LEARN TRADITIONAL ARTISAN TECHNIQUES
ABOUT OUR COURSES
Florenceart.net have been providing art classes and workshops in traditional, historic techniques for over 20 years. We offer a range of courses designed to effectively teach the skills of decorative painting, gilding, mural decoration, painting architectural illusion, trompe l’oeil, historical lime and fresco techniques.
Our in-person courses are held in the studio in southern Tuscany in Italy so that you can benefit from the immense wealth of inspiration this area has to offer. We are happy to accommodate beginners to advanced students. We plan your experience with us around giving you the maximum hands-on learning as possible; not just theory, but practice.
We also have some new online classes that you can do to get a taster of what our in-person classes are like. Please see our online classes or keep reading for more information below.
Authentic Teachings
ARTISAN CRAFTS
All our courses are taught by the owner of the FlorenceArt.Net studio, Alison Woolley. Alison is a Scottish born, ex-pat Canadian with more than 20 years experience living and working as a decorative artist in Tuscany. Her teachings and art are firmly rooted in the Florentine tradition and in the artisan community there. This combination allows Florenceart.net to offer you real interaction with Italian master artisans and their techniques, while facilitating your stay and responding to your need to feel at “home away from home”. Tuscany is a truly unique location to learn. It is the cradle of the Renaissance, and the medieval town of Anghiari is considered one of the top ten most beautiful towns in Italy.
We have some free video classes and online courses that you can do from home
For Lovers of Art
CLASSES FOR ALL LEVELS
We believe art can be enjoyed by everyone! Across our courses, we cater for all levels. For beginners, we give step by step instructions, recipes, and make sample frames and panels. You can learn to create painted and decorative effects that you never thought you could in the country that gave birth to the decorative arts. Art lovers and visitors to Italy say that the ‘hands on’ sessions in the workshop led them to a whole new appreciation of the works of art that they see in museums. For advanced students, our courses are for immersing yourself in Italian quality, style and craftsmanship. As professionals, you can add some exciting and genuine quality finishes to your portfolio. We offer you Italian techniques and ways of improving your work, always with an eye on an efficient use of time and a level of quality that will set you apart.
OUR PAST STUDENTS
“I couldn’t recommend Alison Woolley enough. She not only generously shares her knowledge with clarity and care but does so with great patience too. I have learnt and assimilated so much thanks to her wonderful teaching style. In just a very few days she not only gave me, a complete novice, the skills to create pieces of art using traditional techniques but she also made them easy to comprehend and assimilate whilst also imparting a deep sense of the whole creative process. The two courses which I attended were in themselves wonderful, but the added bonus is that I can now see that the skills she taught us can be used in many other ways too - for all of this I am so grateful.”
Kim Pearce - Tuscany Italy - Artist - Gilding Course, Volognano Castle Retreat 2021
IN-PERSON COURSES AND CLASSES
Select a technique below to learn more about individual courses that we run. If you would like a full list of all courses then please see the Course List below. Throughout the year we also hold retreat courses in which all students stay and learn on site in a beautiful location such as the Castle of Volognano.
COMPLETE COURSE LIST
The table below shows all our in-person courses. Courses are scheduled according to demand. Once a course is scheduled, dates will be added to the list below. If you are interested in joining a course, please complete our Course Enquiry Form.
Course Group | Course Name | Description | Course Dates | Fees | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Historical Lime and Fresco Techniques | Historical Lime and Fresco Techniques | Learn to create decorative fresco paintings or panels. | TBD | TBD | FlorenceArt.Net Studio,
Carmine Anghiari |
Mural Decoration | Mural Decoration, Architectural illusion, Trompe l’Oeil | Learn techniques of the ancient art passed down through generations of artisans. | TBD | TBD | FlorenceArt.Net Studio,
Carmine Anghiari |
Decorative Painting | Advanced Decorative Painting | Study techniques to strengthen the most important aspects of your decorative painting. | TBD | TBD | FlorenceArt.Net Studio,
Carmine Anghiari |
Decorative Painting | Introduction to Decorative Painting | Learn traditional techniques for producing traditional Florentine painted decoration. | TBD | TBD | FlorenceArt.Net Studio,
Carmine Anghiari |
Gilding | Advanced Water Gilding | Further your knowledge of the techniques of Italian water gilding with gold and silver leaf. | TBD | TBD | FlorenceArt.Net Studio,
Carmine Anghiari |
Gilding | Introduction to Water Gilding | Learn the basics of water gilding with 22 karat leaf, dutch metal leaf, and silver leaf. | TBD | TBD | FlorenceArt.Net Studio,
Carmine Anghiari |
FREE VIDEOS
Below we have a selection of free videos that you can watch anytime by selecting the play buttons. These short tutorials will take you through some of the fundamentals, like how to select a color palette and what are the correct brushes. These are the perfect introduction to one of our online courses which can also be seen below. You can also receive our downloadable class notes that accompany these free videos.