India 2008

Brambles Art Retreat going to India October 2008
Paint in India at Karmi Farm - retreat, West Bengal, Darjeeling district in the foothills of the Himalayas.
A 17 day trip to India, starting with 3 days in Darjeeling, then 5 days at a beautiful foothill retreat - Karmi Farm,
two days in Kalimpong and finally 2 days in Delhi, ending with a visit to the Taj Mahal.

17th October 20008 - 2nd November 2008

Travel Tips

Prices

Painting Kit

We are offering an amazing opportunity to paint, with tuition, in an exotic location at a remote retreat in India. As a family run retreat, Karmi Farm offers comfortable accommodation in the foothills of the Himalayas near Darjeeling. Lots of walking, Darjeeling is 7500ft in the mountains, steep hills up and down in town and at 4500ft at Karmi Farm retreat. Non painting partners or friends are welcome to come too, trekkers very welcome. Short treks in and around Karmi Farm while we paint.

Part 1 Darjeeling

We few to Delhi and got a connecting flight to Bagdora the same day arriving early afternoon. We where collected by Jeep and driven to Darjeeling. The distance wasn't far but the roads are rough. The speed of the traffic rarely goes above 20 miles per hour.We stopped after an hour and a half for tea at Ghoom, a refreshing break after a bumpy ride. We arrived in Darjeeling early afternoon and where met by our host Andrew Frame Pulger. He took us to his family hotel the Bellvue, set in a prominent location at the top of Darjeeling with spectacular views.

The hotel is basic, clean and functional, coals was brought to our room the wood burner gave it a cosy feel on cooler evenings, a hot water bottle was a must. Days are short and the evening draws in about 5.30pm, After settling in we meet Andrew for dinner at a local restaurant.

On the first full day, we start with breakfast on the roof terrace in a cafe not far from the hotel. Views of all the roof tops of Darjeeling and a spectacular view of the mountain range of Katchenjunga in the distance.

Our first excursion is to take a leisurely 45 minute walk down to the Tibetan refugee centre. This centre was set up to help and employ refugees that fled from Tibet, many on foot. It is a very interesting place full of people working very hard making a living preparing wool for carpets, knotting carpets, triming and finishing. These carpets are so much in demand they have an order book full to the end of November 2008. There are other ladies knitting hats, socks and mittens. Beautiful woven wraps and scarves, woven bags and cushions just to mention a small selection available. Such low prices for hand made goods is really unbelievable.

The altitude in Darjeeling is 7500 feet and the air is thin this takes a little time to get used to so we ordered a taxi jeep to collect us from the centre to take us back to town. This gave us time to have a look around the market and some of the local shops and grab a bite to eat in a cafe. We arranged to meet with Andrew at 3.00pm we were going to visit a professional Thanghka painter that lives and works in Darjeeling.

Dawala very kindly invited us to his home to see his paintings and his tiny studio. Dawala has been painting Thangkas for 35 years he was taught by his father. He uses the paints his father left him, they are made from grinding down precious stones that also have medicinal qualities. It can take up to 3 months to grind down a stone to get enough paint to work with. Dawala said he only has enough paint to paint another 30 paintings. As it can take up to 9 months to complete a large painting Dawala probably has enough to see him through to retirement. Dawala prides himself on the accuracy of his work, he said if a senior religious Lama looked at any of his work they would see it was perfectly painted as Thangkas have always been painted. Dawalas work is commissioned by people all over the world.
We finished off the day with time for shopping, lots of stalls on the streets, recommended shops for jewellery, gifts and postcards and certainly not forgetting to buy the fabulous "Darjeeling Tea." We ended the day with dinner at a nearby restaurant, then packed our bags ready to set of for Karmi Farm Retreat.
In our October 2008 trip we would spend another full day in Darjeeling, exploring and sketching.

Part 2 - Karmi Farm Retreat

We set off at 10.00am for Karmi Farm, another bumpy ride through the countryside, passing by and through many of the Tea Gardens. The small tea plants growing as bushes, they make a beautiful pattern across the steep sided landscape.

Lemon House. Our bedroom, what a view! Guest accommodation, rooftop terrace and surgery.

We arrived at Karmi Farm after a dusty three hour road trip over a seriously bumpy track called a "road." The farm perched on the hillside at 4500ft is very beautiful, homely and tranquil. A perfect place to relax and paint. We where welcomed by Andrews mother Deki, armed with a pot of fresh Darjeeling tea. The view all around of the mountains are dramatic and stunning.
Days are short, it gets light around 7.00am and sun hits the terrace at 8.10 precisely. Its very cool first thing in the morning and early evening, several layers where necessary to keep warm. We peeled them off as they day went on and put them back on again in the early evening.

Afternoon tea on the terrace, great view!

Karmi Farm is the family home of the Pulger-Frame family, Our host Andrew Pulger-Frame, maternal great grandson of Rajah Tenduk Pulger of the ancient Sikkimese Lepcha tribe, and son of a Scottish Tea Planter, spent much of his childhood in and around the area. The combination of his fluent English and Nepalese,his local current and historic knowledge plus his experience as a trekking guide to Everest Base Camp ensures you can make the most of this stunning area. There are lots of interesting places to paint, painting outdoors is always a challenge as there is so much detail, its important to learn what to put in and what to leave out. We had fun painting and sketching for 5 days and here are some of the results.

These watercolour paintings took a day each to draw and paint. I painted on A4, this proved a good size to paint, given the time, not too big, not too small. Buildings require a
lot of measuring and preparation. I found the main house quite a challenge with all the wood, the verandah and windows.

Painting outside "en plein air" is always a challenge, its easy to get bogged down with too much detail. Keep it simple plan your composition, use your time wisely.

This selection of paintings are all painted with Acrylic Ink. The versatility of this medium is shown across these pieces from mid range, pale to very vivid.

These black and white sketches are indelible pen on watercolour paper. Janet took several A6 pads, easy to carry, simple materials to use.
These sketches took about 30 - 45 minutes each. They have a real feel of the lush vegetation, the drama of the buildings perched on the hillside
They where good preparation for painting.

The retreat was very relaxing, delicious vegetariian meals in a Tibetan style of cooking, very aromatic and not hot. All the rooms are beautifully decorated
and furnished, most are ensuite, fitted with showers and lavatories. There are two spacious lounges in the main house, each evening the fires are lit
and guests can relax with a book, or try their hand at the Indian game of Carom. Its addictive, dont be fooled by Deki, she is a wizard at this game
and before you know it shes taken you to the cleaners.

Our stay at Karmi was very relaxing and we left refreshed and content that plently of painting and drawing had been acheived. We had explored
the area on a few walks, visiting the old Karmi house location at the top of the hill, and we also went for a day at the Monastery.
Karmi Farm is visited by guests from all over the world. Mostly with a reccomendation of someone who has already visited, and this was how we got to hear of it.

Part 3 - Kalimpong
We departed Karmi at 9.30am for Kalimpong, saying our goodbyes to Andrew, Deki and their lovely home. Continuing our adventure we set off, by taxi, for the Orchid Retreat. Another dusty ride, a better road and dramatic views along the Ganges. We arrived mid afternoon, we checked in our cottage, small but very well funished and immaculately clean. We decided to go for a walk, we had been reccomended to visit a paper factory so we set off on foot to find it.

Kalimpong reminded me very much of Darjeeling, but a little more spacious and more spread out. Lots of busy streets full of interesting shops. We found the factory a little late in the day. The factory was closed as workers travelled some distance to get there. We managed a visit to their shop and saw all the products they made from the beautiful paper.