WILD WOMAN
Art Retreat
Permission to Play
For midlife women (and beyond) to return to their art after life got in the way.
Come and…
Paint intuitively with wild expression.
Walk where ancient artists once created.
Rediscover the joy of making art without rules.
📍 Dordogne, France
📅 28 Sept – 2 Oct 2026
(optional VIP Day on 27th)
Have you spent years putting everyone else first?
Perhaps your life has become full of school reminders, careers, caring responsibilities and endless to-do lists.
Somewhere along the way, your sketchbook quietly closed.
Your brushes gathered dust.
Your paints were pushed to the back of the cupboard.
But now you are feeling a powerful urge to create art — your way
And you can’t ignore it any longer.
You can almost feel the swish of a brush across paper and the smell of fresh paint is alluring. Oh and the excitement of opening a brand-new sketchbook brings out the child in you.
And so you have started to dabble.
But you tear up your work as soon as it goes wrong.
You save the good sketchbook for “one day.”
You watch tutorial after tutorial…
Yet deep down, you don’t want to paint like someone else.
You want your art to feel like you.
Now, imagine this...
You have five days with no expectations, fully immersed and surrounded by serene countryside.
- No pressure to get it right.
- No art rules.
- Just colour. Curiosity. And childlike wonder.
You’ll be walking where ancient artists once created and painting with branches instead of brushes.
Mixing pigments from spices and earth.
Laughing until your cheeks ache.
Just like the original Wild Woman.
And you’ll be creating with women who simply get you.
And remembering…
the artist you thought you’d lost was there all along.
The one who loves to:
- express like no one’s watching
- play with the spirit of a child
- trust and listen to her intuition.
Now perhaps...
You have been feeling for a while that painting pretty pictures just doesn’t cut it anymore. You want power from your art.
You’ve spent years being the one who holds everything together. Looking after everyone else. Being sensible. Doing what was expected of you. Being the ‘good girl.’
And you’ve noticed your art reflects that old identity.
And somewhere along the way, you lost touch with the woman who used to play, dream, create and follow her instincts.
When you create, you find yourself worrying whether it’s good enough.
You fear the blank canvas.
You fear people laughing at your work. You fear what might come up if you just let yourself paint expressively.
Perhaps you have ideas bursting inside you, but you second-guess them before they ever get a chance to come alive.
And you’ve become disconnected from your intuition.
BUT you know there’s a new chapter waiting for you.
And this is why I’ve created this Wild Woman Art retreat.
To remember what happens when you stop trying to get it right and start asking:
“What do I really want?”
What happens when you give yourself permission to create?
Meet Ann...
However, this wasn't celebrated - it was considered frivolous. It was much more important to be academic. So my art was pushed aside. It lay dormant for over 50 years until I met Sarah.
Sarah unlocked and unleashed me and my artistic self. She cleverly weaves her masterclasses and courses and never disappoints. I've never looked back. I'm in awe and wonder of what I create.
Art is an integral part of my life now. Its an essential part of my mental health and wellbeing. I immediately felt safe with Sarah.
She put me at ease and that trust and surrender led to flow, growth and self-belief. I now strongly believe I'm an alchemist and an artist. It brings great joy to my life.
So don't hesitate in working with Sarah your best is yet to come.
I highly recommend her".
Example of Ann's work from our time in Wild Woman Rising
This is for you if...
This retreat is for the woman who knows there’s a creative part of her longing to return.
- You used to love making art, or you’ve recently found your way back to it and you’re longing to make art that feels like YOU.
- You have a perfectionist streak or self-doubt that limits your self expression
- You have watched art tutorials but you want your art to say something about you
- You want to be more intuitive with your art practice and less bothered by technique
- You are open to spiritual practices and want to combine them with your art making
This is NOT for you if...
- You are looking for traditional, step-by-step art tuition.
- You want to focus primarily on realistic or technical painting.
- You’d rather be told exactly what to paint than explore what emerges intuitively.
- You’re not curious about exploring the connection between creativity, intuition and self-expression.
6 Invitations... Every day reveals another part of your creative journey.
VIP Day
You - The Wild Woman
Start with a VIP Day where story wisdom meets art. We will unleash our inner wild woman and breathe new life into our creativity, leaving perfectionism and self-doubt at home.
Day 1
Meet Your
Wild Guide
First, discover your artist archetype. Then we’ll paint with nature to meet our wild guide. Followed by a guided visualisation to receive their message and gift as we move into our new chapter.
Day 2
Tracing Your
History
A special visit to see ancient cave paintings and walk in the footsteps of our ancestors. We will paint our own ‘trace of history’ to witness our life so far and the identities we wish to let go.
