David checks up on a gentler style.

David Quirke, whose large oil painting of a buttercup field graced the Holmfirth Artweek exhibition this week, has recently returned from a trip to the Czech Republic, where he conducted a landscape painting workshop.

He came back with enthusiastic views of both the country and its people. "It is a country which is very rich in art and cares for the beauty of the landscape," he says. "People can be poor in a materialistic way, but so rich in others. I found the way of life gentler over there."

The invitation to the Czech Republic came from Richard Eccles, who, with his Czech wife, Helena, owns a large 300- year-old farmhouse in the small village of Ujezd in Bohemia, close to the German border. Richard, a language teacher and examiner, had seen David's work on a trip to England.

The small group of artists who took part in the workshops came from the Manchester area and, by coincidence, from the Colne Valley. "They were of different abilities, but all did fantastically well," says David.

"Most of the work was done on location. We did not have to travel far. You could just walk out in the morning into some lovely countryside.

"I concentrated mainly on composition and different colour grounds and a lot of work was produced.

"Temperatures were in the mid-90s, but the students were very keen, so we worked all day and sometimes into the evening."

On the day off, there was a chance to go walking in the nearby Sumava National Park. "There is some very lush countryside over there, with massive meadows and immense forests," says David. "There were very few cars on the road. It was like going back 50 years. I would love to go back and explore the country more."

At the farmhouse, walking and cycling holidays can also be arranged. Details can be found on www.czechfarmhouse.com.

o A NOVEL exhibition opening at Dean Clough, Halifax, tomorrow, features 500 origami boats, flanked by black walls on which is written Chinese poetry. The artist involved is Hong Kong-born Mei Yuk Wong, who now lives in Manchester, where she manages the arts and crafts workshop at the Wai Yin Chinese Women's Society.

The origami boats reflect the possible fates of 10 specific women - the fact that there are 500 of them is reference to the Chinese Almanac (Tung Sing) which states that each person has "one possible fate in 50".