Connecting Eyes, Heart, and Hand: Painting Plein Air with Natasha Isenhour

Yellow Woman Ranch
302 Palm Canyon Drive
Borrego Springs, CA 92004
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Member: $390
Non-member: $410

This three-day workshop, Connecting Eyes, Heart, and Hand: Painting Plein Air with Natasha Isenhour will be a combination of open-air studio and plein air. Working in a beautiful ranch setting, I will be teaching you tips and tricks for composition and editing in the open-air classroom before proceeding out to paint the surrounding area. This will be an opportunity to learn to follow your personal creative aesthetic with one-on-one time to help you develop successful habits in the field.

Materials List: 

• Your pochade box and tripod (plein air set up)
• At least six surfaces ready to paint. I find 11×14-12×16 to be nice middle sizes to work on. Of course smaller is fine, but no smaller than 9×12. Larger is up to you, but it can get tricky if we have wind.
• Be sure to consider a mounting surface to affix paper and tracing paper/glassine for transport, if working in pastel or watercolor, and consider safe transport home if you’re working in oil/acrylic.
• Plan for the weather and dress accordingly.
• There will be a formal break for lunch. Feel free to bring a sack lunch and snacks or take a short walk/drive for other options.
• Bring a notebook and a sense of adventure!

Natasha Isenhour is a New Mexico based Contemporary American Realist working in oil, pastel, and watercolor. Natasha is a sought-after Awards Judge, presenter and juror exhibiting throughout the southwest teaching about six sold-out workshops each year, both in plein air and in studio.

Isenhour was awarded an Honorable Mention as well as an Award of Excellence from Oil Painters of America in 2022 and 2023 and won First Place (Signature Member Category) in the 2024 American Women Artists Juried Show.  She is a four-time Top 100 Finalist in Plein Air Salon who was awarded honorable mention in 2023-24, as well as multiple award winner in the Borrego Springs Plein Air Invitational in 2022 and 2023. In 2022 Isenhour was given a five-week solo museum exhibition at the Taos Museum and Fechin Studio in Taos, NM, and in 2023, Terry Ludwig Pastels LLC added “Natasha Isenhour Essential Alchemy Set of 60 pastels” to their pastel line. She has also served three years as faculty for PACE, Plein Air Convention and Expo, and Plein Air Live.

www.natashaisenhour.com

Min: 8, Max: 10

Need help with lodging? Here’s a link to TripAdvisor with rates for the different lodging options during the week of Natasha’s workshop. Palm Canyon Resort, Borrego Valley Inn, and The Palms at Indian Head are the closest options, if you enjoy a stroll. However, nothing is really far in Borrego – the farthest option from the venue being five miles away. If you need additional information, please contact [email protected].