"Expressive Watercolour Art Retreat"
Puglia, Italy

Pick up from Brindisi airport at 2pm and transfer to the Masseria Specula.  On arrival to your accommodation, you will shown to your comfortable room, with time to settle in. Join Sarah Stokes for a welcome drink in the warm evening sun before sitting down with the rest of the art group to enjoy an authentic Italian dinner, enhanced by a glass of locally produced wine.

Your third day unfolds with breakfast, fresh juices and coffee where the group will chat about the day ahead. This is your chance to explore the myriad ways to depict the beautiful textures that you will see on your travels; of weathered doorways, pitted masonry or even the rusting iron of old balconies, softened with tumbling bougainvillea. It is here that we can unleash our playful side and experiment with an abundance of materials and techniques. After lunch, you will be taken to the beautiful town of Nardò where you will be able to take your own photo references, or even indulge in some plein-air painting whilst shading on the steps of a church or under the umbrella of a cafe. I will be on hand to talk about composition and perspective when it comes to choosing and painting larger areas, such as street scenes. We will return back to the Masseria for a period of relaxation and refreshment before heading out into the ancient town of Manduria for the evening. Famed for being the homeland of one of the region’s boldest red wines, Primitivo di Manduria, this town with its cobbled alleys and Romanesque Cathedral oozes with mystery and charm. The place comes to night at life where you’ll be dining al fresco under hundreds of twinkly lights that light up the night sky.

Day five shifts our focus to the grace and movement of animals in their natural habitat, starting with a morning excursion to observe and sketch local flamingos. Their elegant forms and striking colours provide the perfect inspiration for exploring expressive brushstrokes and delicate layering techniques. After returning to the Masseria for a relaxed lunch, Sarah will guide you through the fundamentals of painting birds in watercolour, using the flamingos as our subject. You’ll learn how to blend warm and cool hues to create luminous feathers, capture texture and movement, and suggest sky and sea with minimal yet effective strokes—allowing your artwork to come to life with vibrancy and energy. The late afternoon offers time to unwind, explore, or continue painting at your own pace. For those interested in discovering more of Puglian culture, there are optional extra-curricular activities available through the Masseria, including pasta-making workshops, pottery classes, and more for an extra charge (payable locally). You're are welcome to enquire about these activities upon arrival and arrange them in your free time. As the sun sets over the olive groves and whitewashed villages, the evening is yours to relax and reflect on the day’s work—whether that means enjoying a quiet moment at the Masseria or venturing into town to experience authentic Italian hospitality in one of the charming local restaurants.

Having refuelled with breakfast, this is a great opportunity to transform memories from Lecce into captivating artworks. Dive into your photographs and be inspired to complete your previously started pieces or embark on a new artistic journey. With freedom in your choice of subject you might be inclined to paint a seascape or depict the many animals that you’ve seen on your stay in Italy. To this end Sarah will be carrying out a demonstration in the morning covering the aspect of rendering fur and hair in a expressive yet realistic manner. After lunch there will be free time for you to continue painting, to spend time exploring the expanse of beaches in the local area, or if you are a gastro enthusiast, to partake in an impromptu cooking lesson from one of the Masseria chefs. As the sun sets on our final evening, unique blends of cocktails will be served using locally sourced herbs and spices as a band of local musicians provide us with the perfect musical backdrop to our last evening meal together.

After a hearty Italian breakfast, you will walk in the vicinity of the venue to photograph and forage for objects suitable for our first art session. With olive trees, geckos, pine cones, cacti, and a beach close to hand, you won’t be short of inspiration. Using a mixture of charcoals and black watercolour paint, you will study the skills needed to bring a 3D object to life on the paper, examining tone, proportion and perspective. Light snacks, fruit and refreshments will be available throughout the lunch time period, after which we will dive into our first experiments with colour. Sarah will show you how to mix colours of your choice with just a handful of pigments. You’ll also gain insights into a couple of essential techniques for watercolour, where Sarah will show you how to desaturate colours, blend and lift paint, create soft and hard edges and explore mark marking with your brushes. This will put you in good stead for the myriad of colours that you will want to recreate over the coming days. With this practical session finished you will have time to relax and refresh ready for a beautifully prepared evening meal at the Masseria.

After breakfast, day 4 brings us on to the subject of the Sea in all its majesty. Sarah will teach you four ways of approaching the subject in which you carry out a series of mini studies covering the techniques involved in painting a range of situations such as crashing waves, sea foam, rocks, and boats. You will learn how to create soft and hard edges to good effect to denote waves; masking fluid, gel pens and gouache to create convincing sea foam; splattering techniques to create interesting texture in rocks; layering techniques and effective colour mixing to create boat paraphernalia. After lunch you will head out to the beautiful marina town of Santa Marina al Bagno where you will have chance to watch the waves crash against the rocks and the boats bobbing in the marina. You will have ample time to paint, photograph or simply relax on the beach of this charming town, before heading back to a delicious evening meal back at the Masseria.

After a nutritious breakfast, we will embark on our day trip to the wonderful city of Lecce. Famed for its baroque buildings, Roman amphitheatre, Cathedral and Churches, it is one of the most awe inspiring cities in the world. It is filled with ancient palaces and squares, vibrant cafes, museums and restaurants… ideal for painting plein-air, gathering photo references or simply for taking time out to absorb the atmosphere. On our return to the Masseria we will have a relaxing evening dinner over which we can share our experiences of the city and the retreat as a whole and make plans for our final day. ​

Enjoy breakfast together, exchange any last contacts and catch the 11 am transfer to Brindisi and Bari airport arriving there around 12.15pm/1.15pm. Please note that the Masseria is very much in the heart of rural Puglia. As such the majority of our trips will be via mini bus with the journeys ranging from 15 to 60 minutes in duration. All transportation is covered in the cost of your retreat. ​