Classes

Eric Merrell: On Seeing Color in the Desert

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Note: Eric Merrell teaches a class–Seeing Beautiful Color in the Landscape–May 14-16, 2014, in Pasadena. Deserts pose a “wonderful problem” when it comes to observing color, he says. Here are ideas on how to tackle the problem, from one of the most poetic painters of the California deserts. I really began to develop some of the color ideas during my Joshua Tree residency in 2009. In the desert in summer, especially in JT, there are strong shadows early in the morning and late in the afternoon, but for 5-6 hours when the sun is overhead there is hardly a shadow…

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Janet Morgan: Secrets of the Energetic Landscape

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Transcendent artists such as Agnes Pelton aimed to capture the forces  underlying desert mountains and dunes. One of the boldest artists working in the same vein today is Brooklyn-based Janet Morgan. Along with her artist-partner Gregory Frux, she has explored the California and Utah deserts as well as Patagonia, Peru, Antarctica, Turkey and other lands. She was a Death Valley National Park artist-in-residence in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Here, in three sections, is an introduction to the land as Janet sees it. Even if you’re not an artist, Janet’s suggestions can vastly enlarge your view of the passing scenery. Part…

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Desert X Etiquette, Lou Armentrout, Cathedral City Arch, Desert Drawing Club and More

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Desert art is in the news this month with the approach of Desert X, the site specific event (February 25-April 30, 2017) that will overlap with the Coachella music festival. A sister event, Joshua Treenial, takes place March 31st through April 2nd in Joshua Tree. While the Smoketree painters connected with the land by camping and roaming on it for decades, many of the arriving artists are out-of-towners who don’t know Tahquitz from Tachevah.     To help them with the local etiquette, the Mojave Desert Land Trust is preparing a guide: Reading the Landscape. The Joshua Tree-based conservation and education…

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Lost Desert Artists, Erin Hanson’s Painted Parks, Bill Ogden, Hilbert Museum and More

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Lost Desert Artists, Erin Hanson’s Painted Parks, Bill Ogden, Hilbert Museum and More

One of the premier Impressionist painters in the US in the early 1900s,  Julian Itter was also a Mojave desert artist and gold miner. Yet none of his desert paintings have been found. Adrienne Sadlo, a student at Eastern Washington University, hopes to find the paintings as part of her thesis project on Itter. Before moving to California in 1926, Julian Itter painted extensively in the mountains of Washington state, helping to preserve Lake Chelan and earning the title Father of North Cascades National Park. “When Julian moved to Southern California in 1926 he kept his passion for art and…

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Andy’s Sea, Agnes’ ‘Hood, “Wild” Movie and More

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If anyone can save the Salton Sea, I’m betting on Andrew Dickson. The Cal State U. Fullerton art professor has been quietly, intently focused on painting the Sea for 15 years. Now you have a chance to study with him at his grandmother’s home in North Shore, February 27-March 1, 2015. To prove his desert worthiness, Andy recently powered through a summer AC outage–doing a series of charcoal drawings at Bombay Beach–with umbrella, ice cooler, sunscreen and lots of water. He hopes to host ongoing workshops at his grandmother’s house and introduce more artists to the area. “I love bringing…

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Randall Tipton Returns to Tahquitz and More

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With the desert strangely warm this season, the snakes have awakened early and artists from colder places are busy in the canyons. One such visitor, Randall David Tipton, is a spellbinding landscape painter well-known in Portland and the Northwest–but he tells us he grew up painting the desert. “Once I could drive I spent a lot of time in Yucca Valley, the Morongo Valley and the Indian Canyons,” says the former San Bernardino resident. He returned recently to see the Richard Diebenkorn show at the Palm Springs Art Museum  (he studied with Diebenkorn in Santa Fe), celebrate his marriage to…

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Terry Masters’ New Gallery, Mark Kerckhoff Classes, Desert Art Center Lectures

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UPDATE: This just in from Terry: “I’m now open Thur-Sun noon to 8pm at least and the doors are usually open when I’m working in the space. Please come by soon. The new studio # is 778-8855.” I’ve been lurking around the original Las Casuelas restaurant on South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs. Peeking in windows and pacing the sidewalk, I may look suspicious–but really it’s for a good reason. The desert’s elusive master painter, aptly named Terry Masters, is opening a new desert art gallery at 370 N. Palm Canyon, next door to the popular Mexican café. In…

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Desertscapes, Armentrout-Welch Collection, Swinnerton and more

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March and April 2012 are packed with desert art events crowned by Desertscapes, the third annual Valleywide celebration of desert art. Participants include the City of Palm Desert, the Walter N. Marks Center for the Arts at College of the Desert, the Coachella Valley Watercolor Society, the Desert Art Center, the Palm Springs Art Museum, California Desert Art and others. Scroll to the end for more non-Desertscapes March and April events. For additional Desertcapes scheduling: http://desertscapes.net/ Desertscapes events: Opens April 2nd-28th, April 14th reception and Appraisal Day: the Historical Society of Palm Desert presents an exhibit of Jimmy Swinnerton and…

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Events Boost Agnes Pelton’s Star

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Events Boost Agnes Pelton’s Star

The Agnes Pelton hometown revival gathers steam in 2012 with several big events honoring the Mystic Genius of Cat City. Sunday, January 22—Nancy Strow Sheley presents a talk on Pelton at the Cathedral City Historical Society. An associate professor of English at Cal State University, Long Beach, Sheley has written and spoken extensively on Pelton. Meet in the Cathedral City Library Community Room, 33-520 Date Palm Drive, at 2 pm. For information: Janey Ash (760) 321-6577 Sunday, February 12—Tour Pelton’s former home and studio, as part of the Cathedral City Historical Society’s first annual Historic Home Walking Tour. Owners Peter…

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Eric Merrell Workshop in Joshua Tree Sept. 19-23rd

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Eric Merrell Workshop in Joshua Tree Sept. 19-23rd

Born too late to study with Sam Hyde Harris or Edgar Payne? Now you have another chance to learn from a traditional California master, when Eric Merrell teaches a painting workshop in Joshua Tree Sept. 19-23, 2011. Limited to just ten students, the class costs $500 for five full days of painting. Students are responsible for their own accommodations and supplies. While Merrell is only 33, he has the soul and drive of an early landscape artist. As the historian for the venerable California Art Club, he also knows a lot about the famous painters and will undoubtedly entertain his…

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