‘Pleinair Painting on the Isle of Skye’
with Lee Craigmile
Course Fee: £ 650
Total Spots on Course: 8
This course is open to students of all experience levels & is beginner friendly.
Course Times:
10 am - 3 pm
Course Dates:
May 11th—15th, 2026
In this 5-day oil painting retreat students will learn the technique and practice of painting directly from life outdoors—En Plein Air—in one of Scotland’s most beautiful and truly epic landscapes: the Isle of Skye.
Join us for this very special oil painting workshop in which Ayrshire Atelier’s principle landscape instructor, Lee Craigmile, will take you to various stunning locations around the Isle of Skye, including the famous Quiraing, the Old Man of Storr and the Fairy Pools. First, you will learn how to scout for painting locations and what to consider in selecting both a stunning view and a practical location to paint from. He will then teach you alla prima painting technique: how to work up a painting in a single session, aiming immediately for direct colour-values as observed in nature. He will discuss how to approach colour, composition, proportion/drawing, and dealing with an ever-changing light effect due to whether and time of day. In this course students will use sight-size technique to approach the landscape from a visual perspective, whilst also emphasising value-relationships and the handling of a limited palette of colours.
Lee will guide students through every step of the process, from how to organise their outdoor painting set-up to how to approach the painting process.
Book an Upcoming Course
Spots on this course are highly limited in order to create an intimate learning experience and to maximise each student’s time, one-on-one with Lee, so don’t hesitate to book now!
In this epic 5 day workshop you will learn the art and practice of pleinair painting—painting directly from life, out of doors—on the breathtakingly beautiful Isle of Skye.
Course Structure
Each day of the course will be divided into two sessions with a lunch break in between. Working directly from life, on location, students will build up their paintings following the unique stages of Lee’s particular method of painting, each step of the process building upon the previous step and culminating in an atmospheric and dynamic landscape painting.
Afternoon Session (1pm - 4pm)
Students will then spend the afternoon session working on their own landscape paintings. Lee will go around the class giving individually-tailored critiques to each student. Students will then pack up and either travel back to the meeting point together, or straight back to their own accommodation.
Morning Session (9am - 12pm)
Students will gather at the morning’s allocated meeting point and travel together to the painting location for that day. They will then learn the pleinair painting process by watching an in-depth demonstration by Lee whilst he simultaneously lectures on the various concepts to be covered that day.
What you will learn on this course:
During this class, Lee will guide you through the various stages of establishing an oil painting en pleinair. You will also gain an understanding of core principles and concepts of oil painting generally.
Key Stages & Core Concepts Learned:
How to organise one’s gear & outdoor painting setup
How to make observations & take measurements directly from nature using sight-size technique
How to create a successful, dynamic composition
Alla prima painting technique—working a painting from start to finish in a single session
How to break down a complex scene into a simple series of colour-values using Lee’s unique ‘Levels System’
Colour Theory and palette organisation
BOOK NOW
In this epic 5 day workshop you will learn the art and practice of pleinair painting—painting directly from life, out of doors—on the breathtakingly beautiful Isle of Skye.
Required Course Materials List
We recommend you buy all your supplies in advance of the workshop.
All materials can be purchased on either Jacksonsart.com or Cassart.co.uk or supremepaint.co.uk unless stated otherwise. Most materials below have a specific product link in gold.
However, if you are traveling internationally and are looking to make packing lighter, you can get most of your paints (with the exception of Genuine Naples Yellow), your mineral spirits and basic linseed oil at the Cass Art Store in Glasgow or Edinburgh, which you will most likely be flying into. Otherwise, to buy supplies in advance you will have to do so from an equivalent art supply store in your own country and pack your materials.
Oil Paints:
1x 40 ml tube of each of the following Michael Harding colours:
Brushes:
Hog hair filbert sizes 0,2,4,6,8. Ideally, two of each. Makes sure you select LONG HANDLE
Sable round size 1 (LONG HANDLE)
Mediums:
Gamsol (odourless mineral spirits). For those traveling by plane to the UK, Gamsol will be provided for you if you cannot make it to an art supply shop.
Chelsea Classical Studios’ Cold-pressed linseed Oil (118 ml)
Supports
OR
I recommend students buy two 20 x 30 cm. panels, three 24 x 30cm. panels, and one 30 x 40cm. for their pleinair studies.
Easel & Other Required Items:
If you already have a pochade box/tripod set-up by another brand, that is fine. But please, no French Easels or table-top easels!
Masking tape
Paper towels/kitchen roll
Accommodation & Travel Details
Traveling to the Isle of Skye
As there is no direct trainline to the Isle of Skye, and no airport on the island, the best way to travel is via bus or car.
For those traveling internationally: it would be best to fly into Inverness Airport, from which you can get the Citylink bus direct to Portee; the bus costs £36 for a return, and the journey takes a little over 3 hours as it traverses some of the most iconic areas in the highlands along the way. Alternatively, you could either rent a car from the airport and drive, or arrange for a private driver to take you there and back.
For those traveling from the UK mainland, you could either:
-Drive yourself in your own car (it’s a long but beautiful journey, and you would have the added benefit of being able to drive yourself to the painting locations each day if you wished).
-Fly into Inrverness airport and take of the routes suggested above.
-Or if you’re traveling from the central belt of Scotland, you could take a direct bus to Portree from Glasgow Buchanan Street Bus Station. The journey takes between 6 and 7 hours depending on weather and traffic, but is a very beautiful drive.
Everyday Travel to Painting locations
Every morning we will meet at Portree Square in front of The Granary Cafe 9.30 am. From there we will walk together to where a private-hire bus will be waiting to drive us to the day’s painting location. The tuition fee covers the cost of all transportation during the course, but students must arrange for their own travel to and from the Isle of Skye.
Most of the painting locations will require a short walk from where the bus lets us off, but in some cases there will be a moderate hike to arrive at the location. Please send us an email if you have concerns about the hiking and whether this workshop will be suited to your needs.
Accommodation in and Around Portree
Portree will be the home-base for the workshop, where we will meet up every morning before traveling to the day’s location. It’s a small town, and so there are only two main hotels:
Alternatively, there is a range of B&B’s to choose from, which can be booked via Airbnb.com or Booking.com
****Please book your accommodation as early as possible! The Isle of Skye is an extremely popular tourist destination, and accommodation books up fast. We have given students as much time as possible so as to avoid issues with finding accommodation, so please take the opportunity to book early. ****
Packing
As the weather in Scotland is highly unpredictable, and can be very chilly and wet even in the summer, we recommend that you pack for your trip as if you were camping. You will want to dress in layers to prepare for any weather, and be sure to bring good, sturdy walking shoes/hiking boots and a waterproof jacket with a hood. A large umbrella is also a good idea, if it’s possible to bring with you, as this can be attached to your field easel in the event of rain.
Food and Drink
Portree has an array of shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs which will be suitable for breakfasts and dinners. However as we will be traveling to remote, scenic locations most days, we recommend that students bring lunch with them to eat on location. There is a Coop grocery store very close to the morning meeting point, which would be ideal for grabbing a portable lunch.
In this epic 5 day workshop you will learn the art and practice of pleinair painting—painting directly from life, out of doors—on the breathtakingly beautiful Isle of Skye.