Travel with artist Rita Lazauskas on a two week holiday that has Arts and Culture as the main focus and a flexible drawing program suitable for all skill levels from beginners to advanced.

The tour begins with four days in the colourful medina of Marrakech then takes a route across the famous Tizi n’Tichka Atlas Mountains pass through traditional Berber villages and the world heritage site of Ait Benhaddou to the Todra Gorge and Sahara dunes. The picturesque coastal fishing town of Essaouira provides a relaxing end to the tour and an opportunity to explore the ancient mysteries of the highly prized Tyrian purple sea snail pigments.

Morning guided tours will reveal the wealth and beauty of the Moroccan culture, to inspire afternoons and evenings spent in drawing and discussion. With time to observe the wonderful world of Morocco you will remember your experience through your personal drawings.

Without prescribing to a particular art style, tuition will focus on the immediacy of drawing as a means to respond to the visual experience of a new and exotic environment. Subjects will include the urban and rural landscape, portraits and interiors, together with the patterns, texture and detail that abound in Moroccan textiles and architecture. The program will include a special egg tempera painting workshop sourcing traditional colour pigments. Group discussion, strategies for developing visual skills and critical review of the works will be a large part of the program giving artists valuable feedback from the fresh eyes and ideas of a select audience.

Activities will aim to assist each individual develop their own arts practice in a meaningful way. Practical drawing methodology will explore composition, structure and space. How do we focus our attention, make choices about what to draw or find our way through the visual overload that is the Moroccan medina.

Our drawings will trace our experience in space and time – a record of our journey.

Rita Lazauskas Drawings: 'Morocco 2010 Gallery'