Tuscany Painting Retreat: The Figure in the Landscape with Antony Williams & Caroline Bays
🗓️ August 28th to September 4th 2027
🎨 Oil & Acrylic Paint
Full Board Accommodation: from €2,295 for 7 nights; Tuition Fee: €500
Total: from €2,795 for 7 nights
Partners & family may join the trip as non-participating guests without the teaching fee.
Portrait, Figure & Landscape Painting at Rignana Estate, Tuscany
Join award-winning portrait painter Antony Williams and acclaimed landscape artist Caroline Bays for an inspiring painting retreat in Tuscany, combining portrait, figure and landscape painting in the extraordinary surroundings of Rignana Estate.
Set among the rolling hills of the Chianti countryside near Florence, this week-long Italian art retreat offers an opportunity to develop your painting through demonstrations, guided tuition, plein air painting, individual feedback, and plenty of time to work on your technique.
A Week of Painting in the Tuscan Countryside
Imagine spending a week painting beneath the Tuscan sun, surrounded by vineyards, olive groves and the rolling landscape of Chianti — while learning from two highly accomplished British painters. This retreat brings together landscape painting, portraiture and the figure in the landscape, giving you the chance to explore different approaches to observation, composition, colour, drawing and paint handling.
Highlights include:
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🎨 7 nights at beautiful Rignana Estate in the heart of Tuscany
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🖌️ Tuition from award-winning portrait painter Antony Williams
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🌿 Landscape painting with Caroline Bays, including plein air work
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👤 Explore the figure in the landscape with Antony
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🎨 Work in oil and acrylic
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🌞 Paint outdoors in the beautiful grounds of the estate
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👩🎨 Demonstrations, practical guidance and individual feedback
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🍷 Italian breakfasts, farm-to-table lunches and evening aperitivi
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🇮🇹 A relaxed midweek break with the option to visit Florence
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✨ Time to develop your own work in an inspiring Tuscan setting
Course Description - Paint the Figure in the Tuscan Landscape
This unique Tuscany painting retreat combines two complementary approaches to painting: Caroline Bays will guide you through landscape painting and plein air work, while Antony Williams will explore the figure and portrait within the landscape.
Working in the beautiful grounds of Rignana Estate, you will have the opportunity to paint directly from the Tuscan landscape, developing your understanding of drawing, composition, perspective, colour, tone and paint handling.
There will be demonstrations throughout the week, followed by time to develop your own paintings with guidance and individual feedback from the tutors.
Saturday
16:00 - Check in & Estate Tour
18:00 - Welcome aperitivo followed by dinner
Sunday
08:30 - 9:30 - Italian breakfast
10:00 - 13:00 - Morning Session: Caroline will start with a simple landscape demonstration in oils. There will be an emphasis on drawing, creating perspective & oil painting techniques. Students to start their own paintings.
13:00 - 14:00 - Farm to table lunch at Rignana
14:30 - 16:00 - Afternoon session: Students to continue painting.
16:00 - 16:30 - Review of student’s paintings
18:30 - Aperitivo followed by dinner
Monday
08:30 - 9:30 - Italian breakfast
10:00 - 13:00 - Morning session: Caroline will demonstrate in acrylics with an emphasis on composition, colour values & mark making for landscape. Students to continue paintings.
13:00 - 14:00 - Farm to table lunch at Rignana
14:30 - 16:30 - Afternoon session: Students to continue painting.
18:30 - Aperitivo followed by dinner
Tuesday
08:30 - 9:30 - Italian breakfast
10:00 - 13:00 - Morning session: Students to finish off their paintings followed by an evaluation of their work.
13:00 - 14:00 - Farm to table lunch at Rignana
14:30 - 16:30 - Afternoon session: Antony will start with a demonstration of the figure in monochrome in the grounds of the estate; emphasising the structure of the figure, tonal relationships & oil painting techniques. Students will start their own paintings.
18:30 - Aperitivo followed by dinner
Wednesday
08:30 - 9:30 - Italian breakfast
Class Break — Stay at the retreat and relax, or visit Florence for the day
Thursday
08:30 - 9:30 - Italian breakfast
10:00 - 13:00 - Morning session: Antony will demonstrate painting the figure in the landscape using colour. Emphasising drawing, composition, colour relationships & the effects of light. Students to start their own paintings.
13:00 - 14:00 - Farm to table lunch at Rignana
14:30 - 16:30 - Afternoon session: Students to start a new painting of the figure.
18:30 - Aperitivo followed by dinner
Friday
08:30 - 9:30 - Italian breakfast
10:00 - 13:00 - Morning session: Students to continue painting.
