~ The 2026 Spring Art Retreat at Torri Superiore Italy ~
Come spend two weeks with us in a 14th century Alpine Village...
WHISPERS FROM WITHIN
~ A Painting Journey into Your Higher Self & Spirit Animals ~
With Florence Mรฉnard Cuepaliztli & Janine Ana Hatha
Friday May 8th ~ Sunday May 24th 2026
Tuition for the course includes Full Accommodation
in cosy apartments with 3 full meals per day
Share your Vision with a group of Kindred Spirits
And enjoy Communal Living in a friendly Eco-village
WHISPERS FROM WITHIN
~ A Painting Journey into Your Higher Self & Spirit Animals ~
With Florence Mรฉnard Cuepaliztli & Janine Ana Hatha
~ NOW IN ITS 16TH YEAR, THE ART RETREAT AT TORRI SUPERIORE
OFFERS TWO WEEKS OF PAINTING & INNER EXPLORATION ~
Under the attentive guidance & detailed instruction of our teachers
you'll develop Two Original Works
...With FLORENCE MรNARD CUEPALIZTLI
you'll paint your Higher Self in the Mischtechnik
...With JANINE ANA HATHA,
you'll paint your Spirit Animal in Liquid Acrylics
...Plus ~ Guided Shamanic Journeys
Sound Healing & Cacao Ceremony
Chanting, Yoga & Medicine Dance
Walks in Nature & Swimming in a Secluded Grotto
โ
TORRI SUPERIORE
A LEGENDARY LOCATION...
Tuition for the course includes Full Accommodation
in cosy apartments with 3 full meals per day.
Torri Superiore is a labyrinthine village of spiralling stairs & narrow passages,
built from the local limestone in 1300.
In this cosy & creative atmosphere, the inhabitants live in harmony with Nature,
practicing Permaculture & Sustainable Living.
We will become part of village life ~ sharing in communal meals prepared by the local chef
from fresh and mostly organic ingredients grown in the surrounding fieldsโฆ
โ
Each Student brings their own unique talent to the Seminar
~ Massage, Energy Work, Live Music ~
to enhance the group experience
~ Paint Your Higher Self ~
Explorations in the Mischtechnik
with Florence Mรฉnard Cuepaliztli
Florence Cuepaliztli will guide you through the process of Painting Your Higher Self using a fast version of the Mischtechnik. This layered approach alternates between underpainting in egg tempera and coloured glazes in oil.
As a painter, moondancer and inner journeyer, Florence is passionate about offering Inner Journeys to help you find the deepest images inside yourself. Using her voice along with her shamanic drum and chimes, you will be guided into a closed-eye inner journey to meet your higher self, a more spiritual version of yourself who will become a guide in your journey through life. Your higher self doesnโt have to be a human figure, but can take on any form.
Each day weโll connect with the higher version of ourselves through the painting process - bringing the image to life, layer by layer...
The Inspiration of Visionary Art
During the two-week course, Florence will offer:
โข Guided Open-Eye Meditations on your own work to see deeper into the painting and its ever-evolving vision
โข A variety of ceremonies & exercises, together with Janine, to get you in the creative flow (see Retreat Features below)
โข An encouraging and non-competitive environment - to inspire you to connect with your true self on a deeper level
Florence encourages beginners to overcome inner resistance and pick up the brush - showing you how to trust yourself and be playful with the process. With Florence, you'll learn how to open your senses, engage in the creative flow, and become one with your painting.
All levels of experience are welcome.
Whispers of the Wild ~ Painting Your Spirit Animal
in Layered Liquid Acrylics
with Janine Ana Hatha
Do you hear the gentle whispers of spirit? Their voices are subtle, heard only when your senses awaken and your heart opens to the unseen.
Janine Ana Hatha will guide you through her unique process of creating A Portrait of your Spirit Animal, using a layered approach to liquid acrylics. Over the course of two weeks, we will dive into the magic of spirit animals and bring your personal guide ~ with its message ~ onto the canvas.
Spirit animals are companions from the subtle realms who support, protect & reflect aspects of our own soul. They show us our own inner qualities & strengths, seeking expression in image-form.
Throughout the painting's creation, we will honor the presence of your animal by making its energy visible...
Inner Journeying & Creative Flow
This seminar isn't just about painting; itโs also about inner work ~ developing a deep connection to your spirit animal and embodying its qualities. To support this process, Janine will also offer:
โข Guided shamanic journeys to meet and bond with your spirit animal
โข A variety of ceremonies & exercises, together with Florence, to get you in the creative flow (see Retreat Features below)
โข Flow techniques to immerse you in the creative process
These practices help you to connect with your inner landscape, making your painting not just a technical exercise, but a personal exploration of energy, power & intuition.
