Paint Sedona Plein Air Painting Workshop Report I

I don't often blog detailed reports on the Paint Sedona plein air painting workshops, the reason being that I do so many of them.  But I thought I'd give you an idea of what we do.  I offer three different types of workshops:  all-level workshops, retreat/advanced/mentoring workshops, and also special topic workshops.  (You can get details on all of these at www.paintsedona.com.)   This past week, we had an all-level workshop.

The all-level workshops are, in many ways, similar to the workshops I teach when I travel cross-country.  We cover the fundamentals of plein air painting and go to some pretty spectacular places to try out the techniques I teach.   Every day, we start in the studio with a short lecture plus a field demonstration, followed by student painting time and critiques.  The critiques - I prefer to call the critique a "show-and-tell," which sounds much less intimidating - may happen at the end of the day or first thing the next morning, depending on time.

The big difference between these workshops and the ones I teach cross-country is the size.  My Paint Sedona workshops are limited to four students.  Attendees really enjoy this small group size and the extra attention they get.  Plus, I like the fact that a small group has a much smaller impact on the environment.

Oak Creek Blues, 9x12 pastel - $150+shipping

This week, we painted a variety of scenery, from rocks to trees to water.  We painted at Red Rock Crossing and at Schnebly Hill, on the Sedona Heritage Museum grounds and at Doe Mesa.  Mornings started off cool but warmed up quickly.  The cicadas down by the creek enjoyed the warmth, too, and sang the whole day we were painting at Red Rock Crossing.

Schnebly Hill Reds, 9x12, oil - $150+shipping

I've included a few location photos from the week, plus some photos of my lecture notes.

Next time, I'll write about one of my special topic weeks.