CASTLE IN SPAIN

By Brenda Howley

The steep and winding two-mile track that leads up, and up – and up from the Costa Tropical  to  Castillo San Rafael is like the stairway to heaven.

Step through the white archway into this idyllic artist’s retreat, and it’s the closest you’ll get to paradise, without the inconvenience of dying.

With your back to the sea, it’s on the right side of Malaga – in more ways than one. The scenery is breath-taking and it’s much quieter than the package holiday hot spots of the Costa del Sol.

Some 3,000 years ago it was a Phoenician fortress, guarding the route to the silver mines in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. 

In the mid 70s English artist Michael Still and his German wife Helga, a potter with an impressive pedigree (she’s a descendant of the famous Meissen family) set about transforming it into their own Andalucian heaven on earth.

Today leisure painters and professional artists from around the world come to Castillo San Rafael to soak up the atmosphere, bask in the sunshine, share their hosts’ love of Spanish food and flamenco - and to paint.

There are 12 bedrooms dotted about the garden. Each has an en suite bathroom, private entrance and a small terrace.

Usually up to half the guests have been before, though when I was there only Effie Rust from Wiltshire was a regular.

“I hope you’re not going to make it sound too good,” she said. “Or I’ll not be able to get in when I try to book again.”

Alexandra Stieber, a management consultant from Amsterdam, was on her first painting holiday. She chose San Rafael after seeing it advertised in The Artist magazine.

“I started painting on silk, and found it was a marvellous way to switch my mind off business. I went on to acrylics, which I brought here with me.

“But after seeing Michael’s oil pastels demonstration I decided to give them a go. I’d never have tried them otherwise, but I love the immediacy of them and I will certainly continue with them when I get home.”

She was one of several “converts” to his favourite painting medium during the fortnight in September when I sampled the delights of Castillo San Rafael.

“Oil pastels are not widely understood,” he said. “It’s a chicken and egg situation. There aren’t any good instruction books around, so people don’t know how to use them. And because so few people use them, publishers aren’t keen to produce any books.

“I enjoy introducing them to people who’ve never tried them. Four or five people from any group are usually painting with them by the time they go home.”

Frances Donnan, a potter from Down Patrick in Northern Ireland, started the holiday painting in gouache, but thought her work looked rather flat.

“I found oil pastels difficult at first but I’m really into them now.” She went on to create some vibrant landscapes, using them on their own on tinted paper, and as coloured resist with watercolours.

“My painting got off to a shaky start, but Michael really pulls it out of you.”

Castillo San Rafael offers a wealth of painting opportunities, from detailed studies of sub tropical vegetation to spectacular vistas down the Valderrama gorge to the coast below. The painting course is entirely based there.

Sightseeing trips are organised to the Alpujerras, Granada and the Alhambra, and there are opportunities to visit the nearby seaside towns of Almunecar and La Herradura, but they’re not accessible under your own steam – unless you pack a mule in your hand luggage.

 More restless souls may feel restricted by its remoteness. Those seeking beauty and tranquillity won’t want to leave.

Michael’s teaching style combines lectures and demonstrations with personal discussion.. Whether you’re painting in and around the gardens, or up in the hills, he finds you. And the moment he drops by, you have the feeling that he knows by instinct what aspect of the work is troubling you – and how to resolve it.

He doesn’t go in for free-for-all group criticisms. Instead, he highlights the most frequent pitfalls in his introductory talk, and deals with commonly encountered problems and questions in lectures and demonstrations throughout the holiday.

As a former lecturer in fine art and art history at Swansea College of Art, the University of Wales, The Hill Residential College in Abergavenny and with the Open University, he has an impressive track record.

He has a way with words, and a talent for explaining in terms that everyone understands. As a beginner, I suddenly realised why I always felt compelled to chop lumps off the sides of my paintings. I was suffering from “wide angle lens syndrome.” I’m cured now.

“To tell the truth in painting, you have to lie,” was a message we all took home. “The hills may be grey, brown and green, but if you use only those colours, your work will look cold, and dead. You won’t express the heat, the vitality and atmosphere of Southern Spain. By painting the truth, your painting actually becomes a lie.”

The next morning everyone was having a whale of a time with pink and purple hills, orange skies and  red trees.

Michael smiled wryly. “Whenever I use the word colour, people always add the word ‘bright’ in front of it. Colour can be delicate too, and still create atmosphere.”

Creating atmosphere is a skill that the Stills have in spades. Every corner of Castillo San Rafael is exquisite – from the 100ft serpentine swimming pool shaded by banana plants and palms, pepper trees and jacaranda to the tiny garlands of jasmine and sparkling glassware on the dinner table.

“We both believe life is art. I like good food, but it must be served on a beautiful plate to be thoroughly enjoyed.”

And you’d be hard-pressed to find better food anywhere in Spain. Helga’s tapas are simply sensational.

The couple have embraced Spanish culture and the Andalucian way of life with a passion – and they are keen to share it. Michael’s wine and sherry tastings are an education.

Guitar recitals and private world-class performances of flamenco are regular features on the programme of evening entertainment. Forget the pale imitations you may have seen in tourist hotels down on the coast. This is the real McCoy.