Best business setup for an artist with other activities?

I have lived in France for nearly five years with my family receiving a local government early retirement pension. We are registered at the local Hotel des Impots and have declared our income each year and as our income does not go above the threshold, do not pay many tax or social contributions. We are registered with both CPAM and CAF and have both a carte vitale and basic family allowance.

I now wish to start an enterprise as an artist. I am near to completing a website with a new business partner. The scheme is to sell in France and abroad both my original paintings as well as prints, cards and other reproductions (which my colleague will produce). I also have been approached to run painting holidays at local gites as well as having the opportunity to run a small gite business here at home where I could also run a number of painting holidays. I obviously wish to undertake all these enterprises at the same time and paying sensible contributions in the least complicated system. I have been told the Auto-Entrepreneur scheme would be the best system - but could you please advise and take me through the process of registration?