Join acclaimed portraitist Kelly Oakes for a three-day workshop retreat where you will learn the techniques that the masters have used for centuries. Working from a photograph, you will learn the principles of portrait painting in the classical tradition.

​Successfully producing expressive, painterly paintings from photographs requires a knowledge of both the advantages and potential pitfalls of photographic sources. While providing useful visual information, photos often mislead - distorting subjects and flattening the picture plane. In this workshop students will use photographs as a point of departure, a reference point from which information will selectively and intelligently be drawn. Students will be encouraged to develop a more defined understanding of their connection to their selected subjects.

During the retreat, I’ll teach the fundamentals of oil painting, with a focus on flowers — one of my very favorite subjects. And we’re thrilled to be joined by floral designer Anne Carney, who will lead us through hands-on flower arranging sessions using seasonal blooms. We will also have fresh fruit and beautiful printed cloths to create wonderful compositions for our paintings.

Kelly Oakes will lead a 1-week artistic experience in Tuscany from a base in the quaint and historic village of Montisi. Choose your method of capturing the beautiful landscape and Tuscan attributes…oil, acrylic, pastel, pencil/pen, watercolor, gouache. Kelly will guide the artistic endeavor as well as help you to do tours or other excursions. You will fall in love with Montisi and Tuscany.