or a painter’s dream. With lovely views of the Kloof, it has just what you need. Perfect for just a couple or a single person, it has two bedrooms, a bathroom with a shower and a lovely, well-equipped kitchen. The stoep doubles as a lounge and a big shady tree calls for lazy reads.
Like all our houses, it has no electricity but is fully equipped with paraffin lamps, a gas stove, a gas fridge and a gas geyser. All linen and towels are provided, as well as firewood. There is a portable braai and an extra outside shower for hot days as there is no pool. The adventurous can swim in the mud farm dams around the corner when it has water.

What will we eat?
There is no restaurant (only a coffee shop for snacks & lunches), so I’ll be providing cereals, bacon, eggs and bread for self help breakfasts and for dinner we will provide ready made meals, 1 lunch in Prince Albert (excluding drinks), a Braai, and a Pizza night at De Hoek with its outside Pizza Oven 🍕
No other lunches will be provided so you are welcome to bring your own food for lunches or go to the coffee shop for a light lunch or Prince Albert on your day off🥗
What will we be doing?
We will explore the farm and surrounding areas and learn the art of Travel Journaling in Pen & Ink & Watercolour 😁 We will also learn the art of Traveling Miniature Oils in a Tin!


⛪️ We’ll wander through Prince Albert, sketching and painting the charming houses, the stunning church, and the beautiful architecture from a bygone era & visit Erika Van Zyl’s Gallery, whose works are an inspiration!

⛰️ We will explore The Swartberg Pass, stopping to sketch and paint its panoramic views along the way.

🧘 You will also have a whole Day of Contemplation to yourself to relax, hike🚶🏼♀️, paint, draw or explore the surrounding areas.
There is the option to join me at Die Hel (Gamkaskloof) for a further 2 nights/3 days- you will need an SUV and it takes 3hours to get down the 37km pass to Die Hel… so you can imagine what the views will be like 🤩 But I can only accommodate 5 single participants there so you will need to let me know when you book.
The Program
Day 1: 2-5pm
Arrive at Weltevrede Fig and Guest Farm, settle in and take time to breathe and appreciate the vastness of the Karoo.
Day 2: AM – Pen & Ink Techniques – learn how to create textures and details which will teach you to sketch anything you see, then will practice using the scenes in front of us.
PM – Composition & Simplification – learn how to compose and simplify so that you can capture a scene quickly.
Day 3: AM – Colour mixing & watercolour painting techniques – using a limited palette, we will explore the colours around us and learn how to use tonal values to give depth to our artworks. This can be applied to oils or acrylics too.
PM – Perspective – Linear and Atmospheric – learn how to use lines and colour to create depth in you drawings and paintings
Day 4: AM – Today we will explore the areas surrounding the farm, looking for inspiration and we will practice what we have learnt!
PM – Afternoon free to do as you please!
Day 5: Full day – Oil painting miniatures – using the previous lessons we will apply some of what we learnt to painting miniature oils, it’s a different medium but the same principles will apply.
Day 6: Day of Contemplation – relax, explore, draw, paint, go for a hike!
Day 7: Prince Albert – We will go to Prince Albert after breakfast and sketch / paint the old buildings etc in your preferred medium. Lunch in Prince Albert
Day 8: We will explore the Swartberg Pass and practice what you have learnt from a viewpoint.
Late lunch in Prince Albert
Day 9: Leave for Home
Optional – or Join us at Die Hel (Gamkaskloof) 13/14/ leave 15 September
The Pass down Gamkaskloof to Die Hel – By Gmaree – Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1292158
Only 3 houses, 5 single rooms available (please note you will need an SUV for this section and it takes 3 hours to travel the 37km pass down to Die Hel, so we will leave very early, but the views are absolutely worth it!)
Day 10: Spend the day at Die Hel
Day 11: Leave for Home (3h drive up the 37km pass again)
Costs
Single – R21900
Sharing – R19900
Non Participant (sharing only – double bed) – R 9800 (includes meals)
Optional: 2 nights accommodation at Die Hel – Bed & Breakfast – R1800 pp (maximum of 5 single places available at Die Hel)
*Discount of R700 of you bring your own watercolours, paper, pens and brushes
What do the costs include?
8 nights accommodation at Weltevrede Fig & Guest Farm
8 self help breakfasts 🍳 & 5 ready made dinners, 1 lunch in Prince Albert (excluding drinks), a Braai 🔥 & a Pizza night 🍕
6 days expert tuition and guidance in colour mixing, composition, perspective, pen & ink, watercolour, travel journaling and oil painting miniatures (A6)
Watercolour Travelling Kit
Travel tin with Daniel Smith Watercolours
2 Paint Brushes
A5 Handmade Leather Journal with watercolour paper
3 Micron Pens
Pencil
Eraser
Viewfinder
Mini Oil Painting Travelling Kit
(Can be used with your own acrylics)
Hinged A6 painting tin
8 x A6 240gsm Acra-Oil Boards
3 x Paintbrushes
1x A3 or 2 x A4 document holder to store wet paintings
1m Velcro strip to attach boards
Small Jar for solvent
Use of oils – I’ll supply each person with some oils to work in each day or you are welcome to bring your own oils or acrylics.
Watercolour paper
Cotton Gift Bag with Goodies!
Excludes:
Transport – I have 2 places in an SUV that I will be renting from George Airport if you want to share costs of rental and petrol from 5-15th September.
Lunches
1 dinner on day of contemplatiom
Drinks
Gratuities
Materials & equipment you need to bring:
Roller towel, wet wipes, bulldog clip, other mediums if you’d like to paint in them, apron, hat, chair, power bank, torch
How do I book my place?
Deposit R4400 to book your place (R1400 of this is a non- refundable deposit for the accommodation of a room in a house)
1 March – R4000
1 June – R4500
1 August – Balance of payment
Cancellation Policy of the Swartberg Art Adventure and Retreat 2025
- Anytime before booking the art retreat: Forfeit the R1400 non-refundable accommodation deposit
- 31 to 60 days before the retreat: Forfeit the R4400 deposit, plus any applicable accommodation deposits unless I find someone to take your place.
- 30 days before the retreat: Forfeit 50% of the package along with accommodation deposits unless I find someone to take your place.
- 14 days or less before the retreat: Forfeit 100% of the package and accommodation costs unless I find someone to take your place.
Cancellation Policy of Weltevrede Fig and Guest Farm
- If cancelling 7 days before arrival, forfeit 100% of the booking total
- If cancelling 14 days before arrival, forfeit 100% of the deposit
- If cancelling 21 days before arrival, forfeit 50% of the deposit
- If cancelling 30 days before arrival, forfeit 25% of the deposit
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