Emily Moncuit | The Creative Compass | Immersive Drawing Retreats

Where the moor teaches you to see

Join Emily for an immersive 5 day drawing experience across North Yorkshire. Coast, landscape, town and village! 
6 Days · 6 Artists 
Sunday 30th May 2027 - Saturday 5th June 2027

This is where you stop waiting to feel ready.

Most people who love drawing have the same quiet fear. They stand in front of a beautiful view, sketchbook open, and something freezes. They don’t know where to begin.

Not because they lack skill. Because no one has ever shown them a clear, repeatable way to approach what’s in front of them.

The North York Moors retreat is six days of learning to see — and then to draw — with genuine confidence. Six locations. One method. One defining shift.

By the time you leave, you will have a process you can take anywhere in the world.


This is the Creative Compass

Every session, at every location, moves through the same four-stage process. 

You won’t just learn techniques. You’ll internalise a way of approaching any scene, anywhere, for the rest of your life.
The Creative Compass Method
  • Observe.
    See with intention before the pencil moves. Choose what matters. Edit before you draw.
  • Interpret & Simplify.
    Translate complexity into clarity. Find the shapes beneath the scene. Trust the edit.
  • Express Your Style.
    Draw boldly through structured methodology. Not my style. Yours...discovered here.
  • Reflect and then...Repeat! 
    Refine. Adjust. Grow. Take the process home and use it wherever you draw next.

Wherever you travel next. A bustling city, a quiet café, another country entirely, you will know exactly how to begin.

No more hesitation.
No more overthinking.
No more waiting.
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Six Days. Six Artists. One Defining Shift.

You Don’t Need More Tutorials.

You need immersion. You need structure.
You need someone standing beside you while you draw in the real world, not on a screen.

You need to experience what it feels like to:

• Open your sketchbook in public without fear

• Simplify a complex scene with clarity

• Trust your interpretation

• Make decisions confidently

• Fill pages that feel intentional, not accidental

Confidence comes from doing, repeatedly, with guidance.

That is what these six days are built for.

SIX DAYS. SIX LOCATIONS.

The North York Moors as your studio.

Day 1 Welcome & Colour Session
CORE FOCUS
Foundation — your kit, your palette

Before any scene. Filling your sketch kit, sampling your palette, understanding the emotional temperature of every colour you’ll carry across the moors.
Day 2 Whitby Harbour & Town
CORE FOCUS
Shape blocking — what goes on the page

Boats, harbour walls, rooftops, the Abbey silhouette. The perfect scene for learning to see in masses first — the single skill that changes everything that follows.
Day 3 Robin Hood’s Bay
CORE FOCUS
Perspective — depth in the wild

Stacked cottages, a winding street, rock pools at low tide. Almost purpose-built for understanding overlapping form, vanishing points, and the art of the implied line.
Day 4 Rievaulx Abbey
CORE FOCUS
Tone & light — drawing with shadow

Ruined arches, gothic stone, a valley full of light. Learning to see in three tonal values and letting the drama of ruin teach restraint.
Day 5 Open Moorland
CORE FOCUS
Landscape & sky — the confident minimal page

Heather, bracken, big skies, a horizon that goes on forever. Where the emptiness becomes a gift — and your mark-making language finds its voice.
Day 6 Village Tour
CORE FOCUS
Integration — drawing independently

Goathland, Hutton-le-Hole, stone doorways and garden gates. Your final day is yours — choosing your subject, applying everything, and discovering who you are as a draughtsperson.


Hi, I’m Emily...and I don’t just teach drawing, I teach people how to trust themselves on the page.

I’ve drawn daily in my sketchbook since 2019. Through travel, through ordinary days, through life’s transitions. And what I’ve learned is this: most people don’t struggle with drawing because they lack ability.
They struggle because they’ve never been shown a clear, repeatable way to approach it. So they hesitate. They overthink. They wait to feel ready.
The Creative Compass was born from years of refining a process that removes that hesitation. It’s not about copying my style. It’s about helping you find yours. I’ve guided hundreds of artists through structured challenges and immersive retreats — and I’ve seen the same shift happen again and again.
The moment someone realises they don’t need permission to draw. That’s the moment everything changes.
This retreat is the deepest expression of that work. And I would love to guide you through it.
Emily x

Because transformation requires space

Why Only Six Artists?

With just six participants:

You are seen.

Your work is understood.

Your questions are explored deeply.

Your creative voice is encouraged, not reshaped.

There is nowhere to hide.

And nowhere you need to.

By the end of SIX days, you will:

Approach any scene without overwhelm

Draw confidently in public spaces

Trust your stylistic choices

Understand how to adjust when something isn’t working

Fill pages consistently

Feel proud of your sketchbook

But more than that —

You will stop saying:

“I wish I could…”

And start saying:

“This is who I am.”

Pre & Post Retreat Support

Your transformation does not begin on arrival — and it does not end on departure. Included:

Pre-retreat preparation guidance
Structured mindset and sketchbook preparation
Post-retreat integration support
Continued refinement using the Creative Compass framework
Access to Emily's ENTIRE portfolio of courses and online teaching for the year!

This is not a six-day spike of inspiration.

It is the start of sustained change.

The choice is entirely yours.

Your North York Moors Setting

An Elegant, Boutique Creative Home

Your creative home in North York will be intimate, inspiring, and conducive to both focused work and restoration. Every detail is designed to support both excellence and ease.

  Beautiful private accommodation
  Creative workspace
  Curated professional art materials
  Organised sketching excursions
  Thoughtful dining experiences (meals included)
  Space to rest, reflect and absorb

Get an exclusive peak inside the retreat

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What's Included

Your Complete Experience.

  • Six full days of immersive tuition and personalised mentorship across six iconic North York Moors locations
  • Curated art materials and the Creative Compass toolkit to keep
  • Daily plein air sessions with structured teaching stacked around each location’s unique subject matter
  • Intimate group setting — maximum 6 artists, so your work is seen and your voice is heard
  • Pre-retreat preparation guidance — sketchbook and mindset preparation before you arrive
  • Post-retreat integration support — continued refinement using the Creative Compass after you leave
INVESTMENT

£5,999

per guest · payment plan available
This is a fully personalised, high-touch plein air drawing experience across one of Britain’s most dramatic and inspiring landscapes — designed for depth, personal attention, and meaningful artistic progression.

Applications reviewed personally by Emily. Details shared on enquiry. 6 places only — enquire early

BONUS Included

Year-long access to Emily’s entire portfolio of 100+ courses — integrated before and after the retreat. Plus detailed 1-2-1 scoping sessions with Emily to map your personal learning journey.
Valued at £2,500