• Daily workshops with Tony McNeight
• Accommodation – choose from our bures at the front (Ocean View bures), or at the back (standard rooms)
• Meals : breakfast, lunch and dinner – a mix of local Fijian and Indian food and international recipes (one dinner out at own expense)
• Excursions:  snorkel on the fabulous coral reefs, bathe in glorious waterfall, revel in the abundant nature of the landscape and experience the rich Fijian culture.

You just need to buy your air ticket and art materials, and leave the rest to us.

This is my second visit back to Daku Resort as part of the Erin Hill family of tutors.

The fact I am returning says so much about the memories of this beautiful island, its people,its culture and its boundless sketching opportunities.

I am a dedicated travel sketcher and teacher, having shared the gift of sketching to over 3,000 students, new and experienced.

I teach classes in Auckland New Zealand plus take sketch workshops throughout NZ and extensively overseas.

For me sketching Savusavu offers everything one could wish for in an island paradise, the colours of the sea,the lush tropical vegetation, its colourful food and friendly people.

I do hope you can join me to share all Daku Resort and Savusavu have to offer.

So many of us were told at a young age, possibly at school that ‘we could not draw’ or, were not good enough. Our brains then engaged in “I cannot draw attitude” throughout the rest of our working lives. Travel sketching is a perfect way to re engage the creative part of your brain that has been lying dormant, through a series of classes that will have you sketching in no time and enjoying exploring your new found creativity.

Use just your eyes, your pen, your sketchbook. No digital image can see the way you do.

It’s your impression of what you see in that moment. Your interpretation. We take you step by step to creating your sketch.

Our minimal sketch kit is designed to be with you at all times.

Observe quickly, sketch quickly, apply colour sparingly. Move on.

You’ll know a great deal more about your subject by observing and sketching it than by taking a photo.

You can never go wrong. Simply make changes right over the top.

Keep every sketch as each one is part of a learning journey. We’re not looking for ‘perfect’.

Wobbly and imperfect lines add personality to your sketches.

Enjoy what you create. It cannot be compared to anybody else’s. It’s yours. It’s unique.

Absolutely everybody can learn to sketch!

We’ll start the week in the art studio at Daku Resort sketching the gorgeous tropical flowers. It’s a chance to get familiar with our materials, our surroundings and each other in a relaxed setting.

For the rest of the week, we’ll go out to various locations around Savusavu to find the locations and details that capture our attention – the cafe by the harbour, the market bursting with fresh produce, the towering waterfall, the palm fringed beach. We’ll see, we’ll savour, we’ll sketch….and then return to Daku for lunch and maybe a swim.

We have a number of excursions organised – just remember to always bring along your sketchbook and pen!

Travel sketching is my absolute passion.

Having grown up in Devonport Auckland NZ, I started a career in advertising as a creative. This took me travelling the world on adventures of creative discovery.

Coming back home I ran my own successful design company for 30 years.

I had the good fortune of meeting Erin Hill, a former advertising colleague in 2014. Erin was running successful sketch schools in Sydney plus taking international tours. As a result I set up Erin Hill Sketching NZ in 2015, and I continue to take weekly classes in NZ plus international sketch tours.

Whenever travelling I always take my small sketch kit to capture a quick impression of the ‘moment’ on paper. This is a hugely satisfying way to engage with my subjects in a personal in a mindful way.

This is something I enjoy sharing with my many students as they embark on their own sketch journeys.