Laura Cunningham Art and Nature

I have been organizing a variety of plein air oil painting workshops for the summer and fall (and getting the permits for a few more), in a diversity of outdoor locations in California and Nevada. These range from a few hours, to a day or weekend, to an entire painting vacation package where just about everything is covered--including lodging and meals.  Browse the selection below and register early, as workshops are limited to 10 people. These are ideal for beginning artists who want to see and work with the different kinds of materials that are available to paint landscapes outside in beautiful locations. I provide the easels and paints, you provide the creativity.  Workshops:  Shoshone Oil Painting Workshop Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Plein Air Painting Workshop Desert National Wildlife Refuge Plein Air Painting Workshop Mono Lake Aspen Color Oil Painting Vacation Workshop Shoshone Oil Painting Workshop October 28 to October 29, 2017 ...

This is an excerpt from my manuscript on oil painting nature and landscapes. Desert Rain Cloudburst, oil on Aquarelle Arches cotton rag 140 lb paper, 1998, 5.5 x 12.5 inches, private collection. An August cloudburst at Cima Dome in the Mojave National Preserve, California Desert. A desert tortoise emerged from its burrow to find a drink of rainwater. I watched this summer monsoon cloud open up and drop a cloudburst of rain onto the dry creosote-burgage desert. I had to paint this remarkable weather scene in the arid landscape. This is a great example of how to paint clouds. Notice how the cloud shadows and rain columns are painted more thinly and the light areas painted thickly and opaquely with the brush loaded with white. Colors used: Titanium white, Naples yellow, permanent rose, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, and terra rosa.  Fortunately the storm did not rain on me, but the air was humid and a welcoming coolness filled the air. Another spe...