Painting and Sketching

The dramatic coastal landscape of the Sliabh Liag Peninsula is the setting for these courses that cater for both beginners and improvers. Directed and tutored by professional Irish artists.

Please note: We are working on our 2025 course programme. Individual course pages will be updated and may be amended in the coming weeks. However, all published course dates for 2025 are confirmed to go ahead.

CALENDAR
Title Location Price
Saturday, 5 July 2025 — Saturday, 12 July 2025
Painting and Sketching Gleann Cholm Cille €210 Book now
Saturday, 9 August 2025 — Saturday, 16 August 2025
Painting and Sketching Gleann Cholm Cille €210 Book now

The Glencolmcille School of Painting, Drawing and Sketching

Directed by professional Irish artists Michael Doherty and Conal McIntyre.

This Summer School is conducted in the heart of the Sliabh Liag peninsula in the South-West Donegal Highlands. The dramatic landscape and coastline of this area is the setting for this course of painting tuition for beginners and improvers.

The daily schedule will be flexible and participants are assured of personal guidance and attention from our accomplished guest tutor. There will usually be two sessions per day, some possibly early morning to capture light variables.

Students need only bring with them materials for their own preferred media such as acrylic, gouache or oils. They also need a sketch pad, a selection of two or three brushes and we suggest that you bring a discarded knife for mixing colours, a palette (a dinner plate will do), some rags and treated boards or canvas, an easel would also be of advantage. Some materials will be available at the course location for further requirements.

The instructors

Michael Doherty is an Irish-speaking artist working in a variety of media including oil, acrylic, crayon, watercolour, photography, film, ink and pencil. His works have seen widely including in the Royal Ulster Academy annual exhibition (Belfast), the ‘Ciall’ exhibition on a sense of the Gaeltacht (Donegal), the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize (London), and the Syracuse International Film Festival (New York). Amongst others he has featured on the TG4 Imeall arts programme, the film on drawing ‘Drawing on Life’, a sketchbook in the publication ‘Notations’ and has frequently published illustrated travel journals.

Conal McIntyre is a painter and art teacher with experience in a wide range of art media. He studied art in Limerick and London. After teaching overseas and exhibiting widely in the Middle East he returned to settle in Gleann Cholm Cille. Currently he works from his studio and teaches art part-time. He is a member of the Artists Association of Ireland.