painting retreat in Italy

In May I spent an unbelievably luxurious week in the Marche region of Italy. I went to learn from Richard Claremont, and stayed at the stunningly beautiful Hotel Leone. Wow.

Our days were packed. We began with breakfast followed by studio time. Then it was time for lunch or an outing. We followed that with even more studio time. We ended the day with an exquisite multi-course meal - including lots of wine and time to chat. Between quick color-mixing or composition exercises, and soaking up gorgeous views and inspiration at every turn, this was an incredible trip. Richard is not only a great painter, he is an excellent teacher. He has a way of simplifying things and taking each artist further along on their own path.

One of the best parts of the trip was the camaraderie of the group. We had such a great collection of excellent painters - from beginners to very advanced painters. We all got along, listened to music, gave each other feedback, and even danced around the studio to get ourselves ready to paint. In just one week I made new friends and cemented previous friendships. What an absolute dream!!

I did a lot of learning, thinking, sketching, planning, and some painting on this trip. I'll do another post with some of the art I worked on. For now, here are some photos from the trip. Enjoy!