Art Camp In Italy

PAINTING TOUR OF ITALY
May 13 to 25, 2015
INSTRUCTOR KEN OTTINGER

Live and paint in Italy with the guidance of award winning artist and instructor Ken Ottinger. Stay 2 nights in a Roman Catholic convent / B&B in Florence; 7 nights in an Italian villa in Bolsena near the shores of Lake Bolsena in Etruscan central Italy with breakfast, dinners, and nightly social hour (local wines, cheeses, and art talk) included; 2 nights in a convent B&B in Rome. Excursions to nearby towns, villages and points of interest with large blocks of time dedicated to PAINTING

ITINERARY
TRAVEL DAY: Arizona Shuttle from Prescott to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and leave your cars at Arizona Shuttle for up to 2 weeks for free. Be prepared with ear plugs and eye mask to sleep on the overnight flight to Rome. In the morning of Day 1 we will take the Leonardo Express train from the airport to Termini Train Station in central Rome where with will catch the train directly to Florence for 2 nights. On Saturday we will begin our week long stay in Bolsena, the lakeside medieval village in central Italy. The final 2 nights we will stay in Rome before the flight home.
DAY 1: FLORENCE - the ultimate destination for art lovers. We arrive at the train Station in Florence and take taxis to our destination – a safe and peaceful convent within easy access to the center of town that serves breakfast. We will take a couple of hours to rest a bit from our travel day and take advantage of our location. We will agree on a time to meet in the convent courtyard to discuss our plans for the evening and get our bearings. Early to bed and ready to visit Florence in the morning we will make it an early evening. No class today
DAY 2: After our breakfast at the convent we will tour Florence most of the day with a guide.
Enjoy the street artists under the riverside arched sidewalk in front of the Uffizi. Walk across the Ponte Veccio into the old town of Oltrarno (other side of the Arno River) where you can buy hand marbled paper and other miraculous finds.
Florence is an easy town to walk in, though some very narrow streets call for single file. We will see the Ponte Veccio, Brunelleschi’s famous Duomo and shop for leather goods at the Mercato Centrale, among other sites on your own walkabout this magnificent city – map provided. Class with Ken: (see Ken’s program)
DAY 3: TRAVEL TO BOLSENA - We will continue our walkabout in Florence until our departure in the afternoon by train to Orvieto, the train station closest to Bolsena. There we will picked up by our driver and taken to our home away from home in BOLSENA. Living in an 8 bedroom Italian Villa on Lake Bolsena, the largest volcanic lake in Italy. We will focus on capturing our best photographs and spend painting the local environment here. No class – travel day.
During our stay in Bolsena, we are indeed fortunate to have the cooking talents of Anna, the housekeeper and cook for the property owners who claim she is an excellent cook. She will be preparing our breakfasts and dinners every day, so we can concentrate on painting. Lunches will be on our own.
DAY 4: Sunday - The owners of the villa have invited us to visit their home and tour of the winery after a delicious luncheon and generous wine tasting. It is a privilege to visit their beautiful and elegant home on ancient Etruscan ground overlooking Lake Bolsena and its fine wine making facility.
Class with Ken: (see Ken’s program)
DAY 5: Monday – ORVIETO – We will visit the charming hilltop town of Orvieto, with its famous ceramics and ingenious artisans. Orvieto lies halfway between Florence and Rome. Enjoy the magical curving side streets and tiny shops, that all stream away from the lavish Cathedral at the top of the town. Greetings of “bongiorno” go a long way when you enter these lovely shops. We will split up and regroup for an afternoon painting session. Class with Ken: (see Ken’s program)
DAY 6: Tuesday – No scheduled excursion today. Enjoy exploring Bolsena, grab a gelato by the lake, take a tour of the castle, stroll the ancient streets, or just relax and take a swim in the pool at the villa. It’s up to you. FREE DAY
Class with Ken: (see Ken’s program)
DAY 7: Saturnia – Saturnia takes its name from the Roman god Saturn. Legend has it that he grew tired of the constant wars of humans, and sent a thunderbolt to earth that created a magic spring of warm sulphurous water which would pacify mankind. Near the village, 800 litres per second of sulphurous water at 99°F gushes into a large natural pool, flowing over a waterfall and down to a series of natural pools carved in the rock. No entrance fee. Bring you water shoes. Class with Ken: (see Ken’s program)
DAY 8: Thursday – Villa Lante – sculpture and water feature gardens (shown).
Class with Ken: (see Ken’s program)
DAY 9: Friday – Stay close to home to complete our work and pack up for our final destination: ROMA
DAY 10, 11: Train then metro to Rome where we will stay at another quiet and peaceful convent centrally located in Rome. Breakfast included. We have a Roma Pass which will give us bus and metro transportation, entry to the archaeological sites as well as the Borgello (with reservations).
Class with Ken: (see Ken’s program)
TRAVEL DAY - Return to Rome, FCO airport by Leonardo Express, and Arizona Shuttle home
COST:
Continue your trip with Ken in his THREE PART PROGRAM

