Join me in California and New Mexico for a painting workshop vacation. My past art and painting workshops have been a sell out and great fun. We've worked from the top studio in my barn, painting out through the windows, from photos, and from still life. We've painted en plein air outside in the vineyards, over the hills, through the wildflowers, redwoods and gardens of Sonoma Mountain. See for your self what others say about me below.

My plein air workshops are designed for painters who want to capture the beauty of the landscape on canvas. They are open to all levels of painting experience and are especially for oil and acrylic painters. My studio painting workshop is in the privacy of an art studio or a courtyard where we will paint interior-scapes, still-life or garden scenes. This workshop is great for beginners or painters who want more privacy while painting. It is also an introduction to painting outdoors. In all of my workshops, you will learn to make an interesting picture using composition, light, value and color while working the paint thick and wet. There will be demonstrations, critiques and lots of individual instruction.

Many of my students have been studying with me for years and are now selling their paintings, winning awards and have their own websites. I'm so proud of them. Bill Gittins took many plein air painting workshops with me while I lived in Sonoma. Lee Sautereau studied with me in Santa Barbara and in 2004 decided to pursue his dream of painting. Now he is winning awards. And Carolyn Manzi (a fauvist) painted with me in my Santa Barbara workshop.

Please email kathleen@elsey.com if you would like to be on my workshop mailing list.

2008 Painting Workshops in Santa Barbara, California,
Taos, New Mexico and Sonoma, California

Paint in Santa Barbara, California (SOLD OUT)
April 19, 20, & 21, 2008

9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. with one hour off for lunch
For all levels of acrylic or oil painters and intermediate to advanced pastel painters
Tuition $525 (room and board not included)

Join me for a solid week of painting, painting, and more painting in the high desert in and around Taos. We will visit one painting location each day. Plan to explore, sketch, photograph, paint, then return to the studio and paint more. This workshop will expand your sense of freedom and get more spirit into your paintings. I'll work with you to help you achieve your goals. Use this workshop to concentrate on your own objectives and take your paintings to a higher level.

Our painting week begins with a cocktail hour after our first day of painting–a good time to get acquainted with other painters from all over the country and learn a bit about Taos and the environs. We'll have daily discussions about composition, color theory, creating a body of work, developing your own style, finishing a painting, fixing those problem paintings, and more. There will be group critiques, a good time to learn from others and discover new possibilities for your own work. You will leave the workshop fired up about your work with new ideas and inspiration.

This workshop will be in the Stables Studio one half block from the main plaza in the historic town of Taos, New Mexico. Taos is seated on the high desert at 6,952 feet at the foot of the beautiful often-painted Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Our plein air locations will include missions and moradas of the Taos area, old adobes, deserts, the Rio Grande River and Gorge, and mountains. We will take advantage of the best light of the day, starting early to catch the morning light and chasing the late afternoon light to paint a desert sunset. The light is spectacular, the landscape vibrant and the town rich with culture, color, art and history. Register now and experience the stunning color of the beautiful and magical land of Taos, New Mexico. Students supply their own painting materials. You can see our typical schedule here.

To enroll, please fill out registration form and send $525 check payable to Kathleen Elsey. Mail to:

Kathleen Elsey
2 E. Pueblo Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(805) 569-0542

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Paint the Autumn Harvest of Sonoma County
A Plein Air Painting Workshop
October 11, 12, & 13, 2008

Materials List

Please be sure you are able to transport your paint gear for outdoor workshops down the path, up the hill, on your back or on wheels. If you already paint in acrylic or oil, bring the supplies you usually use. Come prepared for the altitude or heat depending on the location of your workshop. Please mute cell phones during the workshop. We have two excellent art stores in Santa Barbara. Coast Blueprint is at 220 Canon Perdido (805) 962-9155. Art Essentials is at 32 E. Victoria Street (805) 965-5456. In Taos we have "Artisan" located at 1046 Paseo del Pueblo Sur. 505 751-0802. And in Sonoma, Fine Line Art (used to be Riley Street) is at 103 Maxwell Court near Sonoma Market. (707) 526-2416.

Below are the acrylic supplies I suggest:

• Portable easel: I use a Soltec easel, and like the full Julian, both available at Dick Blick (1-800-828-4548 or www.blickstudio.com).

