Home > Courses > 8-day Thangka Drawing & Painting Retreat in Umbria, Italy
Italy Thangka Drawing & Painting Retreat
2-9 May, 2026, Umbria (near Assisi)
In this wonderful 8-day thangka drawing & painting retreat in Italy you will learn to draw and color or paint a Tibetan Buddha or Mandala according to the Tibetan Buddhist thangka tradition. The course is suitable for everyone, from beginners to advanced.
Our retreat location is set in the Umbria region, the ‘Green Heart of Italy.’ near Assisi, the famous birthplace of Saint Francis (that you can visit during our day/afternoon off). In addition to the thangka drawing and painting sessions, you can make beautiful walks and swim in the private lake.
Umbria is famous for its lush, rolling hills, its medieval hill towns, the Trasimeno Lake and Marmore’s Falls, and it’s also celebrated for its rustic cuisine featuring black truffles, wines and olive oil. The regional capital is Perugia with its artistic legacy and influence on culture. Gubbio, Spoleto, Orvieto and Todiare are also beautiful places worth a visit during your stay in Italy.
Carmen teaching Thangka drawing & painting techniques during the Thangka Art Retreat in Italy, 2025
About the Thangka Art Drawing & Painting Retreat:
Learn to draw or paint a beautiful Buddha or Mandala according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Thangka.
This special retreat offers a beautiful combination of:
- Art sessions
- Lectures (on buddhist art and iconography)
- Meditation and (working with) Mantras
- Thangka Colouring Techniques
- Thangka Painting Techniques
- (Buddhist) Teachings
- Free day/afternoon
- Movie Night
Translation needed?
The teachings will be offered in clear English. If you need translation, the texts that are used in the lectures and meditation can be translated for you in Italian or any other language free of charge. If you request this please make this clear on your registration form.
For whom? + Subjects to choose from:
This retreat is for anyone who is interested in Buddhism and Art.
You do not need to have (any) drawing or painting experience, Carmen will guide you personally and will bring you to a higher level.
First time thangka students learn the basics on the first full day and learn to draw the Face of the Buddha.*
From the second day they’ll start with the big subject.
*To save time and immediately start with the bigger subject you can also take the Online Buddha Face Course beforehand
Other subjects to choose from:
The Buddha (Buddha Shakyamuni), the Historical Buddha of our time, the Medicine Buddha, the Buddha of Healing, the Mandala of the Five Elements (balancing your body and mind), or the Eight Auspicious Symbols , that you either can create in the form of a Lotus-shaped Mandala or all Eight Symbols separately
Green Tara Thangka by Carmen
Green Tara
This year, a special Buddha takes central stage that you can choose to work on!
Green Tara is the most famous female Buddha, and is the embodiment of Active Compassion. In addition she is absolutely fearless and extends her hand -like a mother to her child- to fulfill wishes and stands, with her right foot extended, ready to help where needed. There are many stories of people being rescued from difficult circumstances while reciting her mantra or invoking Tara’s name.
Green Tara is seen as one of the first emancipated women. When male practitioners urged her to pray for rebirth as a man -believing only men could reach enlightenment- she vowed instead: “Until samsara is empty, I will help all beings, but always in a female body!”
Advanced Students
More advanced thangka students are welcome to start painting one of their existing drawings, or continue to work on their artworks. Of course they can also choose one of the above mentioned subjects.
NOTE: Before the retreat, Carmen will be in touch with all participants about their chosen subject in order to prepare them. She can also advise you on what subject to choose. You will also receive a list with art materials to bring.
About the retreat location:
Our enchanting retreat place is an oasis of peace, where you can experience spirituality in union with nature.
It has single, double, triple and quadruple rooms, and offers full board with wonderful vegetarian meals, and unlimited tea and herbal infusions.
The retreat place is easily accessible from the nearest train station Fossato di Vico, as well as and from the airports of Perugia, Rome, Florence and Bologna. The location can organize your transportation from the train station or from an airport at an additional cost.
In your free time (and free day/afternoon off during the week) you can:
- Make beautiful walks
Expect scenic roads and forests - Walk 5 min to the private lake
It’s called Primo Lago di Fassia – bring your swimming clothes! - Visit the medieval town of Gubbio
Here you can visit the Cathedral with 16th-century paintings and a baroque chapel, the Civic Museum, or take the cable car to Mount Ingino, with its Sant’Ubaldo Basilica and views of the Apennines Mountains. 
Visit the pilgrimage site of Assisi
A beautiful hill town and pilgrim place, it was the birthplace of St. Francis (1181–1226), one of Italy’s patron saints. The Basilica of St. Francis is a massive, 2-level church, consecrated in 1253. Its 13th-century frescoes portraying the life of St. Francis have been attributed to Giotto and Cimabue, among others. The crypt houses the saint’s stone sarcophagus.
Expect a joyous week with a great group of people from all over the world!
This retreat offers you much more than just a beautiful drawing or painting.
The art of Thangka is a meditation in itself and creates joy and inner peace – something you will definitely experience this week.
More Info & Registration
+
Stay 8 days/7 nights Full Board (to be paid at the location), depending on the room you choose.
It’s also possible to bring your own tent or camper.
Full board includes the stay + 8 days/7 nights, all vegetarian meals, unlimited tea / herbal infusions
Price per person per stay (incl. tourist tax):
* Your registration is complete only after your deposit is made
After filling out the registration form you will receive an email (allow us max 1-2 days) and will be asked to make the deposit asap.
Want to bring a partner?
If you want to bring a partner who stays in your room but does not participate in the art retreat -they are however welcome to join the morning meditation and the evening lectures if they like- their deposit will be €190 instead of €490.
Please write this in the message section on the registration form.
Cancellation Policy:
Registered and paid your deposit but unable to come? You will get your deposit back 100% when canceling before 21 Februari, 2026.
After that you’ll get 50% back when canceling before 18 April, 2026.
When canceling within two weeks before the course starts we are unable to make a refund. You are however welcome to find somebody who can take your place. In case the retreat is full and there are people on the waiting list who can take your space you will get your full deposit back.
** There is a limited amount of rooms that can be turned into a single room, depending on the amount of participants. The sooner you register, the more chance to a single room. When full, you will be assigned a room with another participant (with single beds and attached bathroom).
You can choose if you want to draw & color or paint:
To draw (advised for beginner students):
- a minimum of 2 sheets of good quality drawing paper 50x65cm (min. 200 grams)
- a long ruler (for ex. 50cm)
- a pencil HB (or mechanical pencil if you like)
- an eraser
- colored pencils of a good brand (such as Prismacolor Premier, Caran d’Ache Luminance or Faber Castell Polychromos)
To paint:
- the drawing materials above
- in addition to this please bring all you need for painting. Carmen will send you the List of Materials beforehand but you can also bring paints and other materials you already have at home
- Note that there’s no art shop nearby, but in ‘Carmen’s little shop’ you can buy additional art materials if needed – please bring cash for this
Note that it may be easier to stick to coloured pencil techniques for a while before moving on to painting as the thangka painting techniques take a long time to master, and painting a thangka can easily take a year or more. During the retreat you may want to draw your Buddhas and paint a few small symbols to see if the painting is something for you.
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