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Autumn Arts Festival – Watercolor Journal – SOLD OUT
Sharon Pitts
October 20, 2025 - October 28, 2025
$4275We will contact you in the event of a cancellation.
Il Chiostro celebrates the harvest time of the year in Tuscany with The Autumn Arts Festival. We offer 3 separate workshops that all overlap throughout this week-long celebration of the arts, the harvest, the wine and this wonderful region of Italy. The workshops are:
- Figurative Drawing & Painting with Lynn Stender
- Photography with Local Photographer
- Tuscan Culinary and Wine Adventure – with Michael Vignapiano
- Watercolor Journaling with Sharon Pitts
In addition to your workshop we offer Italian Opera Appreciation lectures with Prof. Patricia Pease each evening before dinner. This is open to all participants.
Program Description – Let your watercolor brushes record the feelings that Tuscany evokes.
In 2025, Sharon returns to Tuscany, this time at the glorious Dievole Chianti Classico Winery. This workshop will encourage each student to capture his/her observations, thoughts, feelings and ideas about the experience of being in this classic landscape. Just the word Tuscany evokes images of rolling hills, stripes of vineyards and medieval town spotting the horizon. We will be immersed in that image!
Students will work with a book of watercolor paper to produce a personal journal of their trip. Each person will be encouraged to paint their impressions of Tuscany from intimate images of the villages to the autumnal landscape right outside our doors.
Price: $4,275 p/p; optional supplement:
- single room $695 (limited number available)
Includes:
- Room (double or suite) with full bathroom-8 nights
- 2 meals per day (dinner with wine and full Tuscan breakfast)
- Workshop tuition and fees (except where noted)
- General activities (except where noted)
- Transfers between Siena train or bus station and Dievole
Departure is on morning of October 28th.
General Activities Open to All Participants (in addition to workshop):
Most activities take place in and around the 900 year old Dievole estate & vineyard.
- Winery tour and tasting, featuring Dievole`s Chianti Classico
- Italian Opera Appreciation classes every evening before dinner
- Excursion to Siena
- Special dinner in the wine cellar
- Various topical excursions with your class
- Pig Roast celebrating the harvest and the arts
Price does not include:
- Airfare
- Museum admissions
- Art supplies, laptops or other equipment for workshops.
- Gratuities – always appreciated by our talented Dievole staff
To Register: just click on the Sign Up Now button. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to secure your spot in the workshop. Payment can be made on line with a credit card or PayPal. Once we receive your deposit we will send you a formal Registration Confirmation with further information about the program. You will receive 2-3 other correspondences by email prior to the workshop with information about Italy, a supplies list and an electronic invoice for the balance. Final Balance is due by September 1st. Any time prior to your arrival, if you have questions about anything regarding the trip or the program, you can contact us by email or phone and we’ll be happy to assist you.
Cancellation policy:
$500 deposit is non-refundable. For cancellation:
- 60 days prior to workshop, full refund due less non-refundable deposit.
- 30-60 days prior to workshop, 50% refund of balance paid allowed, less non-refundable deposit.
Less than 30 days prior to workshop, no refund due.
Il Chiostro recommends personal travel insurance to cover the possibility of unexpected or last-minute cancellation.
Contact us for more information: info@ilchiostro.com or speak to us live at 800-990-3506.
Dievole Chianti Classico Winery, Tuscany
Participants in the Autumn Arts Festival will stay in Dievole's 16th-century inn and guest houses floating in the magnificent Tuscan hills. We take over the whole winery, so it will begin to feel like home after a few days. The entire facility recently underwent a major facelift, transforming all rooms into spacious, luxury lodgings. Rooms are doubles or suites with modern bathrooms and heating.
A limited number of single rooms and suites are available for a supplement.
Dievole will seem more like a family inn rather than an impersonal chain hotel. Dievole is located in the town of Vagliagli, about 12km northeast of Siena and 40km south of Florence. If you wish to explore the area independently during your stay, we recommend renting a car. The link below will give you a glimpse of the winery:
Click here to visit Dievole's website...
Visit them on Facebook: facebook.com/dievole
We will pick you up in Siena anytime between 1 and 5 pm on the first day of the program. The recommended arrival airports are Florence or Rome, from where you can take a bus or train to Siena. Florence is closer, but there are no direct flights from the US. You would have to change in another European city. Rome provides more flight options.
The bus/train from Rome to Siena is about 3 hours.
We can also arrange for a car to pick you up from Florence or Rome. You pay the driver directly. Just let us know a few days in advance so we can make the arrangements for you.
If you are departing from Rome on the last day, remember it is 3 hours by car or bus from Siena, so try to book an afternoon flight.
If you have time, you might consider lingering in Italy for a few extra days on either end of the festival. Allow the Italian rhythms to seduce you. A few days in Rome or Florence upon arrival is a wonderful way to get over jet lag. For other travel help, check our Travel to Italy web page.
