Art Day – gently guided creativity in nature and the landscape 

Small Group Day Workshops in Rural Abruzzo 

Spend a slow, nourishing day immersed in drawing and painting in the unspoiled hills of Abruzzo, close to the border of Molise. 

These small group workshops (maximum 8 participants) are an invitation to pause, observe and reconnect with the art of noticing. Surrounded by olive groves, medieval villages and expansive mountain views, we will explore expressive mark-making, sketchbook practice and intuitive responses to the landscape and local botany. 

No rush. No pressure. Just focused creative time in a warm and welcoming setting. 

What the Day Includes 

  • Guided drawing and painting exercises 

  • Exploratory mark-making sessions 

  • Outdoor sketching  

  • Individual gentle tuition  

  • All basic materials available (bring your own sketchbook) 

  • Rustic seasonal refreshments 

My studio is surrounded by olive groves and scented fruit and nut trees. We can collect native flora and experiment with drawing beautiful botanics. 

From the hilltop village of Palmoli, we may sketch rooftops and alleyways or take inspiration from sweeping views toward the Maiella and the distant coast. Each workshop responds to the season — wild florals in spring, dry grasses and heat haze in summer, rich earth tones in autumn. 

 Who It’s For 

  • Beginners seeking confidence and inspiration 

  • Practicing artists wanting dedicated creative time 

  • Visitors to the region looking for a meaningful cultural experience 

  • Anyone curious about slowing down and engaging more deeply with place 

You do not need to be “good at drawing.” You simply need curiosity and willingness to explore. 

The Approach 

My teaching combines over fifteen years of lived experience in this region with a focus on sensory awareness, pattern recognition, and intuitive response. These workshops are less about perfection and more about presence — noticing rhythm, line, light and atmosphere. 

By the end of the day, you will leave with: 

  • New techniques and approaches 

  • A collection of sketchbook studies 

  • Renewed creative energy 

  • A deeper connection to the landscape and nature 

Practical Details 

  • Small group size (max 8)  

  • Half Day workshop (approx. 10am-12.30) 

  • Full-day workshop (approx. 10am–4pm) with light lunch 

  • Private group bookings available 

  • Located near Palmoli, with easy access from Pescara 

 

If you are holidaying in the area, living locally, or travelling with friends, these workshops offer a unique opportunity to experience Abruzzo through creativity. 

Exploratory mark making in warm, inviting and unspoiled surroundings - the art of noticing - guided lessons and countryside wandering. 

I have a wealth of more than 15 years of lived experience, connections, and collaborations here in Abruzzo. A vast knowledge of local cultural history. I have explored these mountainous and coastal roads with keen eyes and spent over a decade restoring an old farmhouse and land, using rustic and natural materials and above all showing care and respect for the environment. That close contact with natural materials and the shaping of a home and surrounding land gives a textured, sensory appreciation of this special terra. 

Creating can truly be a cure for health and happiness. Significant scientific research details how engaging in the arts can improve the functioning of every major organ system in the body; it can have remarkable effects on our well-being. 

Come and spend slow days drawing and painting with guided practice and exercises - inspired by florals, or the olive strewn hillsides.  

It will be an opportunity to experiment and lean into the rhythms and swells, tap into your intuition and ability to notice and discern. Dedicated time to build a sketch book full of glimpses and captured moments that could then when home lead to a whole new body of work. 

I would love to share my knowledge of the area and of making art and hope to create an environment of relaxation and reciprocation and give our hearts and brains a dip into sensory processing, pattern recognition and flowing creation. 

The Greenest Region in Europe – Abruzzo boasts at holding 70% of Europe’s Flora and Fauna. Offering a rich resource for creating including wild orchids and iris’s. Auditory stimulation from a diverse collection of native and emigrating birds from the brightly coloured Oriole’s and Bee – eaters to our local little Hoopie and screeching owl. We are privileged to have the stunning orchestra from the Nightingale’s in the Spring months, and the Nuthatch certainly adds to the clamour! May brings the fireflies, and we have a continual abundance of insects hovering close to the lavender and herbs.