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Renee Walden

🇮🇹 Sketching in Italy – September 2026

Published 10 months ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader,

Bookings are now open for my next European painting holiday in 2026, and I couldn’t be more excited to finally share this with you!

We’ll be based at Hotel Leone, a beautifully restored 500 year old palazzo. It's now a boutique hotel nestled between the Sibillini Mountains and the Adriatic coast. Each day, we’ll explore quaint villages, sketch sunlit piazzas and landscapes, and enjoy amazing local food and wine.

We’ll paint on location and in the hotel’s private studio, with step-by-step guidance throughout the week. Whether you're new to travel sketching or already hooked, this retreat is designed to inspire and encourage you.

Spaces are limited, and as a subscriber you’re the first to know. If sketching in Italy next September sounds like a dream come true, I recommend booking early!

18–25 September 2026 | From 3,499€ per person​
​Includes: 5 days of painting tuition, gourmet meals, excursions, eco-printing workshop, pasta-making class, airport pickup and a stay in a boutique palazzo.

This retreat has been a long time in the making. Hotel Leone and I have been planning it for over a year already, and I actually had to book the dates more than two and a half years in advance to secure a spot at this incredibly popular location. I’ve dreamed of hosting a sketching retreat here for years—and now it’s really happening!

INSPIRATION WALL

I look forward to painting with you in Italy!

Any questions, just ask :-)

Warm regards,
​Renee

PS ​
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Drake Place, Lake Hawea, Otago 9382
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Renee Walden

Artist. Tutor. Sketchbook traveller

Helping others capture their memories in colour is one of the greatest joys of my artistic journey. On watercolour art retreats and in workshops I've watched people grow braver, laugh louder, make friends, and fill pages with art they never thought possible. I'm right there alongside them — and it's magic.

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