Book your Bootcamp Art Workshop now.
Bonjour Bootcamp
Beginners Bootcamp in Provence
Château Near Avignon, June 12—17, 2025
If you’re a beginning artist or hope to develop your basic painting skills this is the workshop for you. You’ll learn to paint confidently using traditional methods in extraordinary inspirational surroundings.
We invite you to enjoy a fantastic bootcamp-style retreat where you will get to know and use the fundamentals for making great paintings and unleash the joy of creating art.
Bootcamp Bonjour is designed for:
Beginners ready to take the plunge into art.
Artists who want to truly build their fundamental art skills.
Studio artists who want to transition to plein air painting.
All creatives who want to up their game!
Those who want to experience the beauty of Provence.
You’ll learn from a team of qualified artists that have helped many improve their skills at dozens of workshops and retreats. We’re excited because we have wanted to do this workshop for some time and we invite you to jump on board. Developed by our founder Julie Snyder, artists can expect to leave with certainty and motivation to paint.
Get ready for painting while experiencing the charm of Provence. You will also be plein air painting on the historic Château’s Estate. The inspiring and instructive workshop will be unforgettable and provide memories for a lifetime.
The workshop experience is open to artists of all levels with a special emphasis on foundational art skills. There will be painting drills, it’s a bootcamp afterall!. These will develop your skills and boost confidence. We will also have demos, one-on-one painting sessions and provide useful feedback to help you going forward. You will have an opportunity to explore different approaches and create art using the principles learned.
Using the atelier methodology of working together as a group, along side skilled leaders. Workshops in France will take you on a 9-day journey, fully immersed in art and skill-building while taking time to enjoy the local food, sample the region’s wine and explore the culture of southern France.
Our accommodations for the workshop are in an historic château estate which overlooks the village and the Luberon valley laid out below. It’s stunning. The main structure has stood from around the 13th-century. See some of the accommodation images here.
We will venture out as a group and capture nearby villages, stunning landscapes and scenes of French life in the surrounding area. In addition to practicing your painting skills, you’ll also be able to enjoy an authentic French experience. As well as visiting these hilltop or riverside villages we will have a vineyard visit for wine tasting, and unforgettable outdoor market as part of your retail therapy and picture taking opportunity for future reference.
Your Instructors
This bootcamp will be led by our group of experienced instructors and working artists. Between them they have around a century of drawing, painting, design experience and know how. The team consists of Julie Snyder, the Founder of Workshops in France, known for her direct “Alla Prima” style which she refers to as “Impatient Realism”. She enjoys capturing the light in an impressionistic approach to her painting in both oils and watercolor and loves to teach.
In addition Shirley Hambrick is one of core team members and in addition to working in oils she also is a glass artist with a keen sense of design and is raring to go. To round out the leadership team is fine artist, Lauren Carlo who joins us with an academic background with both a BFA and an Art Atelier Program graduate. Lauren teaches drawing,painting and plein air painting in the Baltimore area.
The team is not only dedicated but believes in the joy of making art too. Expect fun and expect to challenge yourself and grow!
Workshops in France has organized workshops for some of the most distinguished contemporary figurative and plein air artists today. This list includes Quang Ho, Rose Frantzen, Daniel Gerhartz, Susan Lyon, Joseph Zbukvic, Lisa Wang, Josh Clare, Jane Hunt, Adrienne Stein, Tim Horn, Stewart White, and more. They know what it takes to make a workshop run smoothly and how artists do best when they get to enjoy what they love while discovering new skills.
Add this to a distraction-free environment surrounded by the beauty and bounty of Provence and you can’t help but thrive.
Oil, acrylic and water media are all welcome!
“For a long time we have wanted to create a retreat that could help fill in the gaps in everyone’s art education. Countless artists have arrived at a retreat and shared their desires with us. They want to understand the fundamental skills that professional artists are using to make their work so strong. We have prepared an incredible step-by-step itinerary that will strengthen your skills at any level and teach you new ones.
This is not to be missed.”
The Bonjour Bootcamp Program
Join us for 6 days of artistic immersion and step into the atelier bootcamp mindset.
Historically atelier programs meant a group of artists working on the same project at the same time. Each day our team will prepare a new drill to solidify or teach a new foundational skill whether it be taking time to design the better painting or push value or color to elevate their skills. It’s a gift when you become rekindled to paint with the correct knowledge and the right mindset to create art. We will teach any student who wants to ground their practice with tangible drills and skills all while enjoying the glorious scenes of Provence.
We will explain, teach and build upon foundational art school techniques over the course of the 9-day retreat. With over 45 retreats and workshops delivered by the Workshops in France team, we have the experience to share all of the amassed knowledge from the incredible teachers that have graced our workshops, distilled down into a digestible, easy to follow retreat.
Expect to paint the breathtaking vistas in Provence, explore local villages and markets, and dine on meals prepared by local chefs.
After a long day of painting, artists love to gather around the dinner table to share their experiences and get to know one another.
“Everyone in WIF was remarkably professional, kind and warm. Very generous also with your time, art pointers and instructions. I loved how all six crew came along and painted with us. This made a difference to the feeling of the workshop and stay. Such a nice feeling of friendship and support. A remarkable group of leaders. I felt very welcome.
As far as my artistic goals: I have a plan for a painting now. Many teachers gloss over how to plan a painting and I loved that this and sketching was drilled into us. It has totally changed how I approach art and hope it translates into better outcomes for me. I feel now I am a “sketcher” which is new for me. I also feel like a more confident artist.“
“An almost overwhelming experience! Such a wonderful location and facility, with fantastic teachers and lessons.
It really motivated me to schedule a time to paint beyond my classes. I have put it into my calendar for the week. I want to keep the enthusiasm up.
Everyone was so encouraging and kind. I was one of the only hobbyist painters attending. But no one made me feel I wasn’t worthy of encouragement. Lisa was very sweet and Lauren is a great teacher.“
“What an outstanding 10 days. Thank you for all your efforts! What a crew you guys are. Everything was perfect!!“
“All the staff took exceptional care of us, getting us to and from venues, communicating, fantastic food, man, couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
I learned / relearned some important principles and had the opportunity to put them into practice.”
This Workshop Includes:
- 6-Days of learning with the Workshops in France team in Provence.
- Ongoing demos, discussions and evenings with the instructors.
- All Inclusive: Tuition, fine food, wine, château accommodation and ground transportation. We eat out at our own expense – one/two lunches and one dinner are scheduled. Airfare not included.
- Paint, sketch and enjoy the good life in beautiful Provençal surroundings.
- Daily painting locations: Private vineyards, charming villages, markets (more painting and excursion locations varied upon location of the workshop).
- Balanced itinerary of painting, exploring and relaxation for artists of all media – all levels!
- Travel, live, learn and paint side-by-side with fellow artists.
- Ongoing demos, discussions and evenings with the instructors.
- Plenty to do for non-painting partners! A limited number of non-painting partners accepted. Discount available for non-painting companions
