A Week Painting in Tuscany with Rachel Painter

Course dates

Sunday 14th July to Sunday 21st July 2024

Embrace the Joy of Painting: A Week-long Retreat with Rachel Painter in Beautiful Tuscany

Immerse yourself in the breathtaking landscapes of Tuscany on a week-long journey of artistic exploration. Led by professional artist Rachel Painter, this relaxed-paced painting holiday is designed to ignite your creativity and nurture your artistic spirit.

You'll have the freedom to explore your own unique and intuitive approach to painting. Whether you prefer oils or acrylics, Rachel will guide you in translating what fascinates you and how you see into experimental sketches and playful colour studies. These delightful artworks can stand alone or serve as inspiration for further studio paintings in the afternoons.

Slowing down to paint amidst diverse and beautiful locations reveals hidden beauty and new ways of seeing that will infuse life and richness into your artwork. Notice the subtle shifts of colour in the shadows, witness the dance of light upon a distant hilltop, feel the gentle hush of wind through the trees, and bask in the vastness of open space.

There will be plenty of tuition, and individual support and encouragement along the way with an emphasis on:

Colour mixing to create atmospheric palettes
Simplifying what you see to get to the essence of what you want to say in your work
Capturing light and depth so you can create paintings that draw your viewers in
Painterly paint application to infuse your paintings with emotion and movement

… all with a focus on developing your way of painting with more confidence. And most of all, capturing the special memories of your holiday.

About Rachel

Rachel Painter, based in Cornwall and Somerset, is a contemporary landscape artist working primarily in oils. Her work tells a story of discovery and wonder into the unexplored. Trading footsteps for spirited brushstrokes, slabs of oil paint and washes of luminous colour she transforms these landscapes into melodies of colour and texture that sing into the void ahead. Like a gateway, Rachel see’s her vibrant paintings as invitations to step into more beauty and confidence, a song to fill the ‘to-be-written’ parts of your story.

With the ambition of always becoming an artist she initially used her passion for creativity to work within communities realising it as a force for good. Having set up community projects, murals and weekly creative workshops for 6 years she felt the call to return to her own painting in late 2018.

Since she has become a full-time artist with work held in multiple galleries and private collections in the UK and abroad. It’s also a joy for Rachel to share available studio paintings, limited edition prints and connect directly with her collectors through her website and her popular monthly e-Artletter.

Discover more at www.rachelpainterartist.com

Locations & visits

EVERYTHING is included in the cost of your painting holiday: tuition, accommodation in a good sized double/twin room with en suite shower-room, all meals, plus pre-dinner aperitivi. Lunch will be taken out at local restaurants in the vicinity of where you will be painting, and dinner will be served back at The Old Olive Press, where you will enjoy freshly home-made traditional Italian dishes.

There’s plenty to do each day, and you can be as busy or as relaxed as you want. Days are structured with tuition in the morning, in different locations and with one-to one advice from Rachel, followed by lunch either in Terenzano or out at a local restaurant. There’s no tuition in the afternoon, it’s free for you to take time off or continue sketching or painting as you want. Towards the end of the day you can have a one-to one tutorial if you want, and then there’s aperitivi ‘al fresco’ followed by a light evening meal.

Your painting holiday usually starts in Terenzano village, ideal for its contrasting scenes, its views of the mountains with small villages in the distance, street scenes (usually with a cat present), interesting doorways, water fountains and olive groves. A little further by car the Medieval town of Fivizzano offers a wealth of interesting things to see and paint, not forgetting the weekly Tuesday market when the town really comes to life. On your last evening we will drop you off in the square after dinner - on a warm summer evening Fivizzano comes alive! Go for a stroll, enjoy a gelato or even a digestivi in one of the many local bars. From Fivizzano a few minutes drive takes you to the beautiful village of Verrucola with narrow winding streets dominated by the ancient castle. Here you will enjoy lunch at Ristorante Locanda al Castello. After lunch there’s a visit to the castle with a guided tour, including the opportunity to see many of the models made by Pietro Cascella – famous Italian sculptor, now deceased. Approximately 30 minutes drive from Terenzano is Monte dei Bianchi, a small mountain village with remains of a monastery, and a recently restored monastic vineyard, Monastero dei Frati Bianchi, with spectacular views. This small family-run vineyard produces around 12,000 bottles a year. Between Terenzano and Monte dei Bianchi is the village of Codiponte where there is a delightful small Romanesque Church, with naïve carved stone column capitals. 5 minutes drive from Terenzano is the now disused Carmelite Convent . The Convent has been recently restored after years of neglect; it is a fine venue for painting and sketching with its frescoed cloister and extensive grounds. The complex is now used to host events, weddings, etc., but there’s no restaurant so a picnic will be provided so you may continue to draw and paint throughout the afternoon.

There will be five days of tuition and one non-tuition day during your holiday, where you will have the opportunity to visit the famous walled city of Lucca, birthplace of the opera composer Puccini. We will drop you off at Aulla railway station where you will take a direct train to Lucca, the journey should take one and a half hours and the ticket is included in the cost of your course.

What to bring

Your tutor will inform you before the course with a suggested list of materials. The following will be provided for you, if necessary:

Portable chairs
Easels
Drawing board

As for clothing, the weather is likely to be warm but it can rain, so a waterproof will be advisable. Good walking shoes are essential.

Non-participating partners

We would like to welcome ‘non-participating partners’ or friends of people attending the painting course but who do not wish to participate themselves. You will be able to accompany your painting partner on their various excursions, which are all to interesting historic locations, and enjoy lunch with them at local traditional restaurants. Or just relax and enjoy the local surroundings and walks.

Getting here

Flights are not included and you will need to book your own flights to Pisa. Many UK airports fly here including Heathrow, Stansted, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol plus many more. We will collect you from Pisa Airport between 11 am and 1pm, a precise pick-up time will be organised closer to the date once we know all our guests arrival times. For guests arriving by train or if you are unable to make it to Pisa in time for collection you can travel to Aulla, which is our nearest mainline train station, where we will collect you. Transfers to Aulla are not included in the holiday. On the day of departure we depart for Pisa Airport shortly after breakfast at around 9 am. It takes approximately one and a half hours door to door. If you need to leave outside of these hours we can arrange transportation for you at an additional cost. If your flight is leaving later in the day, you are able to leave your luggage at Pisa Airport and spend a few hours sightseeing in Pisa. There is a shuttle service (People Mover) which departs for Pisa Centrale every few minutes. For guests wishing to arrive by car, we do not have a car park however there is on-street parking near by.

Cost of the Course

Included in the cost of your painting holiday:

Transportation; including transfers to and from Pisa airport and the mid-week excursion by train to Lucca.
All tuition fees and accommodation.
All meals including breakfast, lunch at restaurants on location, dinner at The Old Olive Press, aperitivi, drinks and wine.

Single: £1550 single occupancy
Sharing: £1425 per person sharing (there is a £250 saving if you share!)