Painting and drawing holidays in Italy for all levels of ability

Provider: Paint Italy
Location: Cocconato 14023, Asti, Italy

Participants: 10 or less

Phone: 0039 335 8757475

Holiday / Activity Overview:

We offer fully inclusive art holidays in the beautiful Monferrato Hills in Piemonte northern Italy. Located between Turin (the former capital city) and Asti we are in the foothills of the Alps. Professional tuition is provided by Joy Moore, an English painter resident in Italy since 2006. You will stay with us (Joy and Ken Moore) in our Italian farmhouse in a relaxed family atmosphere in the Italian countryside, enjoying excellent home grown and home cooked food, and local wines. We offer 3 different art courses – “Painting for all Abilities”, “An Italian Sketchbook and “Can’t Draw, Won’t Draw. All courses are suitable for anyone interested in art – from experienced artists to people who have always thought they would take up painting and drawing one day. Non painting partners are welcome. The Painting for all Abilities course runs for 6 days and is tailored to meet the needs of the individual participants, using a full range of media. The Italian Sketchbook course (4 days) is more structured and you will spend all of your time out and about sketching, and take home with you a wonderful and varied visual diary of your holiday in Italy. The Drawing course (4 days) is completely structured and is mostly studio based. It explores a comprehensive range of drawing techniques from linear perspective to automotive drawing. It will develop your traditional drawing skills and introduce you to a rich and experimental approach to drawing. Subject matter includes landscape – hills mountains and vineyards; buildings – from ghibelline castles to crumbling farmhouses; and people – bustling local markets and cafes. Course numbers are kept to a maximum of 6 to ensure individual tuition. All materials are provided for the Sketchbook and Drawing courses but you are asked to bring your own materials for the painting course. Course dates for 2012 are as follows: Can’t draw won’t draw: 3rd – 8th May; 4th – 9th October. An Italian sketch book: 10th – 15th May; 5 - 10 July; 19 - 24 July (fully booked); 30th August – 4th September. Painting for all abilities: 7th – 14th June; 18th – 25th September.

Your Tutor is Joy Moore. She is a graduate of Birmingham Art School. She lived in West London for 25 years where she became well established as an artist exhibiting regularly in the UK. and in international art fairs. Since arriving in Italy in 2006 she has become well known, and besides being adopted as the local artist – completing commissions for the local mayor, she exhibits widely in northern Italy and France. She is an experienced tutor and likes to focus on the personal development of individual students. If you are an experienced artist she will encourage you to push at your boundaries and try new approaches. If you are a complete beginner she will find your strengths and help you to develop them.

Pricing information

Please note that the number of days quoted above for all courses refers to the duration of the actual course. Two additional days should be added for arrival departure. The day of arrival for painting courses is Tuesday. The course starts on Wednesday morning and finishes on Monday evening, departure is on the following Tuesday – a stay of 7 nights. For the Sketchbook and Drawing courses arrival is on Thursdays and the courses run from Friday morning to Monday evening. Departure is in the following Tuesday – a stay of 5 nights. Costs per person Can’t Draw, Won’t draw, and Italian Sketchbook Courses - 5 nights £550 per person, single occupancy in twin or double room £500 per person in shared twin or double room £450 for a non painting partner sharing with a painting partner Painting for all Abilities Course 7 nights- £750 per person, single occupancy in twin or double room £700 per person in a shared twin or double room £625 for a non painting partner sharing with a painting partner This includes: • Accommodation • All meals except for any lunches taken in a cafe • Wine served at lunch and dinner • Transfers to and from Turin and Milan airports • All trips • All tuition

Your accommodation:

You will be staying in our family home – a large Italian farmhouse with terrace, courtyard garden and large main garden. All our rooms either twin or double are available for single or double occupancy. They are comfortably furnished, light and airy, one has a small balcony and one opens out onto the garden terrace. We want to welcome you to our home where you can share the communal atmosphere of our house. There are plenty of places to sit and relax outside. Joy is a keen gardener and the courtyard garden is full of flowers and plants, making excellent additional subjects for painting and drawing. In addition we have a large well furnished lounge with beautiful vaulted ceilings. We have a fairly extensive library with a large section of art history books and novels which you are welcome to use. We also have a selection of art DVDs which you can play on our large wall mounted TV, plus a selection of music and films. Meals, with home cooked local food (including our own produce) are served outside on the covered terrace in the warmer months. We have lived here permanently since 2006 and are very well integrated into the local community. We speak fluent Italian and have a well informed knowledge of the area enabling us to provide you with a rich experience of the real Italy. If you speak some Italian you will have the opportunity to practice it with us and the interesting people you will meet here. Many of our guests have commented that our knowledge of the local area and people has made their holiday that much more special.

About the local area:

Our farmhouse - Ca’du Ciarott is in a “frazione” of Cocconato, a delightful romanesque town in the province of Asti,. We are nestled in the gentle rolling Monferrato hills which are full of history with many mediaval hilltop towns, castles, churches and villas. Beautiful old textured buildings nestle in the sunshine. There are stunning views from the house and surroundings with many beautiful walks you can take from our farmhouse. The region is known for its food and wine. The Slow Food movement was born in the beautiful baroque city of Turin, the former capital city of Italy, some 25 kilometres to the west. Many food and wine festivals are held throughout the year selling all the locally produced wines, cheeses, nuts, cakes, chocolates, honey, pastas and cured meats. Local markets are held weekly in a number of local towns, notably on Wednesdays and Saturdays one of the largest markets in Italy is held in nearby Asti, famous for its mediaeval architecture and its spectacular Palio held every September. To the north we have the beautiful Lago Maggiore with the Pescatore, Madre and Bella islands and the famous gardens at Verbania. To the west are the sun-drenched Langhe hills where Italy’s best wines are made – including Barolo –“the king of wines and the wine of Kings” And surrounding the area on two sides are the magnificent Alps – which can be seen from all around the Cocconato area. The area is rich in history. The ancient pilgrimage route - the Via Francigena passed through this area and consequently there are many Romanesque churches in the countryside. There are many castles dating back to the 9th century when the area was invaded by the Hungarians and the Saracens, others decorated with their Guelph or Ghibelline turrets indicate their loyalties in the wars between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. And then there are the many beautiful palaces and hunting lodges built by the Dukes of Savoy in and around Turin, when the area was part of Savoia before the unification of Italy in 1861.

How to Get Here:

Turin and Milan are our nearest airports (note there are 3 airports serving Milan). They are all used by international carriers. Turin is closest, followed by Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate and Milan Bergamo – in that order. If you want to come by train, Asti station is our nearest and is well connected to other stations throughout Italy – coming from Europe you will probably need to change at Milan. Pick up from any of these airports or railway station is included in the price of the holiday. If you want to drive here, our house is easily located by satnav (if you don’t have one we can give you directions) and parking is available