Art in Arizona | Part 1
8 Days. 4 Instructors. 1 Trip of a Lifetime.
Thrilled. Nervous. After two years of the pandemic it was almost overload to board the plane with my luggage full of art supplies to go paint for a week in the desert. It was uncomfortable and exhilarating to travel alone again.
Learning From The Best
The week kicked off in Scottsdale with lectures by the instructors: Mitch Baird, Aimee Erickson, Dave Santillanes and Eric Jacobsen. This was my first workshop through the Scottsdale Artists’ School and Plein Air Painters of America. It was meaningful to learn from artists I admire, each remarkable painters and authentic people.
Some of the key takeaways were:
Turn your head sideways to see accurate color. (Mitch)
“Overstate, understate and never tell the truth.” - Emile Gruppe (Eric)
The frame size you choose is the first step to your composition. (Aimee)
For every single brush stroke, mix for five. (Dave)
Painting the Desert
For the next four days we painted at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. It was engaging to work with two instructors every day, they each had their own approach, but they all aligned on the same principles.
It was exciting to paint the desert, I’d been eager to paint it for a many years and finally the time had come. The atmosphere and colors are vastly different from the Pacific Northwest. It was helpful to switch my sap green for viridian to get the greens right.
One of my favorite evenings was at sunset. I didn’t have time to think about composition but it was a delight to see the colors shift to orange and pink.
Car Keys Mishap
Full days of painting are rewarding but also exhausting. While packing up after a long day I found myself suddenly locked out of my rental car, in what seemed the middle of no where. Mitch ran over immediately to help, I was so glad a few people were still around. Luckily the car windows were cracked just barely enough. I ended up with a bruised elbow and ego. For the rest of the week my keys were proudly tied around my neck, with a shoe string, to avoid further incidents. (Thanks to my husband Ryan for coming up with this creative solution.)
Scottsdale Art Walk
If you’re ever near Scottsdale, Arizona on a Thursday night I highly recommend joining the art walk. The warm night came alive with lights, live guitar music, open gallery doors and lively conversations. The Legacy Gallery introduced me to the beautiful work of Russell Case and The Atticus Gallery featured artwork and a bookstore (including large format pieces by Dr. Seuss).
Up Next, Vermilion Cliffs
After five days of painting and learning I was still ready for more. One of the coolest things about this workshop is that it included a trip 4hrs north to the Vermilion Cliffs for uninstructed painting with the instructors and other students. More on that in the next post!