Summer 2016 b

Dorset Artist in Italy - Stephen Yates
I recently asked a friend, what they
would expect from a painting holiday
in Italy? This was her response…”I’m
not really sure. I’ve always been such
a sort of rogue artist, doing my own
thing, alone, that I think it would be a
very new and interesting experience to
do art with other people.
“I’ve always been proud of being self taught too. I
paid attention to other artists and used common sense
and instinct to figure out techniques. I learned how
to work with power tools and could joint wood and
make furniture in woods, smelt, heat, twist and turn
metals by the age of fourteen. I learned to sculpt by
sculpting wood. I learned to paint a mural by painting
a mural. I learned to throw pots and hand build in
ceramics, by doing just that: doing. Call me a handson
learner. I’ve bought a few books. Booklets really.
The rest was trial and error. It was at times, a lonely
education.
But really, what I wouldn’t have given back then to be
taken under the wing of an aged master artist (traditional
and digital, if you’ve got one) willing to teach
me all he has gleaned before he departs this mortal
coil, my very own Guru. I could place an ad in the
newspaper: ‘Humble fast-learning disciple seeks austere
but patient old master willing to share his or her
genius. Fee negotiable. Have supplies. Available immediately.
Maggie Hampton via the website link for
Must tolerate cats and classic artistic neurosis. Please
Traditionally in Renaissance Italy, Leonardo da Vinci’s
father, after seeing his son’s talent, apprenticed
him to Andrea del Verrocchio. Verrocchio had studied
under the great artist Donatello. Michelangelo was
apprenticed to the most fashionable painter in Florence
at the time, Domenico Ghirlandaio. They lived
with their masters, under constant instruction, honing
their skills. And just as it is in any area of study, be it
science or psychology, the torch was passed and the
flame more refined. My intension is to offer a structure
for artists to be able to develop their painting with
a balance of instruction and demonstration and given
real time to develop.
Arriving on a late flight to Pescara, Italy, in May
this year, there was a sudden glimpse of this beautiful
ancient hilltop Town of Capestrano. The hilltop
fort is illuminated and a striking image against the
warm night sky. The Villa Casa Dei Papaveri is situated
right opposite the beautiful hilltop Town. For
me, there was immediately an overwhelming sense of
peacefulness and tranquility in this ancient location
and the very next morning wondering onto the terrace,
my vision was complete, some absolutely stunning
views of Capestrano, with its Medieval Castle
and Churches.
The plan is to create a ‘hands on’ Painting Holiday
in September 2016 and May 2017 from this beautiful
location. If you and your friends are interested in actual
dates and would like to book then please contact
Maggie Hampton via the website link for an enquiry.
Or contact the tutor Stephen Yates 07720892944 to
ask specific questions about the painting course in
both Watercolours, and Acrylics.
Capestrano Painting holidays – Where you stay and what
it costs.
You stay in bright, well-decorated bedrooms in a beautiful
hillside Villa. Casa Dei Papaceri. We’ve put in new, comfy
mattresses and original artwork on the walls.
There is a large communal sitting room and a kitchen/
dining room for leisurely breakfasts and mouth-watering
evening meals. There are facilities at the Villa for personal
tea-/coffee-making.
EVERYTHING is included in the cost of your holiday:
• all tuition fees and accommodation
• local transportation (including transfers to and
from Pescara or Rome airport; including our mid week excursion
to local restaurants and riverside painting venues.
• all meals including breakfast, gourmet picnics
on location, pre-dinner aperitifs, dinner at the mill or at
small and friendly local restaurants with regional Italian
dishes and wines. A BBQ in a remote location in the
mountains...
All you have to do is to get to Pescara or Rome airports,
and we do the rest! What it costs
Our policy is not to discriminate against people coming
on their own by charging a vast supplement for single
rooms. So, if you are coming on your own you can have
your own individual bedroom. We would, however, like
friends (and married couples) to share if it is at all possible
and there will be a saving if you do so. And if you share
with a non-participating partner he or she will enjoy a generous
discount of £200 for the painting holiday. The Villa
is arranged as four self-contained bedrooms three en suite,
and one shared, but, during a painting course, we all come
together and we use the big reception room in
our principal apartment as our communal meeting place, or
the wonderful terrace outside.
Because The Villa is a building of historic importance and
listed by the Italian government, we cannot make major
alterations, so some guests will have to share a bathroom
with either one or two other people. BUT we do have three
bedrooms, each with en suite shower rooms for those who
want their own bathrooms. The cost is £895 All prices include
the painting courses.
* Single: £955 single occupancy
Deposit and balance
A deposit of £250 per person is required to confirm your
booking. The balance for your holiday is due eight weeks
before arrival. Please note our cancellation conditions set
out below. (We recommend that you take out normal holiday
insurance, including cancellation insurance.)
How to make your payment
We ask you to make your payment by direct bank transfer
and we will give you our bank details for you to make this
transaction.
Cancellations: A handling charge of £75 per person per
course will be levied on all cancellations. In addition, if
you have to cancel four to eight weeks before departure, a
charge of 40%of the total price is payable; at two to four
weeks, 60%; at one to two weeks, 80%; at less than one
week, 90%. Once the course has started, 100% is payable.
We reserve the right to cancel any course at two months’
notice and, where possible, provide you with an alternative
course.
37 call today.’…”
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Getting there
For our UK guests:
You can book your own flights (there are good connections
from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, East Midlands,