April, May, then the workshop will be upon us, if you have been thinking about it, now is the time to signup for one of the most interesting and exciting workshop retreats you will find. It has been one of my favorites for over ten years.

To register contact the St Mary’s Art Center, Linda Nazemian

email nazemian@earthlink.net
website www.smacenter.org
More information below.

St Mary’s Art Center
Virginia City, Nevada
June 11 thru 15, Wed thru Sun

Located just 45 minutes from Reno, this historic town has played home to St Mary’s since 1876 when it began life as a hospital. Since 1965 it has been hub of art activity in the Virginia City area where artists have come to learn and paint with professional instructors from all parts of the country.

At this retreat-style workshop students will live and paint in the restored 1875 building. With recently renovated rooms, heating, bathrooms, internet access, parlor, and dining room, one can enjoy the ambiance here as well as the camaraderie of associating with other artists.

Dinners are a team enterprise with individuals pitching in with food, cooking and of course eating. The kitchen is fully equipped, just bring food.

We will start by sketching and painting outdoors in the morning hours and retiring to the studio to work with our drawings and paintings to make finished works.

Not only do lectures feature information on watercolor but on design, composition, and drawing which is the heart of it all.

There will be morning painting demos, individual instruction, critiques and slide shows.
For the exercise minded there are local hiking trails for morning or evening walks, for those who are risk takers there are the gaming tables uptown.

The St Mary’s Art Center Website has detailed information on the facility as well as the workshops.
For contact and registration info click on workshop listing page on this website.

Plein Air Workshop in Cambria,
October 20 to 24, 2008

I just returned from a short trip to the coast in December scouting out some sites for an outdoor painting workshop and found Cambria and the surrounding landscape to be fertile ground for watercolor painting. There are quiet beaches like San Simeon State Park, also rural countryside in Harmony where we can paint quiet views from a winery. We can roam all the way down to Morro Bay and its fishing village and Morro Rock itself. In Cambria where we will be staying there are beautiful rock strewn beaches with long views toward distant headlands that make great subjects for seascapes.

The secret to visiting the coast is to come in fall and winter.

Although the tourist season if officially over in October that is when the sunniest and most beautiful weather begins on the coast. The chilly summer fog is a rarity and we should have nice days most of the time.

Cambria has several gourmet restaurants and wine tasting is a local pastime. There are several shops and galleries in town as well.

Arrangements have been made with Cambria Pines Lodge for our workshop. Artists wishing to stay there will be able get special rates. It is set on forested grounds with restaurant, lounge, and other amenities. There is a complimentary breakfast buffet included with the stay.

After class registration, you reserve with the lodge individually if you plan to stay there.
Click Workshop List for registration information.

The Engineered Landscape
Tracy’s Grand Theatre Center for the Arts

The Language of Landscape
Modesto’s Mistlin Gallery

Blue Shadow Country
Truckee’s Pogan Gallery

Please click the Art News section for details on these three Laitinen exhibitions.