Sedona Arts Center — 15th Annual Sedona Plein Air Festival is October 12–19, 2019! Enjoy paint-outs, exhibitions, a keynote, workshops, free demonstrations & more!

Meet the 2019 Artists!  The Festival begins with an opening exhibition of finished studio and plein air works that the 25 selected artists have been invited to bring along with them.  Hors d’oeuvres and wine served.

Free and open to the public!

Ann Fox Ryan of Gamblin Artist’s Colors presents a free talk, Understanding Contemporary Oil Painting Materials, an in-depth history of color space and the evolution of artists’ materials.  Includes the development and use of various palettes as well as an overview of mediums and varnishes.  Some samples available.

FREE (registration recommended) click here to register

Join artist and Gamblin Color Expert, Anna Fox Ryan, for an afternoon of plein air painting on the Sedona Arts Center Campus.  Paint and painting panels are generously provided by Gamblin Artist’s Colors and Ampersand Art Supply.  A chance to take a risk and have fun. $50 | Registration required

Morning and evening demonstrations at the Arts Center Campus.  Learn a process from start to finish in various media from festival artists.  Specific artists and demo times TBA.  Free and open to the public!

Sponsored by and located at L’Auberge de Sedona resort.  Invited Festival Artists will be painting along the creek near the resort.  Red Rock Magic Trolley provides service from the Arts Center lower parking lot, bringing artists and the public to and from the resort from 9am – 1:30pm.  Stay afterward to enjoy lunch on your own at Cress on Oak Creek.  A final gathering of work on-site at 12pm will be available for sale and awards will be presented. Free and open to the public!

Dave Santillanes will give an educational digital presentation and talk about his development as a plein air painter and the adventures that he has taken to keep it fresh and bring his work to its highest level.  Wine and treats reception following. Free and open to the public!

Invited Festival Artists will have unobstructed views of the red rocks as they paint in the late afternoon light.  Sponsored by Chef Lisa Dahl and Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill.  Shuttle provided from nearby parking.  Gourmet tapas and wine will be served for the final hour-long reception.

Join in the last session of Dave Santillanes’ 3.5-day workshop during the 15th Annual Sedona Plein Air Festival (Oct 12 – 19, 2019).  This half-day demonstration takes you through his studio process as Dave works up a larger painting from a plein air study.  This demonstration will be a wonderful overview of the painting process; a learning experience for collectors and painters alike.  A stand-alone demonstration as well as a culmination of the workshop for attending students. $50 | Registration required

This is it!  Don’t miss the excitement of the Festival’s Grand Finale!  Food and Wine!  Sales and Awards!  Artists have chosen three of their festival works to present in the Special Exhibition Gallery for awards consideration – including $5000 for Best of Show!  The adjacent Theatre Studio will house all the other works that artists have created during the week.  Hors d’oeuvres and wine served. Free and open to the public!

This is it!  Don’t miss the excitement of the Festival’s Grand Finale!  Food and Wine!  Sales and Awards!  Artists have chosen three of their festival works to present in the Special Exhibition Gallery for awards consideration – including $5000 for Best of Show!  The adjacent Theatre Studio will house all the other works that artists have created during the week.  Hors d’oeuvres and wine served. Free and open to the public!

Have lunch with your favorite Festival Artist!  Hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and all the condiments and fixings included.  It’s also your last chance to purchase work with final sales until 2pm. Free and open to the public!

Students will benefit from demonstrations, slide show and lecture, and one-on-one assistance with their paintings. Kathryn has taught workshops in plein air painting in numerous locations in Italy, Sedona and Utah and has been a keynote presenter at the Sedona Plein Air Festival and at the National Plein Air Convention. Now take this opportunity to work with Kathryn in the more controlled studio environment where artistic creativity and inspiration come together on larger scale or more developed work than plein air painting allows. This workshop is for those painters that have some experience and wish to take their work to the next level.

Day one: I will be doing a demo start to finish, explaining my thought process for each step, aiding you in developing a personal methodology. During the demo we’ll touch on a variety of subjects – drawing, design, value, color, harmonizing your painting, materials and brush and paint handling. We will discuss how to approach your creative process – concept, scene selection and preparation. You will learn the steps that prepare the groundwork for a successful painting.

Day two: Permission to slow down and find the joy! You will have time to work through each of the preparatory steps for creating a painting ‘en plein air’.  I’ll be teaching a method not a style. Whether you’re new to plein air or an experienced professional having a structure that allows you to check your progress at each stage before moving on to the next will bring more consistency to your efforts. You’ll avoid a problem, unresolved from an early stage in the process, spoil what otherwise may have been an inspired painting. Start strong! End Strong!

Day three: The day will be devoted entirely to using the preparatory work from days one and two to bring your paintings to completion. Each student will receive individual instruction. The day will be devoted to putting into practice the concepts we’ve covered and allow you to focus on that on the thing that is going to put wind under your wings!

Bring your questions, your curiosity and some thoughts about what you’ve been most wanting to improve!

Whether painting outdoors or working in the studio, the primary focus of the workshop will be learning how to simplify a landscape as well as interpreting color relationships to develop a sense of atmospheric space. Students will learn to quickly gather the necessary visual information needed to complete a painting in the field and how to simplify a landscape and interpret color and value relationships in order to create depth. Other fundamental concepts will also be discussed, including the importance of values, shapes and edges. Students will learn to analyze the information they gathered in the field or from photographs, interpreting color and value relationships in order to create new found depth in their landscape painting. This workshop will include demonstrations, slide presentations, critiques and lots of one-on-one instruction.

During her workshop Betty begins each day with a demonstration/ lecture covering tools, techniques, brushwork, problems and solutions. Emphasis throughout the workshop is on organization and simplification of darks and lights, value and color relationships, edges, movement and mass to create a dynamic, coherent composition.

Betty Carr’s energetic style and enthusiasm for painting and teaching create an infectious atmosphere of adventure and “can do” among her students. She has traveled the country teaching workshops for many years. Her instructional book “Seeing the Light” is available through North Light Books. Materials list includes both watercolor and oil – students can choose which medium they would like to work in.

Further emphasis will be placed on the creative process to make paintings that are more than strict representations of the landscape we see.  Multiple demonstrations will be complemented by individual attention and group learning.

Students of all abilities are welcome however students should have a basic familiarity with the painting medium of their choice.

Arrival November 4 – Departure November 9, 2019

Included: 5 nights lodging (shared occupancy*) and full breakfast daily. Four day painting workshop. Welcome dinner on first night. Lunch on first and last day at the hacienda. Ground transportation to all painting locations. Guide and translator throughout.

*Rates based on shared occupancy with other student or other paying partner.  There are limited single rooms available on a first-come, first-served basis.  Non-Painting Partner price: $1195 (must call to reserve).

Not Included: Flight to Leon BJX, taxi to hacienda and return. Food other than described. Painting materials.

The Instructor:  Gretchen Lopez combines traditional as well as contemporary elements in her works, from the figurative to still life to plein air painting. Gretchen teaches classes and workshops at the Sedona Arts Center and leads international workshops. She has been nominated for the Viola Award for Excellence in Art Education. Her works are included in numerous private collections both nationally and internationally, and can be seen in select galleries throughout the Southwest.

The hotel: This is not your cookie-cutter chain hotel!  It is full of historic charm and beauty!

Scholarship awards will pay 50% towards any Class or Workshop tuition. Scholarships are not available for international Field Expeditions or Painting in the Grand Canyon. The Sedona Arts Center awards scholarships to students only when funds are available.