Italian art; a subject so vast it’s hard to begin to get the measure of it, well, certainly not here. Where do you start: Etruscans, the Roman Republic, Renaissance, Futurism or Transavantgarde?
If you stop to consider Italy’s achievements in this field it is enough to make you put the paints back into a cupboard and do something else instead.
Sometimes our own expectations can actually prevent us from trying something. How familiar is, ‘
I’d like to, but I don’t have the confidence.’ or ‘
I’ve always enjoyed painting but was never much good at it.’ I’m a firm believer in the philosophy: if you enjoy something, why not just do it?’
Also, if you are serious about taking up painting, developing a talent or simply working in a different environment, why not treat yourself to a
Flavours painting holiday in
Umbria,
Tuscany or
Sicily? Inspiration really is all around and there is no excuse not to put something down on paper.
For years I would browse art supply shops, fascinated by all the colours and possibilities contained within the empty sketch boxes and the highly textured papers. I would buy flat tins of crayons, oil pastels and drawing pencils. When I arrived home I would draw, immediately feel dissatisfied with the results and so the art materials would end up in the drawers of my desk.
One fateful day a famous art shop on the Charing Cross Road had a sale to celebrate the watercolour exhibition held at the Tate. ‘OK’, I thought, ‘this is it’ and I bought the smallest box of watercolour pans that came with the tiniest brush and a block of 300 gsm watercolour paper 148 x 100mm – postcard size.
I put colour on paper, added water; tried adding water first then paint, experimented with line and tone and pattern. As each piece dried I pinned it on the fridge and started my own exhibition. They were tentative, crazy things.
I then copied a book cover and there was potential in what I had done. Suddenly I couldn’t stop and ever since I have been painting most days and my work has evolved through practise not raw talent.
Most of my work has a strange perspective but it adds to the quirkiness. I have my own style. I can’t draw hands and have two wooden models which I gaze at regularly in the hope some divine inspiration will be forthcoming, sadly not yet!
I have a desire to paint; it’s always been with me hidden in my art history post graduate qualifications. It was only this year, that I thought, ‘No, this is my opportunity’ and booked a
Flavours painting course. I am so very glad I did.
My tutor, Penelope Anstice, was a delight and knew instinctively what tiny tweak would lift my work. It’s funny how a professional who understands and practises their subject knows the road and can offer a map with clear directions.
I found that throughout the course and the whole holiday filled me with excitement and that sense of possibility which also comes from being around like-minded people.
My fellow painters were so talented but I wasn’t weighed down by this as we were all there for the same reason: to develop work at whatever level and it was a privilege to see what was going on around.
To sound almost effusive, I found my painting holiday such an inspiration I think of it each time I put brush to paper and I know that I will return. Why not join me next year? As Henry Miller once said, ‘One’s destination is never a place but a new way of seeing the world.’
Recreate the dramatic landscape of
Tuscany,
Umbria and
Sicily on a
Flavours Painting holiday next year.
Some say it is essential that we place ourselves in
the beginners’ role regularly and I want to learn, to actually devote a period
of time to something that makes me happy. It is so easy to put things off and
say, ‘Oh when I retire I will have time to……’ but it is important to seize the
day as we never know what might be round the corner and if not now, then when?
Tuscany’s landscapes, cultivated for thousands of years in wise harmony with nature, are giant artworks in themselves. Simply visiting the place is almost an Italian art course in itself. Small medieval hilltop towns overlook rolling countryside soothingly decorated with vineyards, silvery olive groves, and the region’s signature tree: the "sinuous, flame-tall cypresses” so admired by DH Lawrence, who thought they hid the secrets of the Etruscans.
For painting holidays in Italy, visiting Florence is an absolute must. The capital of Tuscany and Italy’s hub of Renaissance art, few cities in the world have such a rich and well-preserved artistic heritage as Florence.
Throughout its lifespan, the palace has been used to display some of Italy’s most prestigious masterpieces, with the Medici setting aside rooms to house the finest works. As time as passed, more and more areas of the building have evolved into art-space. But, as you’ll discover on a painting holiday here, even the building itself is a work of art; every aspect of the Uffizi has been remarked upon for its form, composure and artistic expression and once attracted artists such as da Vinci and Michelangelo who would come here to study and marvel at the works and seek inspiration. It’s oldest exhibition space, the Tribuna, is an elaborately decorated, domed hall hung with Bronzino portraits and, outside the main galleries, its corridors are adorned with fascinating frescoes; its central courtyard has views through to the river Arno and the cafe terrace overlooks a breath-taking Florentine skyline - painting holidays in Italy don’t get much better than this!
The second most important museum in Italy after the Vatican museum in Rome, and referenced countless times in popular literature, it’s not to see why painting holidays in Italy will undoubtedly lead you here. The Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Florence and, in the peak summer months, waiting times can be up to five hours. To avoid the longer queues, advance booking is advisable, as pre-booked ticket holders are given fast-track access via a priority queuing system. The other option is to arrive before opening time, avoiding both the booking fee and long queues, but with the drawback of an early start!
No wonder it’s a magnet for art lovers of all kinds – from those taking painting lessons or courses, copying great masters in galleries, or sketching streetscape watercolours, to those simply immersing themselves in the atmosphere.
For breathtaking aerial views of the Florence, climb the steps in the Duomo, or its Campanile (bell tower). Just as stunning is the sight of the River Arno from the medieval, shop-lined Ponte Vecchio, the only historic bridge to survive Nazi bombing.
In fact, the city is so saturated with beautiful buildings and artworks, it’s too much for some people, who literally faint from sensory overload – a recognised medical condition known as ‘Florence Syndrome’. So be aware: that dizzy and disoriented tourist on an Italian painting holiday, stumbling round the square, might not have been overdoing the Frascati, only the frescoes.
