Thanks to all the students who helped make a wonderful Winter 2009/2010 season!

Next Paint Sedona Workshops begin November, 2010

Join landscape painter and instructor Michael Chesley Johnson MPAC PSA PSNM
for small-size plein air (outdoor) workshops in Sedona, Arizona, November 2010 - April 2011.

Michael is an oil and pastel painter working in the American Southwest, coastal Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. He also specializes in teaching small-size plein air workshops in oil and pastel. Elected a Master Pastellist by Pastel Artists Canada in 2008, he is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America and a juried member of Oil Painters of America. He is the author of Backpacker Painting: Outdoors with Oil & Pastel and Through a Painter's Brush: A Year on Campobello Island. A long-time contributor to The Pastel Journal and The Artist's Magazine, he lives and paints on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, and in Sedona, Arizona.

Looking for a small workshop? Paint Sedona workshops are limited to only 4 students. You'll get much more feedback and personal help in these small workshops. Workshops will be based at Pumphouse Studio Gallery in Sedona's Gallery District. Scroll through the information below, and then click here for a page of answers to frequently-asked questions.

Paint Sedona offers three different types of workshops (click on links or continue scrolling to bottom for details):

Each week features a different workshop. Please see the schedule below for details. Workshops are scheduled so that students can attend multiple workshops that build on previous ones - basic to advanced to mentoring. You are invited to take more than one week! Some students have done so and have really grown in their work.

Price of each workshop - only $300, not including lodging.
Class size is limited, so reserve soon!
Click Here to Sign Up

Each workshop runs four days, Tuesday-Friday. The four days consist of two long days (9-3) and two half-days (9-1) or 20 hours of instruction.

**Also, we have scheduled a special Grand Canyon workshop for April 25-29. This is for all levels of student. Details and pricing to follow.**

"Coffee Pot Rock and Beyond" 10x7 diptych, oil/panel - Sold

You'll be near some of the best hiking and painting in Sedona. Sedona's "Red Rock Country" is famous for beautiful rock formations, canyons and scenic vistas. For more on Sedona, visit the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, I Love Sedona and Sedona Monthly sites. For some neat video, visit http://sedona.tv.

Class size is limited to no more than 4 students. These workshops are sure to fill quickly! Contact Michael now. (Email mcj.painter@gmail.com or call 575-267-2450.) Dates for Winter 2010/2011 are as follows:

To register and send your $150 deposit via PayPal: Enter Week Requested:

Painting at the Sedona Heritage Museum (Photo courtesy Betty Carr.)

What is the Traditional Plein Air Workshop? back

All levels of student are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Students may work in pastel or oil or other medium by arrangement. They can expect daily lectures and demonstrations on the basics plus personal help at the easel. Because painting outdoors has its own challenges, students should have taken at least one studio class in their chosen medium and be familiar with it and also their equipment.

What is the Advanced Topic Workshop? back

This workshop is only for intermediate to advanced students. Students are expected to be comfortable with painting outdoors and their chosen medium. Students may work in any medium, but Michael will work in oil or pastel. They can expect demonstrations, critiques and plenty of "art talk." This winter's advanced topic is large format painting. Students will work in sizes 16"x20" or larger.

What is the Mentoring Workshop? back

This workshop is only for intermediate to advanced students or professionals. Students are expected to be comfortable with painting outdoors and their chosen medium. Students may work in any medium, but Michael will work in oil or pastel.

In the mentoring workshop, you'll have the chance to learn the finer elements of painting, information that usually isn't handled in a regular workshop. But it's not just about advanced instruction.  It's an opportunity for the serious painter to address issues that are bigger than mere craft.   As you work shoulder-to-shoulder with an experienced professional, you may:

• Give your art a mid-course correction
• Create an action plan for the future
• Define where your career is headed

Or, if you just want to paint with a "guide" without reevaluating your life, you can do that, too! You can consider it a painting holiday or artist retreat, or just a time to paint without instruction and to meet other artists.

Mentoring originated from Greek mythology, in which Mentor was a wise and trusted advisor to Odysseus.  Under Mentor's direction and guidance, Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, became a much-loved ruler. Today, a mentor is an advisor and supporter, and perhaps even a friend and role model, of someone pursuing specific goals.

Because people have different goals and life experiences, mentoring isn't a science.   Instead, it requires the mentor to carefully assess each case and to respond accordingly and effectively.