Day 3
The Path
Ahead
A day of Vision Casting with paint made with spice and earth to explore what will bring us the most joy as we move forwards into a new chapter of life. Time to reflect on our passion projects.
Day 4
Journey Beneath the Earth
At some point in midlife, we are invited to turn inward and explore the parts of ourselves we may have pushed into the shadows. After a trip along an underground river, we will explore this with art.
Day 5
Carry the Magic Home
Some gentle time to paint a Wish Rock with affirmation, colours and patterns that will remind us of our very special time together. A treasure to cherish. A magical memento.
What is included:
- 5 days of intuitive painting with access to an art mentor so you can paint with more expression and without creative limits
- Painting within a small group (no more than 10) like-minded women so you are supported to paint with more depth, freedom and flow.
- Vision casting and visualisations and story wisdom so you can deepen your creative intuition and self-trust and fall in love with every mark you make.
- A trip to Lascaux Cave (The Sistine Chapel of Prehistory) to experience art our ancestors created and be inspired to trace our own history.
- A boat trip along a river in an underground cave and feel the awe and wonder of nature’s beauty.
- Experimenting with ways to mark make and layer paint – no art rules here.
- Food glorious food – delicious food throughout our stay provided by local caterers with care and attention given to special dietary needs.
- A beautiful cottage style Gite, surrounded by the glorious Dordogne countryside in the South of France so we feel nurtured and looked after during our stay.
- Pleases note this retreat is a sober retreat. No alcohol is permitted to allow us get fully into the intuitive flow.
Our Home in the Dordogne
For five days, we’ll make our home tucked away in the beautiful Dordogne countryside.
We’re staying in an area often described as the cradle of prehistory, where some of the world’s most extraordinary prehistoric cave art has been discovered. This is a landscape that has inspired human creativity for tens of thousands of years — and we’ll have the opportunity to step into that story ourselves when we visit the ancient caves of Lascaux.
But this isn’t just somewhere we’ll sleep between adventures. Our gîte will be our home, our creative base and a place to slow down, breathe and connect. There’ll be time to gather around the table, swim, wander, chat, rest and simply enjoy being somewhere completely different.
And you won’t have to worry about feeding yourself either.
All your meals are included apart from the times you will want to eat out, giving you the chance to properly switch off from the planning, shopping, cooking and organising that usually comes with everyday life. We’ll share good food, stories, laughter and the experiences of the day around the table.
And if you have allergies or specific dietary needs, we’ll discuss these with you before the retreat so that we can make sure you feel well looked after throughout your stay.
We’ll be surrounded by the same landscape that once inspired our ancient ancestors to pick up a piece of charcoal, earth or pigment and make their mark on the walls.
And I love the thought that we’ll be doing something remarkably similar on our own canvas.
Five days of ancient landscapes, creative adventure, good company, delicious food and the freedom to make your own mark with a large sprinkle of wild woman magic.
Views looking out across the Dordogne countryside and a swimming pool in the back garden!
Space for quiet contemplation and relaxation
Single beds and sharing a room – time to make a new lifelong art-loving friend.
Local caterers providing delicious food with care and attention given to special diets.
Meet your Art Mentor
Hi I’m Sarah
I’m an artist, creativity guide and lifelong lover of colour, curiosity and making a glorious mess.
For years, I thought being an artist meant being good at art. I worried about getting things wrong, making ugly paintings and what other people might think.
It took me a long time to realise that the most exciting work happens when we stop trying to get it right and start listening to what wants to come through.
That’s what I love about intuitive art. It gives us space to play, experiment, make a mess, follow a hunch and see what emerges.
I’ve spent years developing my own intuitive creative practice and helping women reconnect with the artist inside them — particularly those who have lost touch with their creativity along the way.
You don’t need to be “an artist” to come on this retreat.
You just need a little curiosity and a willingness to play.
I’ll be there to guide and encourage you, while creating a space where you can experiment without judgement.
Because this retreat isn’t about teaching you how to paint like me. It’s about discovering what happens when you give yourself permission to paint like YOU.
I can’t wait to welcome you to the Wild Woman Art Retreat.
And imagine what you'll bring home with you…
You’ll leave with more than paintings.
You’ll leave with a deeper connection to your own creative voice.
You’ll have given yourself permission to create without rules, without judgement and without needing to know where you’re going before you begin.
You’ll have explored your intuition and learned to trust those little nudges again.
You’ll have played, experimented, laughed, made a mess and surprised yourself.
You may discover ideas and possibilities that you couldn’t see when you were caught up in everyday life.