FEATURES OF THIS SPECIAL ART RETREAT
EXTRA OFFERINGS TO EMBODY
YOUR HIGHER SELF & YOUR POWER ANIMAL
~ A transformative experience ~
This year weโd like to go beyond our previous seminars. Florence and Janine are committed to offering you an extraordinary experience. Our days will be dedicated to the transmission of painting techniques. But before and after class, we'll offer different practices to help you unlock your creative process and stay focused. With the help of our wonderful hosts at Torri Superiore, we plan to create a deeply loving & inspiring vessel for you.
Over the course of two weeks, Florence & Janine will offer:
- Inner Journeys & Guided Meditations
- Sound Healing sessions with drums, chimes & singing bowls
- Medicine Dance, Yoga & Movement exercises (these practices are very gentle & mindful- suitable for everyone)
- Singing, Chanting & Voice Opening exercises
- Cacao ceremony
Plus:
- Swimming in beautiful surroundings
- Walks in Nature
- The opportunity to meet kindred spirits and make artist-friends
All of our practices are designed to help you
connect with the source of your inner visions
and access the creative power within.
~THE PAINTING TECHNIQUES ~
~ FAST APPROACH TO THE MISCHTECHNIK ~
with Florence Mรฉnard Cuepaliztli
First we'll develop an underpainting in white and brown egg tempera before glazing in oils and finishing with direct painting.
While rendering with white egg tempera, you will create the volumes while paying close attention to the light source in your image. With the brown egg tempera, you will deepen the foundation for your shadows.
At the colour stage, you will create depth through the layered application of oil glazes. Then, you will learn how to mix flesh tones with direct painting, and enjoy the process of refining the painting as a whole. In the end, youโll add the final touches, enhancing the highlights and shadows.
Over the course of the class, you will also learn how to create interesting background effects through the playful approach of decalcomania. Through small experiments, you'll learn the difference between egg tempera, casein and oil whites, to see which works best for you.
In this class you will:
โข Give more volume to your art
โข Experiment with Colour Glazing
โข Work with Natural Pigments
โข Explore and enjoy the use of Oil Paint
~ The Lineage of the Mischtechnik ~
Deeply enriched from her experience as Co-director of The Academy of Visionary Art, Florence will impart her years of knowledge from painting alongside all the talented teachers who came through its doors to transmit their techniques.
Over time, Florence developed her own fast version of the Mischtechnik, after researching and testing different approaches to this classical technique first revived by the Viennese Master Ernst Fuchs.
During the seminar, we'll let our inspiration and imagination flow with the beautiful flora of The Eco-village of Torri Superiore and its surroundings ~ taking photos of butterflies & dragonflies, the special flowers and rocks with the morning or evening skies as references for your artwork.
With Florence, you'll learn how to observe Nature, open your senses and be in harmony with your creative self.
For artists accustomed to acrylics, the transition to oil & tempera is a rich & rewarding experience, allowing for new explorations in oilโs unique opalescent effects.
~ LAYERED LIQUID ACRYLICS ~
With Janine Ana Hatha
~ FLOWING, LAYERING & WEAVING ORGANIC PATTERNS ~
โข A Mischtechnik-Inspired Approach for Acrylics
Drawing inspiration from traditional oil-painting methods, we'll adapt the essence of the Mischtechnik to modern acrylicsโtranslating its depth and opalescence into acrylic glazes and layering strategies. Demonstrations will show how to achieve luminosity and delicate transitions while working entirely with acrylics.
โข Transparent Glazes & Layering
Youโll learn to use thin, translucent layers to build luminous colour, soft edges, and atmospheric depth. Through careful layeringโpushing warm and cool tonesโyouโll model volume and mood while preserving the sense of light that gives visionary work its glow.
โข Weaving Organic Patterns
A core focus is weaving organic patterns โ vines, feathers, fur, water, clouds, galaxies, and energy linesโinto a unified visual field. These patterns act as an energetic language, guiding the eye and amplifying the spirit of your animal guide.
WHAT YOU WILL TAKE AWAY
A practical toolkit of flow methods, glazing techniques, and compositional approaches, plus a set of small studies and a spirit animal painting. All methods are accessible to every level and support ongoing creative growth and exploration.
CREATIVE FLOW
Each day begins with a morning ritual and small creative exercises to spark inspiration. Together, we'll create a series of small studies focused on movement and creative flow. Working quickly and intuitively, youโll discover organic shapes, textures, and unexpected forms. This phase is about letting goโallowing spontaneous gestures to weave natural patterns across the surface.
YOUR PORTRAIT OF A SPIRIT ANIMAL
From these studies, weโll develop one in-depth painting on a medium-sized canvas featuring your spirit animal. We build the painting together, step-by-step: from compositional thumbnails, drawings, and intuitive backgrounds to underpainting, glazing, and final highlights.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
โข Merging Realistic Animals with Fantastical Surroundings
Youโll learn to render realistic animal formsโanatomy, eyes, texturesโwhile placing them in imaginative, symbolic environments. We blend observational detail with visionary elements so your animal guide feels both true and magical: grounded in realism, infused with colour, light, and subtle energetic patterns.
