OVERVIEW

This will be our second CONTEMPORARY MIXED MEDIA course run here in Italy alongside mixed media artist KITT ATHAY. The first was so popular and successful we decided to announce another one for 2025, this time in a stunning private villa with spacious grounds, a formal Italian garden, private chapel, pool, and a large airy ground floor cantina which will be our studio for the week.

English born artist Kitt Athay is a talented printmaker and a fun, enthusiastic teacher, happy to share the secrets of his materials and techniques with you. He will be working alongside Julian to offer you the chance to leave with a beautiful and personal mixed media painting of your own in a week, while staying at our historic villa, beside the beautiful medieval Umbrian hilltop town of Panicale.

The rather unique course has been designed carefully with each day having specific tasks - starting with our research on day one touring local hilltop towns and countryside of this beautiful area of the Umbrian/Tuscan borders, photographing or drawing to give each of us something personal to work with. The following day we will split the group to develop our sketches into designs or watching a demonstration of Kitt’s method. After that, this will be a daily workshop, all of us working together, and dividing our time between studio time, art and cultural visits, lunches, trips to local towns, aperitivi and dinners out, or simply relaxing and enjoying the beautiful Italian Renaissance gardens of our Villa.

Each guest will complete their own personal piece of work; sourced, drawn, painted and worked up in mixed media by hand during the week, and ready to take back home.

This is a general outline of the week (subject to change, weather permitting etc.)
Day 1 - Arrivals, aperitivo at the Villa, orientation and introductions - dinner together at the Villa.
Day 2 - Half the group goes touring the local area with Julian, looking for ideas and images - while the other half work with Kitt, going through the process and watching him demonstrate his method. After lunch at the villa we swap round for the afternoon. The evening features an evening stroll up to the local town of Panicale for an aperitivo together and dinner in town.
Day 3 - The morning and afternoon will be spent working at the studio on our sketches/photos to create your personal design. Dinner will be taken together at the Villa
Day 4 - This is the day we work together in the studio but also have time for an afternoon visit to Lake Trasimeno - with an Apericena and wine-tasting by a local sommelier.
Day 5 - Another studio day will be interripted by lunch at the villa and, after a long day’s work, we will have a Pizza dinner in a local Tuscan town - Chiusi
Day 6 - Finishing off our pieces. Lunch will again be at the villa - followed by an afternoon to perfect your piece, and finished off with a celebratory final dinner at the Villa.
Day 7 - After breakfast we will go through the images, present a final critique for everyone to feel they have understood the process and have an idea of what they might like to do as a next step on their individual artist’s journeys. Followed by check-out.

ACCOMMODATION

Our Villa, located in a small hamlet just on the outskirts of the picturesque Umbrian village of Panicale, is called LeMura and it offers sweeping views across the hills and Lake Trasimeno. The property contains various common spaces, a large entrance hall, several salotti (salon rooms), a limonaia which is now an ample sunroom with exterior kitchen, an outdoor terrace on the first floor, spacious gardens and park, a private chapel, olive grove and, of course, a swimming pool hidden amongst the olives.

Designed and decorated in the ecelctic Empire Style, the exterior boasts its warm, glowing hues of apricot and melon and the interior invites you in with a mix of international antiques, playful pastel colour schemes and original frescoes. The villa is filled with interesting vignettes, corner scenes and contemplative vistas wherever you look.

From a noble country home worn away and forgotten in time to the careful and loving restoration a few hundreds of years later, Villa LeMura shares its story with each visitor and guest who walks through her doors. Originally the summer residence for a noble family from Perugia, Villa LeMura started out in 1690 as a working farm and over the years was gradually transformed into the stunning villa you can still experience today with many of its original features painstakingly restored.

The surrounding land was used mainly for tobacco, silk , wine and grain and in the tower of the villa it is still possible to see where the tobacco was dried and where the silk worms hatched. The interior frescoes were painted by Mariano Piervittori who worked on many of the historic buildings all over Umbria and also on the most important residences in Perugia. The current owner discovered this forgotten gem in sad repair 20 years ago and set out to bring it back to its former glory, transforming it back to a place of beauty and comfort, somewhere to experience Italy at its finest.

CUISINE

The food is simple, delicious and Italian, using fresh ingredients from the local markets and prepared by the onsite chef in the hotel’s restaurant. We will enjoy the tastes of locals wines, as well as the seasonal bounty of local produce. We will be enjoying our meals in several locations throughout the week. Breakfast is provided at the villa each morning and our dinners and lunches will be split at various restaurants in town as well as out on our daytrips. There are a few occasions during the week where guests are free to explore on their own.

