An aerial view of Zaton Bay showing the headland behind Mali
Raj
The village of Zaton Veliki, our part of Zaton Bay
In Zaton Veliki we found fantastically paintable views in all
directions. Houses are built of creamy local stone with orange terracotta
roof tiles. Pine trees of vibrant green, beautiful palms, deep viridian
cypresses and grey green olive trees, all reflected in the still, crystal
clear sea. There is a pretty harbour and there are two churches, one by
the harbour and a chapel hidden in the trees up on the headland. There is also
a Post Office, bus stop, supermarket, several bars and restaurants and
a lovely beach of polished marble pebbles.
After exploring we swam and found the sea was just the right
temperature for cooling off.
We ate at Mali Raj and had freshly caught barbecued Sea Bass which
was divine.
Darko gave us a local dish of octopus salad, which to our surprise
we all enjoyed!
Darko with his son Dario
Tuesday - Painting around Zaton Veliki
At Mali Raj we had an apartment with its own private garden, which
was very nice to use for painting in, particularly for the beginners. However,
Zaton Veliki is a peaceful, quiet village and it was easy to find spaces
to sit and paint by the sea in the shade of the pines. Zaton Bay looked
more like a mountain lake than the sea, with water so still, just a few
ripples from passing boats, reflecting the mountains opposite and the vibrant
colours of the trees and houses nearby. The sky was absolutely clear too.
We decided to have Spot A Cloud and Spot A Wave competitions! Nobody
saw either today.
Viv got busy painting and I took Sue C through the principles of
outdoor sketching, watercolour and oil pastel resist. Sue K who does embroidery
and is used to drawing flowers proved to be very competent at landscape
too, with a good eye for detail.
We painted, swam and strolled all day long in our own Little
Paradise. In the evening the setting sun turned the mountains opposite
from shades of khaki and green to glowing pinks, oranges and golds.
Wednesday - Dubrovnik Old City and Harbour
Dubrovnik Old City is a perfect walled Medieval town. One can walk
all around it along the top of the City walls. There are no motor vehicles
allowed inside and the little narrow back streets full of interesting little
shops and restaurants have a Venetian feel, making exploring great fun. First though, we wanted to draw the harbour.
We sat in Cafe Revelin, which is just inside the Ploce Gate and
has a perfect aspect overlooking the harbour. Here we sat and sketched,
watching the boats come and go, and people walking above along the City
Walls. As well as a perfect view this cafe has an international clientele,
including day visitors from the many cruise liners who visit Dubrovnik
each day. The QE2 was in today and we chatted to several of her passengers.
After a light lunch we wandered into the old City and along the
elegant main street, The Stradun, before sitting down to sip coffee and
sketch in the Peskarino, in the harbour. This place is the original fish
market. The fish is still landed here and cooked in the adjoining restaurant.
The distinctive three arches of the old munitions store next to
the Peskarino have been converted into a restaurant, the aptly named Arsenal.
We ate here this evening - I highly reccommend the seafood platter. This had been a challenging day as Dubrovnik has so much to offer
the artist - boats, people, architecture and seascape.
Dubrovnik harbour with Pirate ship Tirena
Viv, Sue and Sue sketching in the Peskarino
Wandering down The Stradun
Dubrovnik Harbour
Thursday - Three Island Boat Tour With Onboard Fish Picnic
Darko kindly booked us onto this tour onboard The Lorena, which conveniently
sails from Zaton Veliki harbour. Our captain was a larger than life character
called Marco who entertained us and served us drinks including his potentially
lethal home made brandy!
Our first stop was Kolocep Island, a quiet blue bay.
Next stop was pretty Sipan Island.
I loved these old houses which had a crumbling elegance about them
and were gorgeous to paint.
Between Sipan Island and our last stop Lopud Island Captain
Marco served us freshly barbecued fish, cooked onboard the Lorena. He also
plied us with his home made Red Wine. Food was excellent, alcoholic drinks were dangerous !!
The two Sues having fun onboard Lorena.
Our last stop for several hours was Lopud, which is a very smart
resort. We did several paintings here. Viv did a lovely painting of The
Lorena which Captain Marco insisted on borrowing to have a colour photocopy
made. The two Sues and I drew the pretty waterfront. Here we were also
able to buy jelly shoes and snorkelling gear - essential bits of kit for
a Croatian holiday as snorkelling in the clear waters is marvellous but
most of the beaches and coastlines are rocky and there are nasty spiky
sea urchins!
Lopud Island waterfront.
Is that a Pirate Ship I can see there - ever had the feeling you're
being followed?!
Viv onboard Lorena
On the way home we spotted a tiny little wave in the middle of the
sea. No clouds yet though!
Friday - Zaton Bay
Time to slow the
pace a little! We painted the lovely Mali Raj house, garden and cove, explored up the
headland and found a sweet little church overlooking the Adriatic and Elaphite Islands.
We did some drawing exercises - continuous line, rapid sketching, and using watercolour pencils. The Mali
Raj gardens provided us with plenty of things to draw, being full of flowers
and fruit trees - pomegranate, almond, fig, passionfruit, grapes, olives,
peppers etc. We made paintings from our sketches of the previous days too.
It was good to have a nice lazy day of sketching, painting, exploring
and swimming.
Sue K drawing in the gardens
Sue C and Viv painting Mali Raj house and
cove
Saturday - Zaton Velike
Having been kept awake most
of the night by the storm, we postponed going to Dubrovnik and painted
Zaton Veliki area instead. Viv was amused that some gardens in the village
were full of garden gnomes so that was his subject for the day. The two
Sues both made incredible progress at their drawing and painting today.
Sue C hard at work in the garden
Viv and Sue K painting in front of Mali Raj house
Sunday - Lokrum Island and Dubrovnik
We caught the ferry to the nearby
uninhabited island of Lokrum. Here we found a beautiful 12th Century Monastery,
and we stopped to paint its glowing orange walls. Peacocks wander everywhere
on the island and there was a lovely sense of tranquility.
Next stop
was Muerto More, which means Dead Sea, an inland seawater lake. It was
unbelievably beautiful and lovely
to swim in being several degrees warmer than the open sea which it is linked
to the open sea via an underground tunnel. One of the loveliest places
I have ever been to!
Back in Dubrovnik we sat
in the main square, had coffees and sketched the buildings and watched
all the people, families and couples out for their evening promenade. We
ate in the Marco Polo Restaurant which is tucked away in a tiny courtyard
in a little backstreet.
Viv, Sue and Sue enjoy a coffee, whilst doing a bit of sketching
Monday
Our last day and we spent it sketching
and photographing lovely Zaton Bay. We all agreed it had been a truly enjoyable
week in a beautiful part of the world. Zaton bay was the perfect base for
a painting holiday - unspoilt scenery with abundant space to perch and
paint. There were very few passers-by, and most were friendly locals.
Dubrovnik itself
had been a great place to visit - everyone had enjoyed our days there
sketching on the quayside and in the cafes. The trips to the Islands had
been great fun too, all four having had their own personality to try to
capture in our paintings.
Best of all though was
the Mali Raj, with its lovely private gardens to sit and paint in, its
seaside location and all that wonderful food. Darko had been a perfectly
charming host and he and his family had been helpful in every possible
way.
Sadly, we said goodbye
to Zaton Bay and Darko took us to the airport, where a very nice lady gave us a free upgrade to Club Class! So we sipped our
free champagne and gazed down at the beautiful Croatian coastline below - the perfect end to the perfect Painting Holiday!
Cheers!
Art Holiday in Dubrovnik 2007
see paintings from this Holiday
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