Spend a week painting and exploring the mountains, history, culture, and nature of Valcominica while enjoying the idyllic beauty and quiet of the mountains at villa RUC. As Italy’s first UNESCO world heritage site for its prehistoric rock engravings, the valley and surrounding mountains are rich with beauty and history.

We will be housed at RUC, an artist residency created on an old family estate where artists can live and work. We will be accommodated in two houses: Villa Amati and Casetta. The residency encourages and fosters a dialogue between nature, history, culture, and art and is a special opportunity for painters. 

In our week together we will spend 3 hours each day with focused lessons based on the solid foundations for making successful paintings and sketches. Artists are free to work in gouache, sketching, watercolor, oils or whatever medium they feel most comfortable with. We will focus on principles that span any medium including creating dynamic compositions, working with distance and atmospheric perspective, the importance of edges and using values to create a solid foundation for your work.  We will then come together each evening for wine and a group review so that we can learn and grow during the week from each other’s feedback and then have dinner together.

This workshop is for artists who want to work intensely and grow during this time, where our time will be balanced between individual and group input and feedback.

All meals are provided and we will have several excursions. Some excursions will be to get out and paint, while others will be guided in order for us to learn about the history, such as the 3,000-year-old paleographs that line the riverbed of the valley.

We will be staying with our Italian hosts, who are a great resource and know everything about the Valcamonica. They will be our guides in having us see several local small towns, local artist’s studios, learn about the local history, culture, cuisine, and art. 

This workshop is limited to 6 people and is for all levels of painters working in various media with previous painting experience. You must be in good physical shape since we will be walking with our gear over sometime rugged terrain. Someone who joins the group must be someone who enjoys a small intimate group experience and loves art as well as Italian food, history, and culture.

ITINERARY
The itinerary is subject to change based on the weather and group consensus. We will be combining group outings, guided excursions with certified local guides and painting on our own in towns, out in nature and at home around the villa.

Tuesday, July 28th
Arrive at RUC via provided shuttle transport from the Brescia train station. We will get to know each other and our hosts at the villa and all have dinner together.

Wednesday, July 29th
3 hours painting together in the morning at RUC
Lunch
Free time to paint around the villa or walk and explore the surroundings
Evening Review
Dinner

Thursday, July 30th
Painting at the Iseo lake in the morning learn more about Lake Iseo here
Picnic Lunch
Free afternoon of painting around the lake
Evening review
Dinner

Friday, July 31st
Painting at RUC in the morning
Lunch
Afternoon lesson painting Roman theater and temple ruins
Evening Review

Saturday, August 1st
Guided excursion in the morning to the UNESCO National Park of prehistoric rock engravings
Learn more about Italy’s 1st UNESCO Heritage site and its 3,000-year-old paleoglyphs here
Lunch at a local agriturismo (farmhouse)
Afternoon painting at agriturismo

Sunday, August 2nd
Paint at RUC in the morning
Lunch
Option to go to on a short excursion to paint for the afternoon or stay at RUC
Evening review
Dinner

Monday, August 3rd
Morning Lesson painting together in Cerveno, a small town known for its reenactment of la Via Crucis 
Lunch
Free afternoon to paint in the town or at the villa
Informal exhibition of work created during our week

Workshop Tuition is € 1,900 includes
instruction for 3 hours a day
all meals at the villa or picnics during the week
transportation to and from Brescia train station
all transportation during the week
7 nights stay at RUC villa
all local professionally guided tours

Not included in tuition are
airfare or transport to Brescia
any extra meals or drinks out
art supplies

Payment
A deposit of €550 will hold your place in the workshop and is due by April 30th.
The remaining balance of €1,350 is due by June 30th.

Cancellation Policy
In the event that the workshop is canceled your payment will be returned to you in full.
If you have to cancel for any reason, payment refunds are as follows:
– Cancel on or before May 15th: 75% of payment will be refunded
– Cancel on or before June 15th: 50% of payment will be refunded
– Cancel anytime after June 15th and your payment is non-refundable