• For each day bring at least 2 gessoed canvases' 14 x 18, 16 x 20, 18 x 24 or bigger. I paint on linen or canvas, and like the panels made by Raymarart.com as well as the super light weight New Traditions Art Panels when I am traveling. I also like the beautiful hand-made Masterpiece Canvases (I use Cezanne or Monet linen) to paint in the studio. I like to add additional gesso to my canvases (or linens) with Golden gesso or NovaColor gesso. This additional good quality gesso seems to make the paint really stick. If you've ever had a problem feeling like your acrylic paint is slippery on the canvas, try a nice coat of good quality gesso on top of the manufacturer's gesso.

• Palette: I use the Masterson sta-wet palette (especially in dry climates), sta-wet acrylic palette paper and matching sponge (or watercolor paper) available through art stores or directly from Masterson in Arizona (800-965-2675). Prepare the palette paper (wet it down with hot or boiling water then soak 15 minutes) before the workshop. Or you can use a muffin tin or meat tray 12 x 16ish, or flat Tupperware container.

This is my Masterson Palette as I set it up to begin a new painting.

This is what the same palette looks like after 2 hours of painting

Here is the unfinished painting. Click here to see the finished painting.

• Brushes for oil or acrylic: 3 or 4 "brights" (short stiff bristles) size about 1" across, 3/4", 1/2", 1/4" depending on canvas sizes. I would use the 3 larger sizes above if I were painting an 18 x 24 canvas. If you choose bigger canvases, get the big brushes. If you chose 16 x 20 canvases or smaller, you could use the smaller 3 brushes above. Buy good brushes or you"ll regret it and so will I. My favorite brushes are Da Vinci's Top Acryl brights. Number 4, 6 and 12 would work well if painting 16 x 20. They have performed well for me and have lasted longer than any other brand of brushes I have painted with while using acrylic. Of course, I clean them fanatically and will teach you this also. My next favorite (not quite as expensive) is Artisan with the silver handle, also very good for acrylic painting. It is this kind of brush (Da Vinci and Artisan brights) that give my paintings somewhat of a palette knife effect. Brights make short, crisp strokes and place color and paint well. I have also worked with Isaby Isacryl brushes #2, 4, & 8 brights and have had success. Another brand which performs well for me is Da Vinci 5423 Chunking bristle brushes. Their brights and filberts handle the paint nicely.

• Paints: Bring a basic palette of two-ounce high-viscosity tubes including 2 yellows, 2 blues, 2 reds (warm and cool of each). I like Golden for their quality, brilliant colors, and buttery texture. Liquitex is good, too. My favorite paint is Tri-Art (Canadian). Some Dick Blick stores carry Tri-Art. Do not buy student grade paints.

This is what I recommend as a minimum for colors:

• Titanium white (bring a big tube)
• Hansa Yellow Light (cool)
• Cad Yellow Dark (warm)
• Alizarin Crimson or Cad red deep (cool)
• Cadmium Red (warm)
• Ultramarine Blue (warm)
• Cerulean Blue Deep or Cobalt (cool)
• Raw Umber

“I cannot tell you how many times I have reflected on this past weekend with such warm and positive thoughts. Your inspiration and instruction was superb. I feel like I really made so much progress in just 2 days! Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience.”
– Painter from the Santa Barbara Workshop

“As for the rougher stuff, aesthetically speaking, Kathleen Elsey’s painting exerts a bold, almost post-Fauvist-meets-funk touch in her work. “Sunlit Room,” for one, flirts with burly Van Gogh effects, with a vivified palette and brusque brushwork. It’s the mightiest and most memorable piece in the room, says this unavoidably subjective observer.”
– By Josef Woodard, Santa Barbara News Press Correspondent

“Elsey’s landscapes are marked by rich colors and dramatic brush strokes that recall both Impressionist and Fauvist traditions”
– Daedalus Howell, San Francisco Chronicle Journalist

“Thanks so much for your April 21 and 22 workshop. What a wonderful experience – I learned so much, and I’m committed to painting/experimenting with color at least a little every week. Your paintings, of course, are a great inspiration, and your coaching/teaching style was so instructive and encouraging. Thanks for making my life more colorful.”
– Marsha

“I participated in a show in Sausalito and included three paintings I did in your Sonoma workshop – a shot in the arm or me. The group was terrific, and your gentle guidance helped me make a leap in a direction I doubt I would’ve tried on my own. Those remain the brightest of my paintings, and 2 of them sold at my show. Many of my paintings show evidence of your “colorist” influence and that’s a wonderful thing to take from the class. I love the flexibility I now feel to work in either acrylics or oils.”
– Elaine

“Thank you for an amazing workshop! The beauty and magic of Taos lingers on! Count me in for next year.”
– Mary