And perhaps most importantly…
you’ll remember who you are when you’re not busy being everything for everyone else.
You’ll go home with your artwork, your memories, your new creative possibilities and a renewed sense of “I can.”
You will create more often and make art you love.
You may even find yourself saying yes to the thing you’ve been putting off.
Taking your ideas seriously.
Making space for your creativity in your everyday life.
Trusting your instincts a little more.
And looking at the next chapter of your life with a very different question.
Not:
“What am I supposed to do now?”
But:
“What do I want to create?”
This is your invitation to stop waiting for permission.
To reclaim your creativity.
To reconnect with the wild, intuitive, playful part of you that’s been waiting patiently beneath all the responsibility.
Your investment to yourself: £1497
Five days to step away from ordinary life.
Five days to create, explore, play and reconnect.
Five days that could change the way you see yourself — and what you believe is possible for the woman you’re becoming.
Investment:
5 Day Retreat for 1 person
£1497
Options to pay in 3 instalments with PayPal Later, Klarna or Trustly.
Payment includes accommodation, food, art materials and trips,
It excludes travel there and any meals out in the town.
Special Friends Rate
Bring a friend -
£2497 for 2 people
That’s £1,248.50 each — saving almost £250 each.
This Friends Rate is available until 31st August.
Options to pay in 3 instalments with PayPal Later, Klarna or Trustly.
Payment includes accommodation, food, art materials and trips,
It excludes travel there and any meals out in the town.
Retreat
VIP Day
£300
VIP day is Sunday 27th aimed to deepen your connection to your wild woman art.
Options to pay in 3 instalments with PayPal Later, Klarna or Trustly.
Payment includes accommodation, food, art materials and trips,
It excludes travel there and any meals out in the town.
Ready to give yourself permission to play?
I’ll send you full travel information and recommendations for getting to the gîte once you’ve booked.
Refund Policy
Places on the Wild Woman Art Retreat are limited and significant costs and preparation are committed in advance.
If you need to cancel your place, please contact Sarah as soon as possible. Any cancellation charge will reflect costs already incurred in connection with your booking. Where appropriate, we will offer the remaining value of your booking as credit towards a future Sarah Bowden Art retreat or another Sarah Bowden Art course or offering.
In exceptional circumstances, such as bereavement or involuntary unemployment, we will always try to be as understanding and flexible as possible and will consider each situation individually.
If Sarah Bowden Art has to cancel the retreat, you will be offered the choice of transferring your booking to a future retreat or another Sarah Bowden Art offering, or any refund to which you are legally entitled.
We strongly recommend taking out suitable travel insurance to cover unexpected circumstances, including illness, cancellation or the need to withdraw from the retreat.
If you choose to pay using PayPal Pay Later, Klarna or Clearpay, please ensure that you read and understand the relevant provider’s terms and conditions before completing your purchase.
This is what it feels like to be a Wild Woman Artist:
More Student Art
Let's make this a coven of Wild Woman Artists!
This offer at this investment is open for the first 10 women. After this, you will be added to a waiting list for future retreats and I cannot guarantee the investment will stay at this rate.
The Special Friends Rate is valid until 31st August 2026.
FAQs
Do I need to be an experienced artist?
Absolutely not but it helps if you have painted before.
What if I haven’t painted for years?
This doesn’t matter one bit. You will soon feel very comfortable making art again.
Will I have my own room?
Most of you, if not all, will be sharing a room with a fellow art-loving woman (and might make a new life-long friend!). If single rooms are available at the start of the retreat, they will on a first paid-in-full, first served basis.”
What’s included?
The price includes your accommodation, your art materials, meals at the gîte, and trips to Lascaux and the underground river + cave.
What’s not included?
Flights, or any transportation costs associated with getting to Dordogne, meals outside the gîte, snacks, souvenirs, and anything you decide to buy outside of what’s in the program.
How do I get to the Dordogne?
You have two options:
1) Book a flight to Bergerac Airport.
Or
2)Book a flight to Bordeaux Airport.
Then take the train to Terrasson-lavilledieu
What should I bring?
Clothes you don’t mind getting messy in. Clothes for trips away from the gite. Swimming costume – just in case. All art materials are provided, but if you have any special art equipment you like to use, feel free to bring.
What happens if I need to cancel?
If you need to cancel your place, please contact Sarah as soon as possible. Any cancellation charge will reflect costs already incurred in connection with your booking. Where appropriate, we will offer the remaining value of your booking as credit towards a future Sarah Bowden Art retreat or another Sarah Bowden Art course or offering.