The Autum Leaves at Art Toscana Art Holidays in Italy

Georgie can’t resist immersing himself in crispy autumn leaves. I suppose it’s like a canine full body massage; the crackling and crunching sound of the leaves adding to the pleasure. The leaves arrived during the last few windy nights. We woke up yesterday to find we couldn’t open the back door without the autumn foliage

The Delites of Cafe Lucchese, Barga, the seat of Art Toscana Art Holidays in Italy

There are so many delicious Christmas goodies here at Cafe Lucchese our wonderful local patisserie; chocolates, panettone, rum babs in jars soaked in rum, specialist olive oil, fig jam, and lots of other Italian Christmas goodies. I have said that Cafe Lucchese could match any other patisserie in the world! A sweeping statement but their

Christmas Wreath

I took this rather wonky photograph of a Christmas wreath in Lewes a few weeks ago whilst visiting our grandchildren. It is so delicate and wistful, I had to put it in my phone. Perhaps it is not a Christmas display because where is the green and red? Chris and I, here at Art Toscana

Lake Como – another venue for future Art Toscana Art holidays in Italy

When Chris and I were in Lake Como this year in March (for Chris’s birthday) we visited a vineyard that had supplied the white wine for George Clooney’s wedding. The delicious white wine was quite unusual due to the native Verdese grape. George Clooney bought 400 bottles for his wedding, we bought 12 and still

San Candido – A possible venue for our Art Toscana Painting Holidays in Italy??

This is San Candido in the Dolomite Mountains where Chris & I spent Christmas 2024 with our friends. The snow on the mountains at Val di Pozza has reminded me of how beautiful winter can be! I will put up some more photos of San Candido in the forthcoming blogs. Such gorgeous scenes to paint

Could This Be Barga?

No, It isn’t Barga. It was taken in London at King’s Boulevard. So similar to Barga at Christmas time and what a fabulous scene for our guests at Art Toscana Painting Vacations in Italy!! If I was a painter at Art Toscana Art Holidays in Italy I would find this scene so inspiring.

The Mountain Suddenly Appears

When I take the dog for a walk on Sunday mornings through the woods from Catagnana to Barga suddenly through a gap in the trees, there they are, the Apuan Alps stoically making their statement of beauty and wonder. Beauty and wonder is what our guests at Art Toscana Art Vacations in Italy say when

Autumn at Val di Pozza

Unfortunately our guests at Art Toscana Painting Holidays in Italy don’t experience this beautiful sight of the old chicken coops and chestnut trees in Autumn. When our guests at Art Toscana Art Holidays in Italy step outside the artist’s studio the trees are heavy, thick and green with a canopy of baby green chestnut husks.

Autumn 2025/Winter 2026 Online Courses

These are some of the drawings for Unit 1 of the Art Toscana Online Courses. The theme is cubism. Chris has taken several different orientations of a teapot and put the images together as you can see from the drawings. Lots of geometry involve! Many of our guests from Art Toscana Painting Holidays in Italy