I’m delighted to be leading a six-day watercolor retreat in the beautiful town of Varallo, in northern Italy, together with Nirit from Artyshok.
Varallo is exactly the kind of place that inspires my sketchbook: narrow streets, historic architecture, winding staircases, mountain views, hidden corners, and the unique atmosphere of a small Italian town. It offers endless opportunities to practice observation, simplify complex scenes, and tell visual stories through watercolor.
Throughout the retreat, we will work on developing a freer and more personal approach to urban sketching and watercolor. Together we will explore composition, simplification, color relationships, expressive line work, and mixed-media techniques combining watercolor with watercolor pencils and other materials.
The focus is not on creating perfect drawings, but on learning how to observe differently, make confident artistic decisions, and enjoy the creative process.
The retreat is suitable for artists with some basic watercolor experience as well as more experienced sketchers looking to deepen their artistic language in an inspiring environment.
I look forward to sharing this creative journey with you in one of Italy's most beautiful and inspiring locations.
Dates: October 22–27, 2026
For full details and registration, please visit the organizer's page:
https://www.artyshok.co.il/watercolorvarallo