The Pandemic postponed plans for our May 2020 Art Adventure Abroad to Italy. The La Romita folks posted a video presentation about my Art Trips on you tube. Check it out! https://youtu.be/beDIiK72fCI
DARLA'S ART ADVENTURE ABROAD to ITALY MAY 2023
https://laromita.org/workshop/have-fun-creating-an-art-travel-journal-with-darla-bostick/
Each year a group accompanies me for my Art Adventure Abroad to a new destination--past trips include Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Germany and France. Non-artists/spouses are welcome to come along so bring a friend, or just plan to make new ones! It's a small group.
WHAT IS AN ART ADVENTURE ABROAD WITH DARLA?
Ten days are planned for your pleasure in the lovely Umbrian region of Italy. Stay at a renovated centuries old monastery and enjoy the local Umbrian meals prepared on site!
Come live in Italy, if only for ten days! Enjoy the company of other artists as we visit charming villages. You may snag a quick photograph or sketch or wait until we return to the comfort of our studio. Simply stroll the markets and shop a bit all as your gather reference photographs to use later. We are staying in one place to call home, so no need to manage bags daily. May in Italy means landscapes dotted red with poppies and moderate temps! The photo at the top of this page shows La Romita at the top of the hillside.
Simply put, my Art Adventure is just that. We are a small group of artists (and non-artists who desire the encounter) who experience the culture, sites, foods of another country as we gather photographs and sketch/paint our impressions of the place we visit! I will show you how to make a fun art journal. We use our cameras to gather images and our time to see the area. This art travel holiday will provide time for both sightseeing and painting/sketching, etc. The monastery chapel has been converted as our private studio!
Having traveled to 75+ countries, I have experience planning trips. In May 2015 I realized my dream to travel abroad with artists. Since then my annual Art Adventures Abroad have included Spain, Portugal (with added river cruise), Ireland, Denmark, Germany and France. BUT only FUN people can come...if you can't walk a mile during the day, pack light and manage your own bags, this is not for you! The terrain in Europe can be a challenge with stairs and cobblestones where elevators/escalators are rare! If you require walking assistance you should consider not joining us for this experience.
In the evenings we relax with a tasty meal and add to our ongoing art journal, paint, catch up on emails or settle in with a book...even our non-artists in the group can learn to art journal! There are photo challenges and art ideas daily to use in your journal. In fact, I just sent to the printer my first-ever "Journaing with Art..As You Travel" book. It will be given as a gift to those who participate in this workshop/retreat!
You are invited! It's a VERY small group but we must have 12 register to qualify as a “group" (with 19 as the maximum).” Bring a friend, bring a spouse for a memorable experience!
Darla is flying from the DFW airport and will send flight info to those interested in traveling along on the same flights. (NOTE: Darla is arriving in Rome one day early to take in the sights on the double decker hop on-hop off bus and relax a bit before we begin our time at La Romita. You are welcome to join in!)
There are tabs on the upper left corner of this page to view scrapbooks of past Art Abroad Adventures! We are easy to spot---we are the ones with smiles!
Here are the places we visited.
San Gemini AM excursion PM Studio-- After breakfast (usually 7 - 8:30) the group boards the bus for a quick 20 minute ride to their first real taste of plein air in Umbria. San Gemini features beautiful architecture and great panoramic views, and is full of people who appreciate artists visiting the town. It is a great introduction for the trip: large enough for real exploration with plenty of great subject matter for sketching or painting, but not so big that it overwhelms you with choices. It is very good for plein air and sketchbook work, with few cars and plenty of places that are restricted to foot traffic. At 12:30, the bus takes the group back to La Romita for lunch, followed by personal time (many choose to catch a quick nap). The normal afternoon schedule at La Romita is demo/instruction in the chapel/ studio from 3:30 until 6 or so, with dinner served at 7:30. After a leisurely meal, the group might disperse, or move to the Gazebo for a presentation on the following day’s destination.
Villa Lante AM excursion PM Studio-- Less than an hour away from La Romita is the gorgeous classic mannerist garden of Villa Lante. Attributed to Vignola, the gardens are a fantasy painter’s destination with terraces, sculptures, gargoyles, and cascading waterways. Subject matter abounds from the grand views up or down the terraces, to the individual sculptures and features.
Bozmaro Monster Garden
Todi AM Excursion, PM Studio-- Todi - about 40 minutes from La Romita – has one of the most beautiful piazzas in Italy and is recognizable from the exterior shots in “the Agony and the Ecstasy”. A fantastic park on the way into town has a dramatic view of the town itself but also great panoramas of the valley stretching of towards Perugia. Todi is a favorite stop as it has a bit of everything: great external architecture, intimate alleyways, fountains, and scenic views. There are some shopping opportunities and good food options, and though usually Todi is only a half-day trip, the group sometimes stays through lunch to sample restaurant fare.
Studio / Marmore Falls AM & PM Studio Studio day –time for review and sharing what we have done, lessons, and a rest. We’ll take a quick trip over the hill to Cascata Delle Marmore, Europe’s second largest waterfall. The Cascata was originally created by Roman hydro-engineers in the third century BCE and modified over the centuries to give it its current majestic form. We are free to explore the network of paths that wind around (and behind) the falls and capture sights with sketchbook or camera. It is a dramatic sight with many excellent views, white of the violent water against the lush green of the ravine, close enough to feel the spray. A brief trip, but memorable.
Orvieto Full Day Excursion-- Dramatic Orvieto, perched on a butte of volcanic tufa, is known for its white wine and the architectural marvel of its cathedral. The location was a major center of the Etruscan civilization, and the source of a richness of artifacts from the time. The jewel of Orvieto is without question the Cathedral, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio (who is also credited as the architect of the Florence cathedral), with its alternating stripes of travertine and basalt and fronted by a façade of amazing golden mosaics and pilasters covered in relief sculptures. That, and many other beautiful buildings and views make Orvieto a rich destination for artists, and worth a whole day’s exploration.
Beach picnic, aquaduct & Niki de Saint de Phalle's Tarot Garden built by Niki de Saint de Phalle. Built in the second half of the last century. The Garden is the result of Niki's idea of a "small Eden where man and nature meet". She is inspired by the beautiful Park Guell by Gaudì in Barcellona, Spain. She created and personally built the great statues for her Garden. The 22 Major Arcana have a steel soul covered by concrete with mirrors, colored glass and ceramics. She worked at this colossal work for over 17 years. https://www.discovertuscany.com/maremma/capalbio-tarot-garden.html
Narni and Medieval Festival
Spoleto and market
Tarquinia Etruscan Museum
Terni
INSTRUCTION
This art trip revolves around the idea of seeing and recording as much as possible. Each morning we venture out to investigate a different village—places the average tourist misses. There will be a daily challenge to meet using your camera as well as in your art journal. We will use mornings to capture colors, architecture, unique landscapes and people’s daily lives using a simple camera or quick sketches on site. Darla will show you how to translate your impressions of a place as a visible record in your journal. Our afternoons in the studio will be used for motivation, demonstrations and sharing. Ink, watercolor, acrylic, collage and more will be used with many other media to insure you take home an art journal that helps you relive the experience many times over!
ART MATERIALS:
Darla will bring a lot of materials to share so we don't all have to carry as much. Our 10 days will involve a lot of different materials, but primarily watercolors and ink. You will receive more info on this after registration. Look at my website under "What to Take" on the tab to your left.