She’s the reason why DIY today looks as desirable as it does. Annie Sloan made recycling furniture a form of art with her revolutionary Chalk Paint™. “I love the bit where you're painting and suddenly time disappears. You don't know how long you've been doing it and you're totally in that world. I think that’s the most wonderful feeling,” says Annie. Art was always an integral part of her life. Growing up, she was surrounded by paintings and art works at home, “My family was more creative than scientific,” the 77 year old quips. Painting since she was about 17-18 years old, Annie trained as a fine artist, first at Croydon college and then at Reading university in the UK. But Annie was never really interested in traditional art. “I went to art school and I loved painting but I wasn’t crazy about the art world. I was more interested in the paintwork that an average person would do. I wanted to know what is it that drives people who are not trained artists to decorate? I found that fascinating,” she says.
A close up of a mural at The City Palace in Udaipur.
Papier-mâché bowls painted at the retreat in vibrant colours.
A shot of the Bujera Fort, the boutique hotel that is the location for Annie's annual painting retreat in India.
Artist Annie Sloan painting away at the retreat in India.
Fabric painting is one of the techniques that is part of the painting retreat in India.
All painting is done with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint™.
It’s the democratic nature of furniture painting that attracted Annie towards it. The fact that one didn’t necessarily have to be good at drawing or feel something and see something inspiring to create is what caught her attention. “You can just paint a chair any colour, put a line on it or a dot, you can do layers and it’ll look lovely in your room. You can do simple things and it's very creative and rewarding.”
This idea to make paint democratic led the curation of her first painting retreat in 2022 at Court House Farm in Somerset, UK. Soon after in 2025, she followed it up her maiden Indian one in Udaipur in 2025. The colours everywhere in India fascinated her, “The fact that you can put, say, purple and yellow, bright fuchsia pink and orange or turquoise blue and pink together is very freeing. The combinations make one sit up and notice.”
Her painting retreat in India this year at the Bujera Fort nestled in the Aravalli hills, brings together artists and furniture-painting enthusiasts from around the world for about six days of immersive creativity. Here, the days will be spent experimenting with painting techniques ranging from stencilling and gilding to shibori and fabric dyeing, while excursions to the City Palace, local villages and markets aim to offer participants a deeper understanding of Rajasthan's rich visual culture. Designed as an intimate experience with only 15 guests, this retreat is intended to serve as fuel for creativity to run wild across the Bujera Fort.
Creativity runs wild across Bujera Fort The property nestled in the Aravali Hills is steeped in art and hence the perfect location for the retreat.
For Annie, India's influence extends beyond the retreat itself. The colours, crafts and everyday creativity she encounters continue to shape the way she thinks about paint and decoration. It is perhaps this endless source of inspiration that keeps bringing her back to Udaipur, where creativity can be found not just in galleries and palaces, but in the everyday details of life.
Details of the programme
Dates: 01-06 February 2027.
Fees: The all-inclusive six day retreat is priced between ₹5,56,632 and ₹6,63,577 depending on preferred rooms.
Tickets are now live on her website
