Cyanotype Art Experience in the Algarve Mountains | Catarina Olefir

Cyanotype experience in the Algarve mountains for anyone who wants something genuinely different from a typical art workshop. Hidden in the quiet beauty of the Serra de Monchique, surrounded by shaded forest paths, fresh mountain air and natural spring water, this intimate and exclusive session with professional artist Catarina Olefir guides a maximum of three people through the timeless process of cyanotype using sunlight and wild botanicals collected on a gentle walk through the forest before the printing begins. You leave with a refined botanical cyanotype artwork enhanced with watercolour and a hand-printed tote bag, minimal and quietly elegant.

The experience opens with a walk through shaded forest paths where you collect the leaves, wildflowers and delicate natural textures that will become the elements of your artwork. Back at the printing space, Catarina guides you through the cyanotype process step by step, coating the paper, arranging your botanicals, exposing to sunlight and developing the deep Prussian blue prints that emerge. The botanical artwork is then enhanced with watercolour for a result that goes beyond a standard cyanotype print into something genuinely refined and personal. A quiet pause with fresh mountain spring water is woven into the session, creating the kind of unhurried space that allows the experience to feel like a genuine escape rather than an activity.

What you’ll experience

🌿 A gentle forest walk to collect wild botanicals, leaves and natural textures

🌿 A full guided introduction to the cyanotype process using sunlight and natural elements

🌿 Creation of a refined botanical cyanotype artwork enhanced with watercolour

🌿 Hand printing of a minimal and elegant tote bag using cyanotype technique

🌿 A quiet pause with fresh mountain spring water in the Serra de Monchique setting

What’s included

🖼️ All art materials and cyanotype chemicals

🖼️ A high-quality tote bag for hand printing

🖼️ Full guidance from Catarina Olefir throughout the entire experience

🖼️ Your finished botanical cyanotype artwork and printed tote bag to take home

🖼️ A peaceful mountain setting in the Serra de Monchique

What you leave with

A refined botanical cyanotype artwork and a hand-printed tote bag, both made entirely during the session, and the particular stillness that comes from spending a morning creating something beautiful in a place this quiet.

I am Catarina Olefir, founder of Art do Sol Painting Studio and a professional artist based in Portugal. I used to be a doctor but followed my heart and became an artist. I have studied with the world’s leading contemporary watercolor painters and my work is held in private collections and exhibitions from the USA to Australia. I designed this experience for those who value beauty, slowness and meaningful creation, as a limited and signature offering that reflects everything I believe a creative experience in the Algarve should be.

Maximum 3 participants. This is an intimate and exclusive experience. No prior art experience needed. Just curiosity and a love for beautiful moments.