
2026 Delightful Art Retreat at the Beach
High school and College-age Young Ladies (Ages 13+)
Emerald Isle, NC
May 11 - 14 (Monday to Thursday)
Registration will open in February.
Be sure you're on the mailing list to be the first to know when registration opens.
(Transportation to the event is not included.)




I look forward to the art retreat all year! I get to see my students in person and meet potential new students, too!
I love seeing students form lasting friendships. I demonstrate my acrylic painting process, which can be applied to painting anything, so we're building the skills that equip students to paint anything they want to paint. Then, I'm there as a coach to help as needed...I give lots of ideas and inspiration and help students plan and execute their own original masterpiece.
What to Expect:
Students will arrive at our big, beautiful beach house between 2:00 and 4:00 on Sunday, May 10.
Dinner will be around 6:00, then we'll do our first painting session that evening.
Days 2 and 3 will be a painting lesson in the morning, followed by beach and pool time (free time and/or en plein air painting) in the afternoon and painting again in the evening after dinner.
Day 4 will be painting in the morning and departure after lunch.
The types of art projects we do at the beach:
A set of 3 acrylic paintings - 8 x 8 - to learn and practice Courtney's acrylic painting method
Watercolor lessons that lead to product design, such as bookmarks and postcards with Kate Perry
Shell study (observing and blending, and abstraction) like Georgia O'Keeffe
Gestural figure drawing lesson followed by en plein air painting of people on the beach
Large canvas acrylic painting of choice (I'll have lots of good reference photos to choose from)
Bucket Hat Paintings
All meals, art supplies, and art instruction are included. (Art instruction is personalized, so all levels are welcome!)
Optional trip to buy t-shirts and/or ice cream one afternoon... bring money for that if you wish.
Clothing: casual, paint-friendly and beach-friendly. (Swim suit, flip flops, shorts, t-shirts, toiletries, beach towel.)
Meals will be prepared for us by our private chef. (Allergies can be accommodated if you let us know on the registration form.)
If you are flying in- Choose RDU airport and arrive close to noon and let me know, and we can arrange carpooling from Raleigh. (If you do ride with someone, we ask that you contribute $50 towards gas.)
If you have a sketchbook you want to bring for en plein air painting, you might want to. We'll have clipboards and sheets of paper to use. If you have brushes you love, you can bring them, but mark them as yours so they don't get mixed in with the others.
Can't make these dates? We can also do private art retreats if you have a group. Let us know, and we can come to you! Email courtney@delightfulartco.com for more information. We can create a unique art experience for your group! Private retreats can be 1 to 3-day events.




























