Specific Travel information to get to Dievole:
By Train: There are regularly scheduled trains from all major towns and cities in Italy. Head towards Siena. From Rome, there are several trains daily from the main station (Termini). You don`t need a reservation. Although you purchase a through ticket, it is necessary to change trains at Chiusi. The ride takes about 3.5 hours (approximately 240 km) and the cost is around $20.
NOTE: In Italy, it is the law to stamp your train ticket in the little yellow meter near each train platform. Failure to do so can result in heavy fines, even if you plead ignorance.
By Bus: There are also buses from almost anywhere in Italy to Siena. These are modern and comfortable coaches.
From Florence: buses leave the SITA terminal (next door to the train station) nearly every hour. If you take Siena Rapida, the ride is direct on the highway and should take 1 hour.
From Rome: the ride takes 3 hours (non-stop). If you plan to arrive at the Rome airport and plan to come directly to Siena, this is the quickest method. From the airport, take the train on the left-hand track to the Tiburtina station (NOT Termini). From there, go outside into the parking lot. If you are already in Rome, you can take the Metro to the Tiburtina station. Take the B (blue) line towards Rebibbia. Follow signs to Pzle. Stazione Tiburtina.
With the long side of the station at your back, cross under the overpass into the parking lot. Buy your ticket from the building marked Biglietteria C (17.50 Euros, approx. $20); the bus usually leaves from Gate 8. These buses leave every day at regular intervals. To get current fares and schedules for the Flix bus, you can check their website: www.sena.it.
Once in Siena, get off at the Siena train station (Ferrovia). Don’t get off in the center of Siena.
Travel Agents & Insurance: Over the last few years, the way we travel has undergone significant changes. For that reason, we now encourage everyone to use a professional travel agent when arranging their trips. Travel agents save you time and stress by handling all the details and tailoring your itinerary to your needs. One of the most important services they offer today is helping you choose and enroll in the right travel insurance program. With the continued possibility of schedule changes or postponements, travel insurance has become essential, and selecting the right plan on your own can be overwhelming.
If you encounter any issues during your travels, your agent can provide quick support and solutions, taking the pressure off your shoulders. While booking through online sites like Expedia or Hotels.com may seem more convenient or less expensive, they offer little help if you need to modify your plans. A travel professional, on the other hand, is there to assist you every step of the way, ensuring a smooth and worry-free travel experience.
If you choose to Go It Alone, we highly recommend taking out travel insurance for the trip in the event of any unforeseen obstacles to your travel. We recommend Travelex (800) 504-7883 or Travel Guard International (877) 901-7599.
Tuscany in autumn is a landscape reborn. The hills turn russet and gold, the air grows clear and bright, and the light, that unmistakable Tuscan light, softens into something painters chase and poets never quite capture. Olive trees shimmer in silver-green rows, and the woods deepen with mushrooms and chestnuts. Across the valleys, the scent of the grape harvest lingers, a quiet reminder of the season’s purpose.
This is the time when the land belongs again to the locals. The hilltowns, free from summer’s bustle, settle into a slower rhythm. In workshops and kitchens, hands turn the harvest into tradition, olive oil pressed fresh, prosciutto cured, and Chianti aged to perfection. Every festival, from the vendemmia to the celebration of the wild boar, becomes a study in community and craft.
For artists, autumn here is a masterclass in color and light. The skies are clear, the shadows long, and every turn of the road offers a composition waiting to be sketched, painted, or written. Inspiration feels almost tangible, carried on the crisp wind, reflected in every terracotta wall and cypress-lined ridge.
And at the heart of it all lies Siena, proud, medieval, and timeless. Her museums and churches breathe quietly now, her piazzas echo with the sound of footsteps instead of crowds. Every stone seems to hold a story, every view a palette. In autumn, Siena invites artists not just to look, but to see.
I have been painting in watercolor since 1980. I began painting with acrylic on canvas, and when I started to play with watercolor, I was transfixed by its luminescence. From then on, I focused on watercolor and experimented with its transparency and luminous color combinations. I continue to learn watercolor techniques that come from nature studies and from the fascinating accidents that often occur when working with watercolor. I have learned that working with and accepting these unexpected occurrences with watercolor is what gives my work its vitality and originality.
Over the years, I have exhibited my work in group and solo shows. My work is in many private and corporate collections.
Several years ago, I began teaching watercolor workshops, which have ranged from Prince Edward Island, Canada, to Maryland, Florida, and New Mexico. Recently, I have taught three wonderful painting holidays in the south of France.
These trips have been extremely valuable to develop a connection to new places to paint, but mostly in terms of allowing students a new way to “see”. These trips have also become a major part of my inner self that I tap into every time I paint, wherever I am. I know that this becomes a special benefit for every person who experiences the personal growth that comes from taking a painting workshop.
For further information, feel free to email Sharon Pitts at paintergirl@comcast.net
Website: www.sharonpittsstudio.com
