GODDESS OF THE LAND PAINTING RETREAT

This early Fall week will be all about painting and creating a body of work inspired by the village, the natural landscapes, botanicals, and local birds and animals, along with experiencing life with the locals and enjoying the deliciousness of the territory’s food and wine traditions. Daily, we will experience painting workshops to open up your creativity and help you tap into the fun of painting with different media: creative watercolor, pastels, acrylics, and drawing with charcoal, pen and ink, pastels and pencils. All materials will be available, but you can bring yours if you prefer. 

This intimate painting retreat, limited to up to ten participants, ensures you receive lots of personal attention to guide you through the painting process.

 

A friendly, supportive environment will encourage musings on creativity and what it means to “live life as a work of art”: with suggested readings, walks, yoga, screenings, and conversations, we will share tools that inspire us and help us stay focused on a life we truly savor and enjoy.

Every day, yoga will open and close the day for those who wish to. The morning will start after a healthy breakfast with a painting session with artists Silvia Gallini and Outi Harma. Our facilities will take turns holding the painting session, and you’ll be introduced to various working methods. Silvia and Outi have a playful and explorative way of approaching the painting process. We will explore unusual, quirky subject matters using various techniques and tools.

We will gather for lunch in our lovely villa, where a local chef will cook for us using local, organic ingredients from local sources and farms. After an afternoon rest in the garden or in our rooms, we will have time to continue exploring painting, to take a walk in the olive orchards, to go on a local adventure, and to have an evening Aperitivo. One time, we will go to Siena to experience the magnificence of Mediaeval architecture and painting; another, we will take a cooking class to learn some recipes specific to this area. 

Dinners will all be where we can share our experiences and thoughts over delicious food prepared just for us. 

For those who wish to do so, the day will close with gentle yoga and meditation for deep, restful sleep. 

This is your week to immerse yourself in Beauty, painting, and restoration of the senses with a small group of like-minded, inspiring women. Your sketchbook will forever record your insights and discoveries.

We will speak both English and Italian.

What’s included: 

• 8 nights in a single or double occupancy bedroom in a historical villa in the village with a private bathroom
• A daily art workshop
• Daily solo studio time
• Daily breakfasts, local home-cooked lunch, and dinner
• Daily yoga and meditation (if you wish)
• Unlimited local wine, drinks, and snacks
• Guided visit to Siena
• Shuttle from and to the airport 
• Cooking class
• All materials: acrylic paint, easels, sketchbooks, paintbrushes, pastels, and anything needed for the workshops. Students are also welcome to bring their own materials, but everything will be provided.

 This is a small intimate painting retreat with only up to 10  participants.

You will receive lots of personal attention to guide you through the painting process.

SILVIA GALLINI

Artist, teacher, filmmaker

This is me, you’re in my website :) You can browse around to see my paintings and some of my life path so far. I am Italian, born and raised in the North of Italy near Milan, and I studied Italian and Filmmaking both in Italy and in Los Angeles, where I received an MFA in Film Directing from the American Film Institute, one of the States’ top film schools. Meanwhile, I also studied Painting privately with Joe Blaustein, an expressionist master of Southern California, and became a painter and an art teacher as well. 

Today, I live in a magical little village in Tuscany's Valdorcia region, where I teach, paint, and organize retreats. 

See more of Silvia's Paintings: https://www.silviagallini.me/

OUTI HARMA

Artist, teacher, dancer

Outi is a Finnish artist based in Los Angeles with over 20 years of improvisational painting that merges the visible with the invisible, movement, dance, and performance art. Her artwork is characterized by her passion for female empowerment and female archetypes. Her improvisational approach to painting allows images to appear spontaneously as she mixes and plays with colors, and her workshops and artwork take you to playful, childlike realms to spiritual and psychological depths where the soul has room to expand. 

 Investment: $3875 per person in a double occupancy room; $4275 in a single occupancy room. Early birds by May 31, 2024, enjoy a $200 discount. Scholarships and a special 1 + 1 (bring a friend) discount are available.

We would love to hear from you!

Please email us for more info and to register:

Silvia Gallini: acrisya@gmail.com

Outi Harma: outiarts@gmail.com