painting holidays & art workshops - oil painting, watercolor and clay sculpture workshops in Tuscany

PAINTING HOLIDAYS & ART WORKSHOPS IN TUSCANY

THE DAY AT OUR ART WORKSHOPS starts with breakfast in the medieval dining hall. Immediately following will be a demonstration and lesson in watercolor, oil painting or clay sculpture. Subject matter includes vineyards, olive groves, the sculptural Chianti valley, 15th century buildings and the lush gardens of the villa where we will be staying in Tuscany. Painting classes will be taught en plein air, but some lectures may be given indoors. There will be a critique in the late afternoon. Dinner is at 8PM. In the evening there will be a slide lecture, social time, and an evening stroll. When we are not painting, cooking or sculpting we will be taking day trips in Tuscany to Siena, the medieval jewel, and Florence, the cradle of Renaissance art.

2008 Workshop Dates: July 12-19, and July 19-25, 2008.

THE TRIP COORDINATOR, Carol Marano has spent many years living, studying and working in Tuscany. She is fluent in Italian and is there to assist you in every way to make your learning vacation as comfortable and memorable as possible.

TUSCAN COOKING SCHOOL with world-renowned Tuscan chefs are held in English in the villa's kitchen where the freshest organic ingredients are used to create typical regional cuisine. Cooking class participants work hands-on in the creation and preparation of authentic Tuscan specialties, including antipasti, home-made pastas and accompanying sauces, open-fire grilled meat specialties, rustic salads, and dessert favorites such as tiramisù and cantucci (almond biscotti). All cooking lessons include lunch and wine. For more information, see a description of our cooking classes and wine tastings.

TUSCANLANDSCAPEPAINTING - instructor TBA
Our staple course, this motivating study of the varied and romantic Tuscan landscape offers the artist innumerable inspirations and an opportunity to achieve artistic breakthrough through a newly acquired vision.
Taught in watercolor and oil, the course will address the needs of every level of student with attentive individualized instruction. It will focus on maximizing the medium through the guided expertise of the instructor. Composition, color theory, perspective and design will be discussed and demonstrated at length while each artist will be encouraged to produce a series of finished paitnings that reflect the new vision.

Alice Riordan, sculpture instructor
Alice Riordan is a sculptor, painter and teacher from Old Westbury, Long Island. She has won numerous prestigious awards for her bronzes and her work can be found in collections all over the world. She has delighted in sharing her passion and knowledge of sculpture with her students for over fifteen years. She specializes in the human figure and will be working with self-drying clay.

The Trip Coordinator
Carol A. Marano, Director
Carol is an artist and a teacher from Huntington, Long Island. She holds a masters degree in Art Education from Columbia University in New York and has done advanced graduate work in Renaissance art history. She has been painting in watercolor and oils for over twenty years and has exhibited her work in New York and abroad. She has led many successful trips throughout Italy over the past ten years. She attended L'Università degli Studi, Siena, Italy in 1978 where she became fluent in Italian language.

FRESCO PAINTING new! Carol Marano, instructor
The ancient art of fresco painting dates back to Roman times and was brought to perfection during the Italian Renaissance. This luminous, clear, earthy technique is an artist's victory which surpasses the limitations of more conventional mediums and challenges the artist with its spontaneity and transparency.
We will have the option of working on lighter weight, portable panels constructed with stretcher strips and a support, or working directly on terracotta tiles, also portable but somewhat heavier .
We will prepare our own supports, mix lime plaster and work with pure ground pigments (diluted) in the same way as Michelangelo and Tiepolo. During our excursion days, we will visit in situ several 14th century frescoes in Siena and Florence.

Staking out the wall area.	Beginning to chip away at the wall.	The bare wall exposed.	Wetting the wall for the first layer	Mixing the ariccio	Applying the first layer of plaster (ariccio)

Checking for sharp points on dried ariccio	Mixing the intonaco (final layer of plaster)	Smoothing the final surface	Applying pigment through punched holes.	First strokes of color.	Finished Frescoe!