Elianne
28 November 2018
The Artist’s Retreat is a very fitting name for owner Colleen Vaux’s latest holiday cottage in Moulton.
Colleen has loved painting pictures from the age of three and after a career spanning advertising agencies and financial services she has returned to her first love – art.
Colleen’s husband is originally from the village of Moulton and the family moved here from Sussex around five years ago.
Original art and weekly art classes
One of the first jobs was to turn the garage of their manor house into a spacious artist’s studio where Colleen spends much of her time creating original artwork and teaching an art workshop once a week.
“Teaching the weekly class is very rewarding as I can see the students progressing with their art each week. We used mixed media and different techniques – everything from bamboo sticks to rollers and palette knives. The class even had their own exhibition in Moulton Village Hall for charity which we hope will become an annual event.”
The first holiday cottage – a bijou one-bedroom apartment
At this time Colleen also set about transforming their first holiday cottage – the one-bedroom Butler’s Retreat which is a self-contained apartment in the 16th-century manor house with its own private entrance.
The stunning setting of the Manor House in Moulton.
Guests have their own access to the stunning grounds which include a lawned garden, summer house and even a hard surface tennis court.
Creating an elegant dog-friendly holiday cottage
Recently Colleen has turned her attention into renovating The Artist’s Retreat into an elegant two-bedroom cottage. Colleen did all the interiors herself with Farrow & Ball greys for the walls, Harris tweed on the beds and lots of vintage finds that have been up-cycled into original pieces.
Guests will also find Colleen’s artwork throughout the dog-friendly cottage and a fabulous original fireplace in each of the spacious en-suite bedrooms.
“I’m a dog owner myself so it was important that the holiday cottages are dog-friendly – especially as there is an dog-friendly pub (The Black Bull at Moulton) just a short walk away.”
The Black Bull at Moulton
@black_bull_moulton
The village of Moulton is a great place for exploring the North Yorkshire countryside and is a pretty and peaceful spot to relax and unwind in. It is also home to one of the best dining pubs around (The Black Bull at Moulton) so you won’t have far to go for a great meal (and a drink or two).
There’s also a great community feel to Moulton – the bus stop, for example, doubles as a spot to pick up a second-hand book and some locally-grown fruit and veg!
Explore North Yorkshire
The bus from the village will take you to the nearby town of Richmond where you’ll find an assortment of independent shops, cafes and restaurants plus an imposing ancient castle.
It’s in the middle of the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales so you can spend time exploring both of Yorkshire’s National Parks and can be walking along the beach at the Yorkshire Coast in around an hour.
Discover the artwork of Colleen Vaux
Colleen is an accomplished artist who loves creating artwork in the great outdoors and is known, in particular, for her sea paintings. When in the art studio Colleen also likes to paint still-life works – often using Farrow and Ball colours, which makes them ideal for use by interior designers.
“I love painting variety of subject matters but am always drawn to the beauty of the coast. My style is vibrant, energetic and bold and I love trying different styles or techniques. Sometimes my work is small and compact and sometimes I’ll use the largest canvas I can to capture the scene.”
Her artwork has been exhibited throughout the UK from London to Edinburgh and Colleen has also taken part in the annual North Yorkshire Open Studios which takes places in June each year. Find out more on Colleen’s website.
The Artist’s Retreat and Butler’s Retreat are dog-friendly Yorkshire holiday cottages that are available to book through Gorgeous Cottages.Browse our full range of Yorkshire cottages to find your perfect base.
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing,
please ensure you check carefully before making any decisions based on the contents within this article.