13:00 - 14:00 - Farm to table lunch at Rignana
14:30 - 16:30 - Afternoon session: Students to finish their paintings followed by an evaluation of their work.
18:30 - Aperitivo followed by dinner
Saturday
08:30 - 9:30 - Italian breakfast
10:00 -Check out
Learn from Antony Williams:
Antony Williams is an award-winning British portrait painter and Vice President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
His work is held in major public and private collections, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Collection, as well as the House of Commons, MCC Lords, Garrick Club, Corpus Christi Oxford, Trinity Hall Cambridge and Queens College Oxford.
In 2024, Antony was awarded First Prize in the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, one of the world's most prestigious portrait painting exhibitions.
Antony trained at Farnham College of Art and Portsmouth University and has developed a highly detailed, observational approach to painting. His work is particularly concerned with the human figure, flesh, structure and the relationship between careful observation and realism.
During this retreat, Antony will share his approach to portrait and figure painting, including drawing the figure, tonal relationships, colour, composition and painting the figure within the landscape.
Learn from Caroline Bays:
Caroline Bays is an accomplished British painter whose work is rooted in close observation of the world around her.
Working across portraiture, still life and landscape, Caroline develops paintings that are carefully observed while retaining a distinctive and individual interpretation of her subject. Her work is known for its quiet, contemplative quality, heightened colour and thoughtful compositions.
Caroline is a member of the Pastel Society UK and regularly exhibits with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Her work was exhibited in the 2024 HSF Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, and her paintings are held in private collections across the UK, Europe and the USA.
During this retreat, Caroline will share her approach to landscape painting and plein air painting, exploring drawing, composition, colour, perspective, values and mark making through demonstrations and practical tuition.
Materials to Bring:
This is a suggested list, so please bring your favourite painting materials where preferred.
Surfaces
Please bring approximately 7-8 painting surfaces in your preferred combination of:
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Oil painting paper, acrylic paper, canvases, boards, or panels
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Suggested sizes: 10 × 12", 12 × 16" or 14 × 18"
Drawing & General Materials
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3B pencils
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Charcoal sticks
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Putty rubber
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A4 or A5 sketchbook
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Viewfinder
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Masking tape
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Paper towel or cotton rags to wipe brushes on
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Palette knife
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Jam jar with lid for water/medium
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Palettes: tear-off paper palette or wooden palette (oil) and tear-off or stay-wet palette (acrylic)
Brushes
Long-handled hog hair or synthetic brushes:
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No. 2 & 4 Round
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No. 4, 6 & 8 Filbert or Flat
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No. 1 short-handled synthetic Round brush for detail
These sizes relate to ProArte Series A Hog or Rosemary & Co. Ivory brushes.
Oil Paints
Student or artist quality:
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Titanium White
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Cadmium Red
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Ultramarine
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Cadmium Yellow Light
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Burnt Sienna
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Yellow Ochre
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Raw Umber
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Alizarin Crimson
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Naples Yellow
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Cerulean
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Ivory Black
Additional oil materials:
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Double dipper
Acrylic Paints
Student or artist quality, medium or heavy-bodied:
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Titanium White
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Cadmium Red Light
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Ultramarine
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Cadmium Yellow Medium
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Burnt Sienna
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Yellow Ochre
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Raw Umber
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Alizarin Crimson
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Cerulean
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Naples Yellow
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Ivory Black
Additional acrylic material:
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Winsor & Newton Slow Drying Medium or equivalent
Packing Wet Paintings
Wet oil paintings on board or canvas can be packed together using sections of cork and secured with masking tape.
Oil paintings on paper should be secured to a board before being packed together (1 board per piece of paper).
Accommodation & Inclusions
Bedroom with shared bathroom:
Single occupancy: €2,295
Double occupancy: €3,295
Superior bedroom with ensuite:
Single occupancy: €2,890
Double occupancy: €3,890
Bedroom with ensuite:
Single occupancy: €2,590
Double occupancy: €3,590
Suite - Master bedroom, Living room, Mezzanine bedroom & Bathroom:
Single Occupancy: €3,150
Extra person: €1,000 each
What's included
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7 nights accommodation with airconditioning
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Daily breakfast 5 lunches and 6 dinners with wine
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Pizza making experience
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Daily Aperitivo
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Arrival & departure transfers
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Infinity pool
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Tennis court
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Wifi
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Laundry facilities
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VAT tax
What's not included
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City tax (€2.50 per person per day to be paid in cash on arrival)
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Materials
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Day trips
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Tips & Gratuities
Optional Add-ons
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Wine Tours
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Massage