We accept students at all levels of experience
from beginners to advanced.
FLORENCE MENARD CUEPALIZTLI
~ Biography & Works ~
From Florence to Cuepaliztli, the story of a transformation...
Born in Le Mans, France, Florence studied Art History at the Ecole du Louvre after completing a Degree in Business Management. In Paris, she enjoyed a long career in Communications as a Press Liaison in the Arts.
In the year 2000, she and her husband Laurence Caruana assisted Prof. Ernst Fuchs in his studios of Monaco and Castillon, where she first learned the Mischtechnik. Moving to Vienna, she became the co-director of The Vienna Academy of Visionary Art while also managing The Summer Seminars in Torri Superiore. Inspired by the Visionary artists around her, she began painting, and has never looked back, enthusiastically exploring her inner world of visions while honing her craft.
In 2018 she joined the first Moondance in Austria, eventually co-leading the Singing of Ancestral Songs (Cantos) on the large Drum (Huehuetl) as a Palabra. At the 2021 Moondance, she received her spiritual name: CUEPALIZTLI, meaning โTransformation.โ
In Vienna, she deepened her study of the Mischtechnik (Amanda Sage, Kuba Ambrose) while completing an initiation into Inner Journeying (Kevin Campeau, Roel Crabbรฉ). She taught the Mischtechnik at the 2024 Summer Seminar, while leading students on inner journeys, accompanied by shamanic drumming and other sound healing instruments.
The artist now lives in Burgundy France where she also practices Permacultural Gardening and pursues a more sustainable lifestyle.
Florence Mรฉnard Cuepaliztli has exhibited her work in galleries and festivals, both in France and abroad (Barcelona, Vienna, Moscow). As a teacher, she has worked with both adults and children, whether online or in person, offering Mischtechnik classes, sound healings and Inner Journeys. She's deeply committed to transmitting the love of creation to both beginners and advanced practitioners.
โ
Website: Cuepalitzli.com
Facebook: Florence Menard - Cuepalitzli
Instagram: @florencemenard.cuepalitzli
JANINE ANA HATHA
~ Biography & Works ~
โCreate the world you wish to see...โ
From an early age, Janine was surrounded by imagination, nature, and many animals. Although her creative spirit bloomed in childhood, she later stepped away from art in pursuit of a more conventional life as a teacher. Yoga, meditation, and a growing connection with nature eventually brought her back to herselfโand to her art.
A transformative meditation experience became the compass of her creative path: her father placed a bundle of paintbrushes in her right hand, telling her to โcreate the world you wish to see,โ while her mother placed a precious stone in her left, reminding her to โstay connected to nature.โ
These symbols continue to shape her work, guiding each brushstroke from heart to hand, inspiring organic forms, flowing patterns, and a deep respect for the spirits of plants and animals.
Her journey took a profound turn in 2017 when she discovered The Vienna Academy of Visionary Art. There, she finally found the artistic language she had been searching for and studied with teachers such as Amanda Sage, Autumn Skye Morrison, Daniel Mirante, Olga Klimova, Laurence Caruana, Kevin Campeau, Chris Dyer, Li Lian Kolster, Jonathan Solter, Kuba Ambrose, and Vera Atlantia, whose guidance enriched her technique and vision.
Alongside her art studies, she also followed a path into shamanic work, sound healing, and transformational dance. Guidance from Roel Crabbeฬ, Liberation Dance practices inspired by Antara Dakini, and several journeys to Peruโconnecting with the animal and plant spirits of the Amazonโfurther shaped her creative process.
Today, her paintings blend visionary imagery, nature, and the subtle realms discovered through meditation and inner journeying. Through her work, she hopes to spark a sense of connection, inspire others to remember their own creative essence and to imagineโand embodyโthe world they wish to see.
Website: www.ana-hatha-arts.com
Facebook: Ana Hatha Arts
Instagram: @ana_hatha_arts
~ TORRI SUPERIORE ~
A MEDIEVAL ECO-VILLAGE
Torri Superiore is a labyrinthine village of spiralling stairs & narrow passages,
built from the local limestone in 1300.
โ
In this cosy & creative atmosphere, the inhabitants live in harmony with Nature,
practicing Permaculture & Sustainable Living.
โ
We will become part of village life ~ sharing in communal meals prepared by the local chef
from fresh and mostly organic ingredients grown in the surrounding fieldsโฆ
โ
Each Student brings their own unique talent to the Seminar
~ Yoga, Chanting, Live Music ~
to enhance the group experience
REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT THESE MENU ITEMS
The Academy of Visionary Art is run by The Visionary Guild,
a non-profit Association registered in France under the number RNA W751191486