Retreat Report: Sedona, Arizona
This past week, Trina and I led a group of painters into the beautiful red rock country around Sedona. Although I've taught many plein air painting workshops in Sedona over the years, lately I've been focusing more on the retreat idea: a small group of experienced outdoor painters who don't need formal instruction but would like to paint with me in a very beautiful location. For these retreats, I serve as location scout, in-house expert and moderator of daily critiques. Participants enjoy the more intimate group and my ability to lead them to some pretty spectacular spots. I enjoy the retreats, too, because I'm able to share not just my knowledge of a place but also painting "secrets" that I don't have time to share in a regular, all-level workshop. (I'm an incorrigible sharer of pertinent information.)
For the retreat, we rented the same three-bedroom house we rented for the last two Sedona retreats. Because we like to have participants stay with us, we had space for just two other painters beside myself, which gave us a lot more flexibility with parking and trailhead access. Base camp was uptown, which put us close to some of my favorite trails and painting spots. We had decent weather, too; early November is usually warm and sunny, but we did have a day of wind and even some early morning snow flurries. November can also be a busy month for tourists, as the foliage up Oak Creek Canyon can be awash with beautiful reds and yellows, but the painting spots I selected were quiet and peaceful. I always like to include some art-related, extracurricular activities on our retreats, and this time we went to the Sedona Arts Center to see the paintings from the recent plein air festival and also to the newly-opened Fine Art Museum of Sedona.
I'll be hosting another retreat in Sedona April 3-12, 2025—that's next spring. The retreat will be limited as before to just two painters. Cost is $1500, which includes breakfast and lunch plus six nights' lodging. If you're interested, please let me know and I'll send you details.
In the meantime, here are some paintings and photos from the week. All of the paintings are available on my website, here. (I’m also running a 50% off studio sale, details of which are available at that link.)
