23 April - 02 may 2025
Travel sketching in romania
STATUS: BOOKINGS OPEN NOW
In Spring 2025 I am collaborating with Creative Arts Safaris to bring to you a unique combination of sketching and cultural tour in Romania. This retreat is a chance to get your travel sketching mojo back on track as we travel around Romania, taking our sketchbooks with us!
You'll enjoy a guided tour of Bucharest with time to sketch, visits to fairy-tale castles, a UNESCO-listed medieval Fortified Church, and charming towns perfect for Urban Sketching. Plus, you'll savour beautiful countryside views, shared meals with fellow travel sketchers, a traditional egg painting workshop, and home-cooked lunches. We've packed in a lot, yet with plenty of time to relax and sketch in your travel journal!
Bucharest and Romania have a charming, timeless quality. Picture rural villages with quaint timber houses and meadows bursting with flowers. In Bucharest, you'll find stunning Art Nouveau architecture and churches adorned with vibrant, colorful murals. There's so much beauty to take in and enjoy!
23 April - 02 may 2025
what is a creative safari?
Creative Art Safaris, who I am collaborating with on this retreat, are a well-established travel company that take small, friendly groups to exotic locations for hands-on craft, textile, and travel sketching tours.
Their inclusive groups are well-researched and expertly organised, offering you a relaxed adventure, that is also great for solo travellers. On their tours they arrange creative workshops, explore locations and culture and include lots of local experiences as well as visiting iconic sites.
The Romania tour includes pickup & drop to airport, accommodation, group travel, sightseeing, workshops, and most meals. Almost everything is included EXCEPT the shopping – that is your job. Help the local economy.
You will also receive daily tuition and support from me, Susan Yeates as your sketchbook guide!
This is a truly unique experience, not to be missed.
23rd april - 2nd may 2025
Join me in Romania
23 April - 02 may 2025
Where will we visit?
We pick you up from airport any time day or night and transfer you to our start hotel in Bucharest. We spend three nights in Bucharest, exploring and sketching the culture, the architecture, the traditional Romanian costume and enjoying the food!
On day 5 we move onto Sibiu where we explore the countryside, the Cotmeana Orthodox Monastery, Sibiu Old City and Corvin’s Castle - a magical fairytale style castle.
We then move to Sighisoara to explore and sketch this World Heritage Medieval Town and visit an EU recognised Roma Traditional Coppersmith.
On day 7 we move to visit the World Heritage village of Viscri for the day with lunch in one of their famous Farm-to-Plate Restaurants. We end the day in Brasov.
On day 8 we will start the day with a visit to Bran Castle and lay to rest the story of Dracula. We are visiting a family home to take a workshop in Egg Painting and have a home-cooked lunch.
On our final full day we visit inside Peles Castle and end in Bucharest for our farewell dinner. You will then be dropped back to the airport for your flights the next day.
Throughout the tour there will be time to sketch, explore and soak up the wonderful Romanian culture.
Note: All bookings are made via Creative Arts Safaris and pricing is quoted in AUS dollars. Please email hello@susanyeates.co.uk with any queries.
more images of Romania
explore the culture and sketch!
"it felt like a weekend with family i never knew I had. thank you." Jenny, retreat attendee, Sept 2023
take time to travel and sketch
Immerse yourself in your creativity
BeautIful locations
Each sketching retreat is located in a beautiful environment, suited to the topic being covered - from 4* country hotels in the New Forest, to remote villas in Tuscany. The accommodation will enable you to relax and enjoy your stay. No chores to worry about, you can focus on your creativity, sketching and relaxing. This truly is a sketching experience with a difference.
enjoyable experience
Meet like-minded people who also enjoy sketching and painting. Share in a creative experience, immersing yourself in your sketchbook. You’ll be in a small group, creating together and enjoying downtime - many people make wonderful new friends, share art tips and geek out on new materials. Many retreat attendees book on their own but instantly connect with the group.
creative practice
Each retreat will have a different creative theme and focus. Typically, each day will begin with one of my famous 'sketchbook warm-ups' to get you ready for your day of drawing, sketching or painting. Then throughout the retreat there will be a variety of guided sketching sessions, excursions or discussions exploring the venue and theme. Each retreat is completely unique, yet the same focus on a relaxed creative vibe runs through them all.
sketch together
Enjoyable Experience
I am passionate about cultivating supportive inspiring sketching communities. I have a wonderful online community of sketchers and through these unique sketching retreats, I am sharing this opportunity for an in-person group sketching experience. These truly are sketching experiences with a difference and each retreat and venue is totally unique.
Each time we come together, you get to meet like-minded people who enjoy sketching and painting, share in a creative experience, immersing yourself in your art away from the stresses of daily life. This is the perfect way to take time out and to recharge.
You’ll be in a small group learning together in a fun and supportive way and enjoying well-needed downtime. Groups often make great bonds and often share art tips and materials recommendations (and more!) with each other.
images from previous retreats
reclaim time for yourself
"I cannot thank you both enough. I've refound my art mojo. I have found my confidence just to do it - right or wrong - have a go. I'm inspired so much!" Jane C, Retreat attendee, Sept 2023
Artist, author and online educator
About your host - Susan Yeates
I teach aspiring sketchbook artists just like you, how to live more creatively, re-discover your inner artist, build confidence in drawing, fill sketchbooks and make art you can be proud of.
I’ve worked as a successful professional artist for over 15 years, authored 6 art books including Sketchbook Challenge: 100 Prompts for Daily Drawing, spoken at TedX Woking, been featured on HobbyMaker TV, created over 35 online courses, and taught thousands of aspiring artists sketching and drawing techniques.
For the last few years, sketching on a regular basis those things that I see around me has been my foundation, and underpins all of my creative endeavours. To just grab a pencil and sketch what you see in front of you, wherever you happen to be is such a joy.
I cannot wait to share with you the fun I personally have sketching and doodling everyday objects and items.
At this day-retreat a good friend of mine, Kirsty Grey will also be attending as host and event organiser to ensure the well-being of all guests. Together we will be your team for the day.
What we get up to
Previous retreats
Here are some examples of previous retreats I have hosted.
Sketching the New Forest - Sept 2023
For three days this group explored the beauty of the New Forest landscape in their sketchbook, based at the Forest Park Hotel in Brockenhurst. We played with acrylic paints, studied the tallest redwoods in the forest, sketched the local ponies, looked at colour mixing and even a spot of leaf printing from local ferns. All meals, accommodation and materials were provided. This was a beautiful weekend full of landscape sketching, connection and friendship (and a smattering of the good old Britsh rain!)
Sketching the everyday - Surrey, March 2024
This sketching retreat was hosted in leafy Surrey in the gorgeous Gorse Hill Hotel. We explored sketching warm-ups to understand our materials, sketched small objects, used viewfinders and generally had a giggle whilst sketching in our special studio space. Participants came away with pages of their sketchbooks full and plenty of techniques and inspiration for daily sketching going forwards. The lunch was fabulous and some even stayed for dinner and a spot of pottery painting at Fired Frog Pottery cafe the next day.
