My Kind of School

Sonoma Spring | 12" x 12" | Acrylic on panel

I have to get past this idea I have that I need to go somewhere other than Arizona to find beautiful landscapes to paint. Of course I long for the northern California coast and I do plan to take a trip there to visit family and paint my heart out...but that doesn't mean I should ignore this wonderful place in which I live.

Arizona is full of amazing scenery and with the exception of the ocean we have it all. There are vast enchanting deserts, soaring mountains, red rock formations, streams, lakes, dense forests and even snow. As a matter of fact Flagstaff is about to get around 14 inches of the stuff in the next couple days. So I need to get off my pity wagon and plein air myself into a artistic coma.

I've also made a wonderful discovery in the Scottsdale Artists' School. They have an amazing selection of ongoing classes taught by accomplished local artists and visiting masters from around the country. The only thing keeping me from joining a class immediately is funding. I'll somehow manage to solve that though and take at least one series this year. I paint nice little landscapes but my desire is to really push my ability up several notches and Scottsdale Artists' School sounds like a great place to start.