I still cannot quite believe I get to type this, but next summer I’m heading to Zakynthos, Greece for TWO weeks of art retreats! 🇬🇷🎨
After the first week of my Greece retreat filled so quickly, we decided to add a second set of dates, which means there are now two opportunities to join me:
July 15–22, 2027
July 22–29, 2027
Both retreats will take place on the beautiful Greek island of Zakynthos, where we’ll spend eight days and seven nights making art, exploring the island, eating incredible food, slowing waaaaay down, and hopefully remembering what it feels like to create simply because we love to.
Your Turn to Create
If you’re an art teacher, a creative, or simply someone who has spent a lot of time making things for everyone except yourself, you probably know how easy it is for your own creative practice to get pushed to the bottom of the list.
There’s always something else that needs to be done. Work. Kids. Lesson plans. Laundry. Dinner. Emails. LIFE.
And suddenly the sketchbook that you love so much has been sitting unopened for weeks.
These retreats are an opportunity to change that for a little while.
For one whole week, it’s your turn to create.
Not because you need to make something amazing. Not because you need to turn it into a lesson plan, post it on Instagram, sell it, or even show it to anyone else.
But simply because you deserve time to create, too.
This Is an ART Retreat
One of the things I’m most excited about with these Greece retreats is that they’re designed to be true artistic getaways.
My previous retreats have combined travel and art, and I’ve loved those experiences SO much. But when I’ve talked to past travelers about their favorite memories, so many of them have come back to the same thing:
The time we spent making art together.
The late nights with our sketchbooks open. Art supplies and little treasures from the day scattered across the table. Sitting around talking and painting. Learning from each other. Laughing. Trying something new. Having the time and space to get completely lost in making something.
So for Greece, I wanted more of THAT.
Rather than trying to see and do everything possible, we’re going to go deep instead of wide. There will absolutely be opportunities to explore Zakynthos, but the heart of this trip is our creative practice.
Our Home in Zakynthos
Yall, this villa is dreamyyyyyy.
We’ll spend the week at a private seaside villa in Zakynthos, complete with a pool, jacuzzi, terraces overlooking the Mediterranean and our very own spacious art studio.
Yes. An art studio overlooking the Ionian Sea.
We’ll also have a private chef preparing our meals each day, which means fewer logistics to worry about and more time to actually settle in, make art, relax, and enjoy being there.
There will be plenty of time to paint, but there will ALSO be time to sit by the pool with a book, eat delicious Greek food, soak up the sunshine, talk with new friends, and simply enjoy being in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
What Will We Make?
SO. MUCH. ART.
Our sketchbooks will be at the center of the week, and we’ll work with all sorts of mixed media: watercolor, gouache, colored pencils, markers, pens, collage, and whatever other materials you love using.
We’ll pull inspiration from the things around us and explore subjects like still life, landscapes, architecture, figures, and observational drawing.
But this retreat isn’t about teaching you how to make art exactly like mine.
I want to help you develop your own sketchbook practice.
We’ll experiment with ways to simplify what we see, loosen up, play with materials, get out of our own heads, and stop worrying quite so much about whether something is “good.”
Some pages might become finished paintings.
Some might be messy experiments.
Some might be little collections of colors, words, ticket stubs, drawings, or memories from the day.
It all counts because it's part of the process!
We’ll Explore Greece, Too!
As much as I could probably spend an entire week happily sitting at our villa with a sketchbook, we ARE in Greece after all!
During each retreat, we’ll take four half-day adventures around Zakynthos, giving us a chance to experience more of the island and gather plenty of inspiration for our sketchbooks.
Our excursions include exploring Zante Town, taking a boat trip to Navagio (Shipwreck) Beach, visiting an award-winning olive oil farm, and spending time at a Zakynthos horse farm.
I love the idea of experiencing these places without feeling like we need to rush from one thing to the next. We can explore, notice, photograph, sketch, collect inspiration, and then bring all of those experiences back into the studio with us.
But My Favorite Part? The People.
As much as I love traveling and making art, the thing that has surprised me most about hosting art retreats is how meaningful the connections have become.
There’s something really special about bringing together a small group of people who share this common thread.
You might arrive knowing no one.
But then you sit next to someone while painting. You eat dinner together. You stay up too late talking over open sketchbooks. You laugh about the painting that went completely sideways that afternoon. You encourage each other to try something new.
And somewhere along the way, strangers start becoming friends.
Some of the relationships I’ve made through these retreats mean more to me than I can really put into words, and getting to watch those connections happen between other people has become one of my absolute favorite parts of hosting them.
Greece Art Retreat Details
🇬🇷 Where: Zakynthos, Greece
🎨 Week One: July 15–22, 2027
🎨 Week Two: July 22–29, 2027
🏡 Length: 8 days / 7 nights
👩🎨 Group size: Small-group retreat
💵 Rooms start at $4,550 per person
Your retreat includes accommodations, meals, excursions, local transportation, airport transfers at prearranged times, and all art instruction.
Airfare, travel insurance, art materials, staff tips, and personal expenses are not included.
I’m partnering with UpTrek for these retreats, so if you’re considering joining us, I highly recommend reading through their FAQs and all of the trip details before booking so you know exactly what to expect.
Are You Coming to Greece With Me? 🇬🇷
If you’ve been craving time to reconnect with your creativity, fill some sketchbook pages, experience somewhere beautiful, meet other creative people, and give yourself permission to make art simply because you want to, I would absolutely LOVE to have you there.
This isn't about being the “best” artist in the room.
It’s not about making perfect sketchbook pages.
And you definitely don’t need to arrive with everything figured out.
Just come ready to make art, I'll take it from there. 💙
July 15–22, 2027:
See retreat details + registration
July 22–29, 2027:
See retreat details + registration
UpTrek FAQs:
Read the FAQs before registering
I hope to see what we create together in Greece!!
xo,
Kaitlyn 🇬🇷💙
