Sketch and Paint the Italian Alps – SOLD OUT
Liz Haywood-Sullivan
September 12 - September 19
$3995Unfortunately, this workshop is currently full. Click on the “Sign Up Now” button below to add your name to the waiting list.
We will contact you in the event of a cancellation.
An Artistic Journey in the Veneto Region
Just when you thought Italy couldn’t be more beautiful, welcome to the Dolomites! Nestled in the foothills of the Italian Alps in the Veneto region, the Dolomites are a wonderful mix of Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. These mountains are a prime destination for skiers in the winter (the location for the 2026 Winter Olympics!), and in the warmer months, they provide the opportunity for Plein Air painting from unending vistas and to make modest hikes among the hills and valleys, engulfed in the exquisite scenery.
Program Description:
Each day we will go to a new location in this glorious northern landscape for several hours of sketching and painting. Liz will demonstrate in pastel and watercolor, but all media are welcome. Instruction will include how to find an image to paint (so much to choose from!), how to edit your composition, capturing the essence of a scene, good value work, and ideas for working in a sketchbook.
Traveling with a sketchbook is a brilliant way for an artist to get around to collect memories and images to work from later. This workshop is designed to allow you time on your own to wander as you find new things to record.
Below is a tentative schedule for activities:
- Day #1 Verona: we’ll meet the group at our hotel in the romantic town of Verona. After an orientation, we’ll have our first dinner together. We will overnight in Verona.
- Day #2 Bolzano: we’ll spend the morning exploring the sites of Verona (don’t miss the Roman Arena or Juliet’s balcony!) then after lunch we’ll drive to Bolzano, the largest town in the Dolomites area. Check-in, first class followed by dinner, and an evening walk around town.
- Day #3 Bolzano: morning class with optional cable car and train ride into mountains to sketch or photograph scenery. Independent lunch.
- Day #4 Bolzano: morning class with opportunities to explore the market, castle, church, artisanal beer and the special museum dedicated to Ötzi, the recently discovered remains of the stone age ice man! Independent dinner in town.
- Day #5 Cortina: After breakfast leave for Cortina d’Ampezzo. Stops along the way for photos and lunch. Check into hotel in Cortina. Late afternoon class.
- Day #6 Cortina: morning lass, cable car up into Dolomites (Moos, Versciaco), landscape, scenery. Picnic lunch in the mountains.
- Day #7 Cortina: full painting day in town
- Day #8 Departure from Verona: After breakfast leave Cortina to return to Verona. A 2-hour ride with stops along the way. Your option to depart from the airport or continue your travels independently.
Although this trip doesn’t involve strenuous hiking, in this area there will be a fair amount of walking in towns and fields, often along uneven ground; there will be driving and excursions at altitudes of 5,000+ ft. If you have any mobility issues, please contact Il Chiostro or the instructor before registering.
Meals: we will have breakfast in our hotels each morning and 6 dinners together. That leaves 1 night in Bolzano where you can discover restaurants on your own. Since we don’t have our own chef, we’ll be eating in diverse neighborhood trattorie where we can experience a good cross-section of the local cuisine which in the Dolomites has a strong Austrian influence.
Price:
- Shared double room – $3,995 p/p; $3,695 for non-painting partners and friends
Optional single room Supplements: $585
Includes:
- 1 night at hotel in Verona with ensuite bathroom, breakfast
- 3 nights at a hotel in Bolzano with ensuite bathroom, breakfast
- 3 nights at hotel in charming Cortina with ensuite bathroom, breakfast
- 6 dinners together, wine (or beer!) included
- All local transportation for excursions, including 1 cable car ride
- Workshop tuition, daily classes and critiques with Liz
- Fully escorted with driver/facilitator and instructor
- Return to Verona (airport or train station) on final day
Price does not include:
- Airfare
- Lunch
- Independent meals and sight-seeing
- Museum fees, additional cable car rides
- Workshop materials
- Gratuities – much appreciated by the 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 you can follow the instructions to send in your registration and payment by mail. 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 August 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.
On the first day of this program, we will meet in the northern Italian city of Verona. You’ll be staying at Hotel San Luca, a charming and welcoming hotel right in the heart of Verona. It’s just a short walk from the Arena and Piazza Brà, so you’ll have cafés, restaurants, shops, and some of the city’s most iconic sights right around the corner. The hotel is cozy and comfortable, with modern rooms and a helpful staff that’s always ready to point you in the right direction. It’s the perfect spot to settle in, drop your bags, and start exploring.
If you’d like to arrive a day or two early to enjoy some extra time exploring Verona, simply reach out to the hotel directly, and they’ll be happy to assist with booking your room. info@sanlucahotel.com
As a group, you’ll appreciate how easy it is to get around from here, whether you’re heading out for sightseeing, grabbing gelato, or meeting up for dinner. Everything is close, convenient, and walkable. After a full day in Verona, you can come back to a quiet, relaxing space and recharge for the next adventure. It’s a great home base for enjoying the best of the city together.
From there we'll drive by van up to the city of Bolzano in the South Tyrol province, known as the gateway to the Dolomites. You’ll be staying at Stadt Hotel Città, a warm and inviting hotel set right in the heart of Bolzano, overlooking the lively Piazza Walther. From the moment you step outside, you’re surrounded by the charm of the South Tyrolean Alps, colorful streets, cozy cafés, boutique shops, and the blend of Italian and Austrian culture that makes Bolzano so special. The hotel itself offers comfortable, stylish rooms and a relaxing atmosphere, along with an on-site restaurant and café where you can enjoy local dishes and pastries without going far.