SURROUNDING AREA

Guests will not only enjoy the house and encompassing estate, but also the richness of the Italian cities in nearby regions. Day trips will allow students to add arts, culture, adventure, and natural beauty to their retreat experience. Trips include visits to see smaller villages that few tourists get to enjoy, and get a true education and taste of Italy with stops at some of our favourite cafes and "trattorias".

ART

All our courses are carefully designed for complete beginners with no previous experience as well as intermediate artists who would like to improve their skills/techniques, and, of course, practicing artists looking for a new challenge. This etching course is no different, and we are excited to be able to offer you this chance to extend your artistic repertoire.

JULIAN HYZLER

Julian, the main host and instructor, has 30 years of experience teaching students of all ages and abilities, and always strives to create a friendly and relaxed studio atmosphere. Read more about his story on the ABOUT page. These unique courses also reflect the culture and history of the area and are interwoven with art-history excursions, providing inspiration, variety and interest throughout the week. Above all, this is a real opportunity for developing artists to work in a small group alongside two experienced teachers.

KITT ATHAY

Kitt Athay is our guest tutor for our CONTEMPORARY MIXED MEDIA ITINERARIES due to his specialist knowledge in the field. He has been an established contemporary mixed-media artist for over 20 years, exhibiting his work extensively in the UK, the US, Hong Kong and Singapore. He is also very successfully represented by various galleries in the UK.

Having had what he describes as a ‘Huckleberry Finn’ childhood in Somerset, UK, which set his lifelong passion for being outdoors. He initially studied art at City of Bath College, and has been painting professionally since 2009. His love for Italian landscape painting is clear in his enchanting and evocative scenes. He works with a wide range of materials including pen and ink, wood stain, acrylics and varnishes - attaching collage materials such as sheet music, vintage maps, botanical diagrams and newspaper cuttings to canvas and use these as a background to my paintings, giving a sense of history and storytelling to the work. The viewer initially sees a landscape or Italian village and then on closer inspection finds a whole world of text and illustration lying beneath the many layers of the painting. Kitt now divides his time between the studio, walking his faithful dog, sketching and teaching art, as well as many watersports. He has exhibited at many art fairs and exhibitions in London, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, San Francisco, and the Hamptons to name a few. Many UK galleries now exhibit his original artwork including Clarendon Fine Art and Quantum Contemporary Art. It will be a real pleasure for to work alongside him to create your own wonderful mixed-media piece during our week together.

DETAILS / PRICING

• 7 days / 6 nights

• Inclusive Retreat Price £2495/pp for UPGRADED SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY
  £150 discount per person for shared room (only 2 rooms / 4 spaces available for this option)

• Deposit to hold space = £750

• Max # Guests = 12
  * Final balance due 4 weeks before retreat start date.
  Read full cancellation policy in our Terms & Conditions.
  
  

INCLUDED*:

Accommodation
Daily breakfast
Use of villa site
Selected lunches and dinners
Wine during provided meals
Transfers from Chiusi railway station to the villa
Transportation to/from day trips
Daily on-site art classes
Daily mixed media classes and supplies
Guided tours of area
Various trips to regional towns
Private olive oil tasting
Wine tasting apericena
Use of art supplies
Tips & taxes

* airfare not included, selected meals during day-trips not included

LOCATION:

Countryside on border of Tuscany and Umbria
Nearest town: Panicale, Umbria
Nearest major airports: Fiumicino Airport (FCO - Rome), Galileo Galilei Airport (PSA - Pisa)
Nearest local airports: Sant'Egidio Airport (PEG - Perugia), Florence Amerigo Vespucci Airport (FLR - Florence)
Nearest train station: Chiusi-Chianciano Terme
Complimentary transfers will be available from Chiusi station between 2:00-5:00pm on arrival day, and one transfer will be offered on departure day at 10:30 am from villa to station. For guests arriving or departing outside of these times, taxis are available. Single and group airport transfers are possible and pricing discussed upon request. Train transfer from all airports is quite easy, and we will help guide you on the directions.

SUGGESTED PACKING:

Besides the basic packing and travel needs, here are a few things to think about bringing with you.
ART SUPPLIES ARE PROVIDED but feel free to bring any personal supplies you prefer
Comfortable shoes
Plug adaptors / converters (standard EU plug)
Hat, Journal, Sunscreen