- This workshop has passed.
Sketching and Painting on the Amalfi Coast
Kathy Rennell Forbes
September 20, 2025 - September 27, 2025
$3995Sketch and Paint in the villa and towns along the stunning Amalfi Coast
Immerse yourself in a week of inspiring landscapes and painting in this new workshop offered by instructor Kathy Rennell Forbes and Il Chiostro. Our focus for the week will be creating value sketches and painting watercolors of the gorgeous Amalfi Coast. You will learn how to simplify the scene, create your best compositions, and how to select pleasing color harmonies en plein air. This workshop is open to artists of all levels and mediums; all demonstrations will be in watercolor. Kathy works with a limited palette and watercolor supplies to make international travel easier. She paints in acrylic, oil, and watercolor. Now is the time to paint the beauty of Italy with her and Il Chiostro.
Value study and Shoppers Behind the Duomo, watercolor by Kathy Rennell Forbes
What a great way to record lasting memories! Each day, you will visit a new location in this glorious coastal area of Italy around the Bay of Naples. From Vesuvius to Capri, this area is lush with land and seascapes. It is filled with colorful towns, rocky cliffs, and olive and lemon groves. We’ll choose different perspectives, from hilltops to waterfront marina,s every day for a few hours of sketching and painting. Kathy will demonstrate and teach various ways to see, draw, simplify a scene, and creatively collect information to fill up your sketchbooks.
We will revel in what the Amalfi Coast has to offer: delicious cuisine, exquisite panoramic seaside views, boutique shopping, visits to picturesque towns, all having something unique to share with us. Our hearts and sketchbooks will fill up with all that the Amalfi Coast can offer us.
Program Highlights:
- Time to paint at our elegant villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea
- Breakfast is provided daily at the villa
- Dinners with wine together each evening:
- 3 dinners at local trattorie
- 4 dinners prepared by a private chef at the villa
- Excursion to the exquisite hilltop town of Ravello
- Private boat to spend a day on the magical Isle of Capri
- Excursion to the town of Amalfi
- Wine tasting presentation with our own sommelier
- Plenty of time to explore on your own
Accommodations and Meals:
Villa Elena, in the small town of Conca dei Marini, will be our exclusive home for the week. Click the Accommodations tab above for more details.
A leisurely breakfast will be prepared at the villa each day for us by our program manager. Dinners will be a mix of eating in local restaurants and at home, always with the emphasis on exploring and appreciating the food of the area. Local wine will be served with each dinner.
Lunches are independent, with plenty of options either on excursions or near the villa.
Price:
- $3,995* p/p, $3,695 for non-painters
- $695 single supplement
*Early Bird Special: $200 discount if registered by November 15, 2024. Enter code KRF when registering.
Includes:
- Shared double room with modern, en-suite bathroom
- Daily traditional breakfast
- 7 dinners, including wine
- Daily painting classes with Kathy
- Excursions to nearby towns like Ravello and Amalfi
- All local transportation is provided by taxis or chauffeured vans
- Guides/escorts are included throughout the program and for every excursion
- Transfer from/to Naples on the first and last days
Does Not Include:
- Airfare
- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Independent meals and sightseeing
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 online 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 15th. 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.
Contact us for more information: info@ilchiostro.com or speak to us live at 800-990-3506.
The Amalfi Coast is notorious for its crowds in every season. For that reason, we have chosen an elegant villa above the crowds in the smaller town of Conca dei Marini. This is between Positano and the town of Amalfi, just below Ravello.
It is called Villa Elena, a prestigious and exclusive villa with incredible sea views, surrounded by verdant, manicured gardens. There are 7 bedrooms, each with a private bathroom, gardens surrounding the property, and a fabulous swimming pool overlooking the sea. There are several terraces with panoramic views, with plenty of private spaces to relax, enjoy your coffee, or meditate. The swimming pool is perched on the side of the hill with views up and down the coast, plus a jacuzzi with hydromassage.
