This is a twist on previous years’ Paint Pembs Holidays.
Five full days based in beautiful Little Haven, mixing sketchbook fun and exploration whilst out and about with time back at Little Haven Village Hall, bringing all those ideas and inspiration to life.
THE DATES:
5 Days from Monday 26th - Friday 30th April 2027
£595 per person
A wide variety of mediums + ALL Experience Levels very welcome
"I highly recommend Tom’s workshops. He picked beautiful and interesting locations for our plein air experiences. He did easier to more challenging demonstrations to ease us in to painting and was so encouraging, giving each person the help and attention they needed to grow as a watercolourist. I loved this workshop and didn’t want it to end. Tom is such a gem of a teacher, kind and patient."
"Tom, you looked after us so well, and what fantastic spots! I can see why you love Pembrokeshire so much. What a treat to see it this way. Having never really painted outside before, I was amazed how much fun it was (although being in a group helped me feel less self-conscious). Thank you so much."
Each morning, we'll meet at a beautiful coastal spot for painting and sketching.
I’ll kick things off with a short demo and a little prompt to get you started, and then we’ll settle into getting creative.
I’ll be around to give one-to-one guidance and tuition for anyone who’d like it (you’re totally free to use your art time however you wish, and I’m just there to help and guide as needed 🙂).
We’ll then break for lunch before heading back to Little Haven Village Hall, which will basically be our studio space for the week!
You can stay in your sketchbook, turning your morning’s work into slightly more finished pieces, adding notes, exploring ideas further, experimenting and playing (or even head back outside from the hall and continue working from life)...
...and/or work on slightly bigger pieces, taking your morning’s sketches, gathered ideas and inspiration and turning them into something a little more involved.
There’s no pressure to create a finished painting.
The afternoons are really about exploring what you’ve gathered in the morning and seeing where you can take it!
Little Haven Village Hall is just a minute’s walk from the sea and coastline, so if you simply want to spend more time outside painting around Little Haven, great!
If you want to spend the afternoon in the studio, great. Mix and match as you please!
The overall format is time out and about away from Little Haven in the mornings, then back to our Little Haven base in the afternoons.
I’m there to help, guide and inspire as needed, and generally for us all as a group to have a wonderful time.
I’ve got plenty of fantastic spots to call on, and I’ll finalise the itinerary closer to the time. (For a more informal insight into past weeks, be sure to check out thisblog post.)
One lunchtime, I’ll book us a spot at a local pub for anyone who’d like to join. Completely optional, of course, but a lovely chance to get everyone together midweek before heading back for an afternoon of painting!
Pembrokeshire is a big old place, so to reduce the amount of travelling each day, with our permanent base at Little Haven Village Hall, morning venues will be no more than a 25 minute drive from here, with some being much closer!
Our morning painting and sketching trips will explore some of the fantastic coastal locations within easy reach, before heading back to Little Haven for the afternoons.
There’s plenty of accommodation in and around Little Haven, as well as nearby Broad Haven, with everything from cottages and B&Bs to campsites and holiday parks.
Staying locally means you can really settle in for the week, with the coast, beach, pubs, cafés and our studio space all right on the doorstep!
In short: bring whatever you like!
For our mornings out and about, I’ve found that keeping things fairly lightweight and simple is usually best, but that can mean very different things to different people.
Most of our spots are also very close to car parks, so there’s plenty of freedom to bring a little more if you fancy it 🙂
A sketchbook and a handful of materials is absolutely perfect. Watercolour, acrylics, gouache, pens, pencils, inks, line and wash, charcoal, pastels or whatever you enjoy using. Watercolour is particularly handy outside as it’s lightweight, quick-drying and incredibly versatile, so I’ll certainly be using plenty of it myself.
The mornings are really about sketching, painting, gathering ideas and responding to what’s around us, rather than feeling you need to create finished paintings (snapping photos is useful too).
Then, when we head back to Little Haven Village Hall for the afternoons, you can spread out a bit!
This is where you might want to bring larger paper, bigger brushes, more materials or simply more of everything.
You can continue working in your sketchbook, develop something from the morning, experiment with different media, or take an idea into a larger and more involved painting.
While watercolour will naturally feature heavily in my demos, this isn’t a watercolour-specific week. Acrylics, inks, pens, pencils, charcoal, pastels and any other random bits and bobs you enjoy are all very welcome.
Whatever suits you!
I’ll touch on techniques as we go, but much of the tuition will focus on how to choose a subject, what to look for, how to gather useful ideas and, importantly, what you can then do with all of that back in the studio.
