Where to Set Your Easel, Whether Dabbler or Devotee
Some people travel to see works of art, others to make them. And some travel to attend art workshops in locations rich in sites to paint or photograph.
Art workshops are a hybrid form of instruction somewhere between hands-on art schools and home-study videocassettes. They provide an intense art experience, but for a relatively short period of time--three days or a week, maybe two--that may be easier for busy people to schedule. Their cost ranges widely, from $200 for a brief course close to home to $2,800 (and up), depending on the length of the workshop, the renown of the artist-teacher and whether accommodations, meals, supplies and transportation are included in the price.
Workshops come in all varieties. Some are oriented toward beginners. Others are for people with some art-making experience, still others for longtime artists, even professionals. Many accept a mix of all three.
Some workshops focus on particular media, such as pastels, watercolors, oil paints, acrylics, photography, printmaking or sculpture, while others concentrate on specific subject matter, such as landscape, portraiture, seascape or the figure.
They can be found year-round throughout the U.S. and Canada and abroad, held in artists' studios, universities, resorts and even on cruise ships. Here we'll try to sort through the bewildering array of choices; see accompanying box for more information.
The first step in finding a workshop is to assess one's ability and look for artists teaching to that level.
"I don't take beginners at all," says New Mexico painter Ann Templeton, noting that beginners require so much time on basics that she can't assist other students equally. Other artist-workshop teachers aim for beginners because, says Carmen Layden, another New Mexico artist, "You don't have to unlearn them of bad habits."
Artists who arrange workshops themselves generally charge a certain amount for the course, which may include supplies and a midday snack. They often provide information on nearby lodging, which may offer workshop participants a special rate. Susan Sarback, of Fair Oaks, Calif., leads far-flung workshops (Maui, Tuscany) in color technique, as well as some closer to home; she will be in Bodega Bay and at the American River this year.