NOTE: The Villa can only be reached via a set of 65 steps! The Amalfi Coast is built entirely on hillsides, so there is no avoiding steps in each town. We recommend this program only for participants who can climb up and down at least once per day. Yes, there is a handrail. (We guarantee you'll be stronger by the end of the program!)
The dining room can comfortably accommodate our group on the evenings when we will have dinner at home. A full kitchen and laundry room add to the comfort and conveniences of our home for the week.
All seven bedrooms have a private, en-suite bathroom and are furnished in an elegant Baroque style.
It will be hard to leave Villa Elena when we go out on our excursions, but you will be delighted to come back "home" in the evenings.
Our villa on the Amalfi Coast is in the small town of Conca dei Marini, between the towns of Amalfi and Positano. One of our guides will meet the group at a central hotel in Naples, from where we'll have a van to transfer us directly to the villa.
If you would prefer to find your own way to the villa, no problem. We'll send you directions and plan to meet you there the afternoon of our arrival.
On the final day, we'll arrange another transfer back to Naples. Again, participants are free to make their own arrangements if they will be traveling independently.
Full details will be supplied in the correspondence closer to the dates of the program.
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.
The Costiera Amalfitana in Italian is more informally known by most Americans as simply "Amalfi". The peninsula, across from the metropolis of Naples and under the shadow of the volcano Vesuvius, consists of Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, Ravello, and Capri, among many other small towns and villages.
Magically suspended between the blue sky and the iridescent colored sea, the Amalfi Coast enchants the visitor who, at first glance, may doubt that it is even real. Lemon blossoms harmonize with the Mediterranean vegetation and the saltiness of the sea. It is visually stunning with tiny villages on top of cliffs that plunge dramatically into the sea. On closer inspection, the whole area is a labyrinth of stairways and narrow alleys, connecting towns, the mountains, and the sea. We can see the history of survival in the mountainsides that, over centuries, were terraced with human labor to create arable land.
All the towns of the Amalfi coast are connected by the scenic yet diabolical winding road carved into the hillside that follows the natural course of the coastline. Before the construction of the coastal road, locals reached all the towns via still-existing mule tracks and footpaths.
Conca dei Marini, where our villa is located, is a coastal village with a centuries-old maritime tradition. It is a natural "balcony" overlooking the sea, surrounded by the Mediterranean vegetation and terraced gardens planted with lemon groves.
Historically, the inhabitants of Conca dei Marini were skilled sailors and experienced traders. Its houses are the typical Mediterranean style with whitewashed walls, balconies with beautiful flowers tumbling into a spectacular view over the sea. Conca dei Marini was a preferred resort of important writers, artists, and chiefs of state, such as Princess Margaret of England, Gianni Agnelli, Jacqueline Kennedy, the Queen of the Netherlands, Carlo Ponti, and Moet & Chandon.
Click here for a look around the Amalfi Coast with Rick Steves.
Kathy Rennell Forbes is an accomplished artist and instructor. Her impressionistic paintings are in private and corporate collections around the world, including the French Olympic Committee in Paris, the Hotel Intercontinental in Buckhead-Atlanta, Telstra in Melbourne, Australia, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Atlanta, Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta, and Universal Studios in Los Angeles.
The artist is a 2017 Olmsted Plein Air Invitational "Master Artist." She is an invited artist to the Olmsted, Georgia, Color plein air competition from 2019 - 2025. Kathy is a Signature Member and past President of the Georgia Watercolor Society. She currently serves as the Gallery Chair for the Atlanta Artists Center. She has participated in many solo art shows and has won awards in local, regional, and national exhibits. Forbes earned her BFA in Art and Art Education at the University of Georgia in Athens.
Kathy has exhibited and conducted watercolor demonstrations at the High Museum of Art, Booth Western Art Museum, and Oglethorpe University Museum of Art. She conducts watercolor workshops around the U.S. and internationally (Cuba, France, Italy, Spain) and teaches art classes in the Atlanta area. Forbes creates, instructs, and shows her artwork at ‘Studio Z’ in Atlanta’s Westside Arts District.
Website: https://www.rennellforbes.com/