Any specific techniques or approaches can be explored further during one-to-one time.
Let’s be honest, along with great views and lots of painting inspiration, things like loos, easy access and a decent cuppa are very important!
Our base for the week, Little Haven Village Hall, ticks all those boxes and is just a minute’s walk from the beach, coast and village.
For our morning trips out, I’ll choose easy-to-access painting and sketching locations, with very short walks from nearby car parks wherever possible.
That said, there’ll always be plenty of scope for anyone who fancies a longer stroll, a little adventure along the coast path or simply finding their own quiet spot to paint.
I’ve done my best to make the week suitable for a range of mobilities, with the flexibility of our Little Haven base making it even easier to use each day in whatever way works best for you.
This particular week could potentially work for those with slightly limited mobility, but not all spots will be accessible by wheelchair I am afraid—but I’m currently planning a future painting week designed especially with that in mind. (See details below.)
If you’re unsure or have any questions at all about accessibility or the walking involved, please feel free to drop me an email at tom@tomshepherdart.com and I’ll be happy to help.
All I can say here is… you’re coming to coastal Wales in April!
It can be golden, warm sunshine, with the remnants of winter and that colder sea can still be lovely and fresh.
We’ve had summer-like heatwaves and ten-year storms, so we’ve got to be ready for anything… and possibly a few variations on all of that in the same day!
But we have the hall! So we’ve got plenty of flexibility and freedom to work around whatever the weather throws at us.
Pembrokeshire is stunning in all weather, especially through an artist’s eyes, and having our own studio base means we can make the most of it whatever happens.
You’re in for a massive treat! 🙂
You’ll be sorting your own accommodation for the week, but I can absolutely offer a bit of guidance if needed.
There’s a huge range of places to stay in and around Little Haven and this part of Pembrokeshire, to suit all budgets and preferences. Rather than try to recommend specific spots, I’d suggest having a quick search and browse to find something that suits you.
Little Haven itself is the ideal base, with our studio at the Village Hall and the beach, coast, pubs and cafés all right on the doorstep. All though it doesn't have shop, but Braod Haven is a short walk and very quick drive, with larger supermarkets not much more than 15 minutes away.
Just along the coast, Broad Haven is another great option with plenty of accommodation and facilities. There are also lots of smaller villages, holiday cottages, campsites and other options slightly further afield, all within easy reach of Little Haven.
I’ll be booking us a table at a local pub for lunch one day midweek, for anyone who’d like to join. Non-painting partners and family are very welcome too!
I thought about including lunch in the cost of the week, but with everyone having different tastes (and appetites!), it’s much simpler for everyone to pay for their own on the day, and it helps keep the overall cost down too 🙂
Just to be clear: the price of the week covers my demoing and teaching time, along with use of Little Haven Village Hall as our studio base.
Please also budget for accommodation, meals and any parking costs at our painting spots.
This particular week could be suitable for those with limited mobility, all though wheelchair access is limited at some of teh morning spots I am afraid.So whilst a few of the locations are accessible and wheelchair-friendly to some degree, the overall nature of the terrain, paths, and logistics means it wouldn’t be fair or accurate to describe the week as fully accessible.
That said, I strongly believe that this should never be a barrier to painting in such a beautiful part of the world. With that in mind, I’m currently working on developing a fully accessible painting week designed specifically with mobility needs in mind.
The planning and logistics involved are a little more complex, so this is taking some time to get right—but I’m hoping to have something in place for 2028. I know that may feel like a long way off, but I want to make sure I can offer something genuinely enjoyable, safe, and workable for everyone involved.
If you’re interested in a future accessible week, or have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch—I truly appreciate your patience and interest.
The essence of this holiday is that I’m not acting as a tour guide. Instead, I’ll simply let you know the spot I’ll be at each morning and afternoon, and you’re free to join me for a relaxed, lightly tutored painting / sketching session.
While I am first-aid qualified and will always take sensible precautions, I cannot take full responsibility for your actions or for any accidents or injuries that might occur. This is very much a private arrangement, and all attendees take part as individuals responsible for their own safety and choices.
For that reason, everyone will be asked to sign a short disclaimer to acknowledge this. It’s not meant to sound heavy—it’s simply to make clear that by joining the holiday, you accept that you’re participating at your own risk and that neither I, nor anyone associated with me, can be held accountable for accidents or consequences arising from your actions.
In short: this holiday is about enjoying sketching and painting together in a wonderful landscape, but always with each person taking full responsibility for themselves.
