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Art workshops are great for rebooting and refocusing – even more so when it combines the experience of learning from an accomplished artist, hanging out with a great group of artists who share the same passions; and then topped off by plenty of photo opportunities in a breathtaking landscape with horses and wildlife! I recently had the good fortune of attending such a workshop with the very talented Jill Soukup at the Zapata Ranch in the high desert beauty of Mosca, Colorado.

You'd have to try really hard to take a bad photo in Colorado!

Spectacular scenery

Mule deer bucks.

 Nestled in the valley of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, the 100,000+ acre ranchland is partnered with the Nature Conservancy and is  a working ranch for cattle and bison. Learning from the environment around them, this new generation of ranchers are taking cues directly from nature to discover a more sustainable method of working the land. Our entire stay at Zapata gave us an inside look at ranch life – allowing us access to nature trails and the horse corrals. And the food was really amazing! Local and freshly prepared by a very talented young chef, I have to say it was right up there with the best food I've ever eaten.

Bison herd in the early morning - the sand dunes can be seen in the distance.

Morning light.

 Mornings were spent with the horses at the corrals, while the afternoons and evenings were held at the studio. Not only did our small group of eight get a glimpse into Jill’s process, but we were also instructed on colour theory, composition, the importance of drawing and value studies – PLUS the ultimate hands-on experience of drawing, sculpting and painting horses from live models. No matter how long you’ve been painting, you can always use a refresh on art fundamentals.

Jill using a trowel to scrape paint onto the work.

Our models. 

Sculpting with clay from our horse models.

With both subject and light ever shifting, it can be quite the challenge to paint animals from life.

Detail of Jill's painting "Bones & Trace"

OK, so I’m not a morning person, but I found myself getting up before dawn each and every day so I could walk the quarter mile or so in the dark to meet the horses as they were being rounded up from the pastures and herded back to the corrals. There’s nothing like a big herd of horses - all sizes, shapes & colours - running towards you with swirls of dust enveloping the scene! I couldn’t take enough photos!

The stuff that dreams (& paintings!) are made of.

One of the mornings we ventured out with vehicles to see if we could find any bison out on the grasslands. We were rewarded not only with herds of bison, but we were also able to see elk on the run. We explored an old abandoned homestead of the Medano Ranch; it provided a unique opportunity to sketch and paint the weathered wood buildings that used to be ranch headquarters in the 1870’s.

Bison doing bison things.

The old Medano Ranch.

I’m still going through photos from the workshop – these will be invaluable to me this coming winter as I plunge myself into oil painting. Armed with some of the lessons that Jill imparted, I will embrace her most important tenet: approach your art with Intention. Too often, we rely on old habits to get us to the other side of a painting. By keeping Intention foremost in mind, I hope to break through some of my stale methods and find a fresh approach. As artists, we owe ourselves to be the best we can be, even if that means remaining an eternal student.

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