After the Plein Air Convention & Expo in Las Vegas, we headed for Springdale, Utah, where we are coordinating a weeklong painting retreat. We arrived Monday afternoon to get the rental house ready for our participants. The house is located right in the middle of town so we can walk to restaurants and shops, but it lies secure in its own quiet compound off the main street. If we want to take the shuttle into the park, the shuttle stops right at the end of the road. As you can see from this photo taken in the living room, it's in a beautiful spot:
We are delighted to have a wide-ranging group, with people from Ontario, Tennessee, Florida, New Hampshire and Ohio. We've got both oil and pastel painters, so there'll be plenty of opportunity to learn from each other. Today we ended up at the park's Nature Center, where we had great views looking up the canyon. We started perhaps a little early - 8 a.m. - and the canyon was a bit windy and cool. (Tomorrow, we'll head out later to give the wind a chance to die down.) After a lunch respite, we rode the free shuttle through the canyon, looking at a variety of possible painting spots. The last time I was here, it was in November with the beautiful fall foliage; I can say that spring is just as lovely, with the cottonwoods showing their full spring green.
Riding a shuttle builds up an appetite, so we stopped by the Bumbleberry Bakery and bought two bumbleberry pies and ice cream. Yum! Afterward, we painted around the evening view around the house.
