Ivy Newport Chateau Retreat
20 – 29 May 2027
Come with me to the South of France.
To a private château in the Dordogne, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever had the privilege of working in. Stone walls, long meals, golden light, and a sacred stillness that makes you want to paint all day.
But this time I’m doing something different.
Over the years of teaching retreats around the world, I kept noticing a kind of artist in my community who wasn’t being fully served by what existed out there. Not a beginner but an artist with a creative practice already underway, with their own work they wanted to push further, who simply needed protected time and space to do it.
Most creative retreats are built around instruction. Wonderful but if you already have a practice, that format can quietly work against you. Formal residencies offer independence, but often come with a weight of their own. Applications, credentials, the unspoken pressure to justify your place there.
Neither quite fits the artist who simply wants to show up, work, be supported and breathe.
The Studioworks Salon was created for that artist.
Daily Painting Sessions
Delicious Gourmet Dinners
Daily Excursions
To Beautiful Locations
Inspired by the great artistic salons of Paris and the spirit of artists gathering not to perform but to create and connect, this is something genuinely new. A curated gathering of practicing artists. Ten days in a stunning French chateau in the Dordogne. No structured instruction, no daily demos, only protected studio time for you! Just your work, one on one guidance and support from Ivy, a small group of fellow artists, your creative questions, and a beautifully held space to pursue them.
About Ivy:
Ivy Newport is an artist, educator, and the founder of Studioworks, a global creative education community with over 52 international teachers, a creative membership with over 2000 members, an online journal, and sold-out retreats across France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Egypt, and Scotland.
She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ringling College of Art and Design, where she studied Illustration, and has been painting since childhood. Before building Studioworks, she ran her own skincare company and interior design firm, which means she understands the particular challenges of building a creative business from the ground up, not just the art of it but the logistics, the pricing, the visibility, the doubt.
Since 2014 she has been leading international art retreats and workshops, and since 2016 she has helped creative women launch and run their own online classes and businesses. That combination, deep creative practice alongside real business experience, is what makes the Salon different from anything else out there. The one-on-one time with Ivy isn’t just about your painting. It’s about your whole creative life, if that’s what you need it to be.
She comes to the Salon not as an instructor standing at the front of the room, but as someone who has spent over a decade in the same world you’re navigating, who’s entire goal has been to uplift, support and encourage women in their creative life.
Your Time at the Salon:
The days here are yours to shape.
Each morning opens with a reflective prompt from Ivy, something to set an intention for the day rather than a schedule to follow. From there you move into your own work at your own pace. Every artist has an independent workstation in our shared studio space, room to spread out, make a mess, and think without interruption.
Ivy be present throughout each day for optional one-on-one consultations. These might be about the work in front of you, a creative direction you’re wrestling with, or the bigger questions of building a sustainable artistic life. Portfolio reviews and business guidance are available if that’s useful to you. Nothing is mandatory. Everything is available.
We’ll take a few carefully chosen excursions into the Dordogne because the landscape and culture of this region deserve your attention. Just fewer than you’d find on one of Ivy’s teaching retreats, because your studio time is the priority.
In the evenings we gather around the table. Good food, good wine, and conversation about creativity and the creative life. These evening salons are where some of the most meaningful exchanges happen, artists talking honestly about their work, their doubts, their discoveries. Special guests might even attend!
Every participant has a private room and bathroom. Solitude matters here as much as community, and the Salon is designed to hold both.
The Accommodation
What’s included
Excursions
Daily trips to tailored locations chosen by the artist and their group. Opportunities to explore, shop, paint plein air or gather inspiration for studio work.
Tuition
Every day you will receive group and one-to-one tuition outside or in the studio in the form of demonstrations and individual feedback.
Food
Fresh baked goods, fresh fruit salads & continental style breakfasts every day. Locally produced, freshly cooked lunches and evening meals. We will visit a couple of restaurants at your own expense.
Accommodation
9 Nights lodging on the Chateau domaine with use of the swimming pool, tennis courts and grounds.
Farmhouse Suite
€4300
This is a bedroom in the farmhouse on the Chateau domaine with it’s own ensuite bathroom.
Chateau Suite
€4600
This is a bedroom in the chateau with its own ensuite bathroom
Couple’s Suite
€6800
This room is a for a couple with their own ensuite bathroom.