As a group, you’ll love how easy it is to explore from here. The cathedral, museums, and cable cars leading into the mountains are all just a short walk away. Whether you’re wandering the Old Town, tasting regional wines, or soaking in the surrounding Alpine scenery, Stadt Hotel Città gives you a perfect central home base to relax, regroup, and enjoy the best of Bolzano together.
You’ll be wrapping up your journey at Hotel De La Poste, a historic and welcoming 4-star hotel in the very heart of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Set along the lively Corso Italia and surrounded by the dramatic Dolomite peaks, it’s a beautifully fitting place to finish your travels. The hotel blends classic charm with modern comfort, offering cozy, elegant rooms and inviting common spaces, perfect for unwinding after everything you’ve experienced so far.
As the final stop of your trip, this is where you can slow down a little, breathe in the mountain air, and enjoy time together before heading home. Whether you spend your days exploring Cortina’s shops and cafés, riding the nearby lifts for unforgettable views, or sharing a last celebratory meal in the hotel’s restaurant, Hotel De La Poste gives you a relaxed, scenic, and memorable place to close out your adventure. It’s the perfect ending to a great journey.
This area is in northern Italy in the Veneto, which is very well connected by train, plane, and bus transportation. If you plan to arrive early and travel around a bit before you meet the group, you could fly into Milan, Florence, or Venice and take the train to Verona. Otherwise, we recommend flying into Verona, where there is also a small, easy-to-navigate airport. We'll meet the group at a hotel in the center of town, where we will spend the night. The next morning, we'll begin our drive up to Bolzano at the beginning of the Dolomite mountains. Specific details about where to meet will be available closer to the date of the program.
At the end of the program, we'll come back to Verona. From there, you can continue your travels or arrange an afternoon flight from the airport there.
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 COVID and 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.
The Dolomites are a mountain range in the Veneto area of northern Italy, not far from Venice. These are technically the foothills of the Alps and approach the borders of Italy, Switzerland, and Austria.
This area has politically gone back and forth among these 3 countries for centuries until the present borders were set after the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I.
It is a unique amalgam of all three cultures in language, food, wine, and beer! and traditions.
The Dolomites are a popular destination for skiers in the winter, but in the warmer months, they provide stunning pathways for hiking between the towns. Our hikes will be kind and gentle, since the focus will be on photography.
The main town in the area is Bolzano, with smaller towns and villages like Vipiteno scattered all about.
There are gondola cable car lifts open year-round all over the place, for great trips up into the mountains.
A Little History:
The South Tyrol province in Northern Italy is where German is the mother tongue of most inhabitants, and every town, river, hill, and street has a different name in both languages.
Part of Austria for centuries, South Tyrol and neighboring Trentino became part of Italy as part of the spoils of World War I, making German and Ladin (a Romance language spoken by several thousand people) speakers Italian citizens overnight without their consent.
"In the 1920s, Mussolini deputized the ardent fascist Ettore Tolomei to 'Italianize' South Tyrol,"
Every place was given an Italian name … using German in public places was forbidden, secret 'catacomb' schools were set up because the German-speaking schools had been banned, and some people were even forced to change their names to Italian ones. German speakers wouldn't be hired for most jobs."
World War II was followed by decades of continued discrimination and sporadic acts of nationalist terrorism, which cost 21 lives overall. And though the immediate problems seemingly ended in 1972, when a second comprehensive autonomy agreement gave South Tyrol powers of self-rule far greater than anywhere else in Italy, tensions still linger in the form of fascist-inspired monuments and some of the invented Italian place names.
Liz Haywood-Sullivan, PSA-EP, IAPS/MC, AIS, has led popular workshops for Il Chiostro in Italy since 2017. She is dedicated to working exclusively in the pastel medium and is a sought after instructor and judge for pastel societies and arts organizations around the world. Liz authored the popular book Painting Brilliant Skies and Water in Pastel. Her award-winning pastel paintings have been featured in numerous books and magazine articles, and have appeared in national, international and museum exhibitions worldwide. Liz is a President Emerita of the International Association of Pastel Societies (2013-2017) and is the former president of the North River Arts Society in Massachusetts (2021-2025).
Liz Haywood-Sullivan Artist’s Statement
All my life, I have been an observer. Light is my muse and will stop me, literally in my tracks. Don’t drive too close behind me during the magic hour when the sun is setting! I am also drawn to the interplay of man in the environment, of man-made edges against the chaos and beguiling beauty of the natural form. My life’s work is to record these observations. So much of what catches my eye and imagination is ordinary and taken for granted. I truly believe that it is through the artist’s hand that the beauty of the world is revealed.
Teaching is a very important part of my being an artist. My teachers shared their wisdom with me, shaping and informing my artistic vision. Now, as I pass this wisdom on, I have discovered that my attempts to put into teachable words about what and how to paint have made me not only a better teacher but a better artist. What I love about teaching is that each day brings new challenges and new opportunities. Traveling with a workshop of artists allows for wonderful art moments beyond the daily painting sessions, be it in the evenings during casual conversation over a glass of wine or a meal, or a walk as day breaks. How fortunate are we to have the gift and the ability to express ourselves through our artwork?
Website: www.lizhaywoodsullivan.com
