If you have been wanting to paint plein air in the desert SouthWest, here's your opportunity.
All media. Arrive Sunday September 15th, depart Sunday the 22nd.
From the beginning, one of my goals for THE SKIES AT TAOS has been to make it a place for artists, writers and other creative people to use as a retreat. These would be intimate in scale, promoting a camaraderie amongst fellow artists who could balance their own work sessions with investigating the many inspiring creative sources traditionally drawn on by artists of Taos and the surrounding areas. I envision day trips to Santa Fe ( Georgia O'Keefe Museum - www.okeeffemuseum.org/and the fantastic International Folk Art Museum - www.internationalfolkart.org/, plus the galleries on Canyon Road -www.canyonroadarts.com/) or Abiquiu (Georgia O'Keefe's home, Ghost Ranch - ghostranch.org/and the Christ-in-the-Desert Benedictine Monastery- christdesert.org/). In and around Taos itself, there are the World Heritage Site- the Taos Pueblo- www.taospueblo.com/, the iconic San Francisco de Asis Church, Ranchos De Taos as well as many lesser known but appealing adobe churches , the Harwood Museum - www.harwoodmuseum.org/, the Hacienda Martinez - taosmuseums.org/view/hacienda-martinez and the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, plus numerous galleries and other places of interest. The Millicent Rogers Museum -www.millicentrogers.org/ has, in addition to its impressive jewelry and pottery collections, a Saturday morning painting-from-life session sponsored by the Taos Society of Portrait Artists. Landscape or abstract artists would find much to paint or inspire by taking a drive around The Enchanted Circle. Also, for those interested in portraying the human form, Taos boasts a lively street life, particularly when the weekend Farmer's Market - www.taosfarmersmarket.org/is in session.
Or, one could just stay put to observe and absorb the serenity and drama of the mesa around THE SKIES itself.
Following a day of painting, hiking or sight-seeing, participants would gather around the dinner table and the kiva fireplace or out on the star-lit patio to relax, share a bottle of wine and philosophize.
I am always open to collaborating with others to tailor stimulating workshops.
Artist Anne Johann and I have been discussing for some time the possibility of her conducting a September plein air workshop in Taos, more specifically, at THE SKIES AT TAOS! Now she is ready!
Anne is an accomplished landscape painter. Those familiar with her work will probably conjure up images of tidal pools and Hudson River vistas. It will be interesting to see what she and her students/fellow painters make of the brighter palette of Taos ( or is that just the way I see it?) Check out her website and consider signing up!
http://www.annejohann.com