 
Ken Ottinger’s THREE PART PROGRAM

Look at Ken's website: sites.google.com/site/kenottingerteaching

MISSION STATEMENT: To combine the principles of Commercial Art and Fine Art in a pleasing visual manor using the traditional medias in a timely manner.

Part 1: ON LOCATION – Students will be transported to artistic locations in central Italy and Tuscany where photo references will be recorded and field sketches produced. At our various destinations we will scout around for scenes that we want to paint, settle in and do our field sketches. Field Sketch Time: 2 - 3 hours per day

• Ken will assist students camera use to help shoot everything to consider for referencing your finished art work; focusing on light, perspective, composition, simplifying shapes, atmosphere and more.

• After the photo shoot each student will set up his/her media kit for onsite field studies

• Students will be encouraged to work quickly to capture the atmospheric light and simplified shapes displayed before them.

• 5"X7" and 8"X10" sized platforms are suggested for field studies

• Medias for this field studies are, pastel, oil paint, acrylic paint, pen &ink, water color and colored pencil

• LECTURES ON

 Setting up your work space

 Applied value and color theory

 Application of the media to express technique

 Compositional theory

 Drawing accurately using the grid system or projection equipment

Supplies List: Be as COMPACT AS POSSIBLE - Tool/paint box, French easel, SMALL drawing board with clips, 2 metal containers with air tight lids, brushes, pencil sharpener, workable matt spray fix, digital camera, extra batteries, charger, toilet paper, plastic trash bags, masking tape, stool, umbrella/ hat

Suggested pallet of colors applicable to all medias: ivory black, paynes grey, titanium white, cad. yel. pale, cad. yel. deep, cad. red pale, aliz. crim. diox. purple, ultram. blue, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, viridian, naples yel., yel. ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, raw umber


PART 2: STUDIO PAINTING – Post trip back home in Prescott students will meet with Ken at an arranged space/studio (TBA) for Phase II of the Program – Studio Painting – within a month of the end of the trip. Students will meet for 8 sessions at the studio space with Ken once a week for 8 weeks, for 3 hour sessions. Location/dates/times (TBA) Students will:
• analyze field studies created in Italy – choose best to frame

• review and edit photo references for in studio painting

• be introduced to enlarging techniques and equipment (tools supplied by Ken)

• discuss the Business of Art

• work on art to be presented at the ART SHOW

• studio location/times: TBD


PART 3: ART SHOW and sale of Italian works presented to the public. Ken will discuss the business of art and showing work as a professional artist, a subject Ken is both passionate and knowledgeable about. ART SHOW
• will consist of two categories: field studies and studio art.

• Offer a full range of art principles: Non-Objective and Objective Abstraction, Impressionism and Realism art will be presented

• Art will be framed, ready to hang and priced to sell. Prints and greeting card reproduction is encouraged. Students are responsible for all their art supplies, reproduction, and framing costs.

• Students will be charged an exhibition fee or the gallery/students will agree on a commission to be paid to the gallery on all art work sold at the show. (TBA)