FIGURATIVE ART RETREATS
JOIN US IN JAMAICA!
September 22-28, 2025
The Art of Modeling's Jamaica Figure Drawing Retreat is a travel opportunity rich with arts and culture for all levels of artists who want to immerse themselves in figurative drawing and painting in tropical plein air scenes with Jamaican art models. We will hold our first figure drawing retreat in Negril, Jamaica.
Included -Accommodations: We will be staying and figurative art making at a breezy oceanside cliff resort in both cottages and in suites with ocean and garden views. In this gated property, all rooms have wifi, AC and a safe.
Jump off the laddered cliffs into the azure blue ocean that you can see the sea floor of, swim in the pool, soak in the hot tub, read, sketch or ponder life in a private enclave on the cliffs or in the garden areas, or relax in your own private outdoor nook on the property.
When night falls, hear the croaking of the tree frogs, the chirping of crickets and the sounds of reggae music coming from nearby yards. See the moon from a different perspective! Wake up to the sounds of the ocean, tropical birds and neighborhood roosters before heading to the highly rated onsite restaurant for complementary Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.
Included -Every day during figure drawing we will serve sample tastings of different local seasonal fruits such as ganep, soursop, sweetsop, June plum, jackfruit, pineapple, different varieties of bananas, mango, grapefruit, tangerine, and fresh sugar cane. Jamaican “bun n’ cheese” will also be served, along with fresh tropical juice and fresh jelly water drinker from the freshly opened coconut.
Included -Four days of figurative art making opportunities in the plein air on the resort grounds for three hours each day with different Jamaican fine art models on cliff/oceanside grounds where we are staying.
Included -Group excursion on a glass bottomed boat from Seven Mile Beach to Booby Cay Island, a small island off the coast. On the ride there we will hover over coral reefs to view the giant sea stars, sand dollars and tropical fish. We will dock on the island to enjoy a seafood lunch of fresh caught lobster, crab or fish with raw veggies and cold Red Stripe beers or bottled waters. Swim in the ocean, hike the island, and relax while watching the pelicans fly overhead and dive for fish while waiting for your food to cook. Transportation to and from Seven Mile Beach and to and from Booby Cay Island is included.
Included -Ganga farm tour in Orange Hill. Learn about the rich history of gangs farming while sipping on a cold Red Stripe, the official Jamaican beer, viewing the farm and smelling the plants. Watch the spliff rolling demonstration and sample the Ganga. Transportation to and from the Ganga farm is included.
There is much more to explore in your free time that is within walking or (very close, affordable and readily available) taxi distance, such as:
-Watch the famous Cliff Divers diving off the cliffs and the trees on the cliffs at sunset at the famous Rick’s Café in walking distance from our resort.
-Spend a day at 7 Mile Beach: Take a leisurely oceanside walk on the white sand beach in the surf while stopping to swim or stopping for food, drinks & beachside tourist shopping all along the way. Ganga is easy to obtain here, and smoking a spliff on the beach is not scorned. Watch the Negril sunset and then stay out for free live reggae music played beachside/bar-side every Thursday night.
-Partake in numerous other touristy-activities in your own free time, such as riding on a bamboo raft down a crystal blue river, ATV riding or zip lining through tropical forests, horseback riding on the beach, touring rum estates, visiting waterfalls, stopping into art galleries and artisan shops of local artists. There are ample taxis and shuttles to safely get you to and from these excursions.
PRICING & FURTHER DETAILS SOON COME
Sign up fully by May 1 and receive a $500 discount!
Not Included:
-Airfare and transportation are not included (with the exception of transportation for the group excursions).
-Art Supplies
Travel insurance with cancellation coverage is required for covering medical expenses, travel interruptions, and personal cancellation to cover anything that might require cancellation or a change in travel arrangements.
Ages 18+ only.
A non-refundable $800 deposit is required when you register; the balance is due August 1, 2025. There are no refunds after the balance has been paid, unless the trip is cancelled by us in which case you will receive a full refund, including the deposit.
Spots are on a first-come first served basis, and will be reserved upon receipt of your deposit.
I will email you the liability waiver once you register.
Ways to pay: by personal or cashier's check or money order if in the United States, by Zelle . If you will pay via electronic payment such as Paypal, Credit Card or Venmo, there is a 4% fee per payment to cover credit card fees.
CANCELATION POLICY
Once you have put down your deposit, you have confirmed your participation in the trip and it is non-refundable.
We require you to purchase travel insurance to cover medical expenses, travel interruptions, and personal cancellation to cover anything that might require you having to cancel or make a change in travel arrangements. We will require proof of your insurance 30 days after you register. If for some reason the trip has to be cancelled, you will be refunded what your travel insurance will not cover, if anything. Travel insurance is required to attend this trip and it will cover cancelations and interruptions, including the trip being cancelled by AOM.


Elle, Pat & two of the three kids in Negril at sunset in November 2023
The included details will all be arranged and coordinated by dual Jamaican/United States citizens, AOM Executive Director Ellen Allen and her husband Dr. Patrick Allen.
Ellen, an artist and a (mostly) former fine art model founded and runs Art of Modeling. In addition to model management, training and booking, she has been hosting and moderating figurative art drawing and painting sessions, and building community among area artists for the last five years at the NoBo Art Center in Boulder, Colorado.
Patrick, born and raised in Jamaica, immigrated to the US where he completed his education, earning a PhD in Molecular Biology under the tutelage of Nobel Prize Candidate, Dr. Harry Noller, then received a million dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health to research HIV at CU Boulder. He went on to found The Black Biomedical Research Movement, a non-profit organization that aimed to decrease disparities in Black health and to encourage more Black people to enter careers in the biomedical sciences, working with Black celebrities to more widely spread the message. He then founded the $27 million VC backed company Annai Systems, that developed a genomics data streamline platform designed to handle the complexities of next-generation sequencing data in the clinical, pharmaceutical, and research environments. Since retiring from the sciences, Patrick's current project is securing administratorship of several hundred acres of his family's land in the parish of Saint Thomas located in the foothills of the Blue Mountains where we envision implementing hiking trails, solar and agricultural farms, and an artistic compound, among other things (pst....soon seeking interested investors!)

Photos from Negril and of the retreat venue
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