JOHN FARNSWORTH PAINTER / PHOTOGRAPHER
2240 West Alameda #7 / Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 / 505.982.4561 / info@johnfarnsworth.com
2240 West Alameda #7 / Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 / 505.982.4561 / info@johnfarnsworth.com
Here's the cover of the Catalog that I designed and built for the school.
Camping in the canyon itself, we will enjoy spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Evenings will be spent around a campfire, hearing Navajo tales and sharing the day’s experiences.
Students must be familiar with their cameras, as we will be focused on the seeing side of photography, rather than on the technical.
Your instructor will be available at all times to help with framing, composition, lighting, planning, correcting for conditions, and finding the heart of your subject.
Students must be familiar with their cameras, as we will be focused on the seeing side of photography, rather than on the technical.
Your instructor will be available at all times to help with framing, composition, lighting, planning, correcting for conditions, and finding the heart of your subject.
PAINTING AND SKETCHING
Louisa McElwain
Oct 11-15
$1650
Louisa McElwain has lived and painted in New Mexico since 1985, working outdoors under a wide variety of conditions, open to the impulse of changing light, wind, heat, cold, insects, forces of Nature which bring life into her paintings. For Louisa, painting is a dance to the tempo of the evolving day. Painting gratifies her compulsion to make things, to be involved with sensuous materials, to relish the interaction of colors, to spend time in beautiful places, looking at and paying homage through her work to the wonders of Creation. Exhilarating is what she calls it!
Louisa McElwain
Oct 11-
Louisa McElwain has lived and painted in New Mexico since 1985, working outdoors under a wide variety of conditions, open to the impulse of changing light, wind, heat, cold, insects, forces of Nature which bring life into her paintings. For Louisa, painting is a dance to the tempo of the evolving day. Painting gratifies her compulsion to make things, to be involved with sensuous materials, to relish the interaction of colors, to spend time in beautiful places, looking at and paying homage through her work to the wonders of Creation. Exhilarating is what she calls it!
GHOST RANCH, MORNING / OIL ON CANVAS / 40 X 70 INCHES
LOUISA MCELWAIN
This workshop offers a chance to learn how she brings so much articulate power, freshness, energy, and mystery into her work, surrounded by the breathtaking splendors of the Canyon! One key is in learning to observe and knowing how to mix the colors you see. Another is being conscious of the plastic nature of oil paint and finding a way to use it without subordinating it to the motif, in other words, allowing the paint, the stroke, the gesture, to exist for its own sake.
"I will demonstrate how I have learned to use the knife to restrain my urge for description and detail. The knife has allowed me to accelerate the act of painting so that even the most fleeting changes of light can be caught in a painting. A wide range of expressive potential becomes available through the use of knives to spread paint. I offer numerous time-tested, low-tech solutions to the challenges of painting outdoors. From the basic array of colors on the palette, how to create light through the interaction of color, how to make sure one is using the whole spectrum of tonality to bring balance and depth to one’s work, and capturing a moment in time, to sitting around the campfire, arguing and laughing about Art and life…all in a day’s work if you’re lucky enough to come along!"
"The opportunity to paint in Canyon de Chelly with the Taos Art School is a dream come true for me."
LOUISA MCELWAIN
This workshop offers a chance to learn how she brings so much articulate power, freshness, energy, and mystery into her work, surrounded by the breathtaking splendors of the Canyon! One key is in learning to observe and knowing how to mix the colors you see. Another is being conscious of the plastic nature of oil paint and finding a way to use it without subordinating it to the motif, in other words, allowing the paint, the stroke, the gesture, to exist for its own sake.
"I will demonstrate how I have learned to use the knife to restrain my urge for description and detail. The knife has allowed me to accelerate the act of painting so that even the most fleeting changes of light can be caught in a painting. A wide range of expressive potential becomes available through the use of knives to spread paint. I offer numerous time-
"The opportunity to paint in Canyon de Chelly with the Taos Art School is a dream come true for me."
Louisa McElwain
Canyon de Chelly, in Northeastern Arizona, is a breathtaking site in the heart of the Navajo Nation. There are rock arches and spires, mysterious Petroglyphs and Rock Art, and multi-storied Anasazi Ruins tucked into the sheer sandstone walls.
The best way to see this unique place is from horse-back, led by a Navajo who was born in the canyon. That’s just what we’ve arranged for you with our guide, Justin Tso, and his family. Most of the canyon is restricted access, but with our Navajo guide for the week, we’ll be able to go virtually everywhere. We will be inspired by sheer red rock walls towering above ancient cottonwood trees; the bluest of skies mirrored in the murmuring stream that runs the length of the canyon; Navajo hogans and corn fields dotting the canyon floor.
The best way to see this unique place is from horse-
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE GO
John Farnsworth
Oct 9-16
$1650"
John Farnsworth
Oct 9-
I loved this experience. We not only learned about Navajo Weaving, but also about Navajo Culture. The Navajo People have a great sense of humor!"
"Getting to know the Tso family was the best part of the trip for me. I had never been around Indians before. Justin’s wife did all the cooking. (I especially loved the Navajo Tacos and waking up to fresh pancakes) His sons and daughters, who were our guides, know every inch of the canyon, and took special delight in taking us off the beaten path."
2003 Participant Pat / Photo: John Farnsworth
For me, spending a week in the most beautiful, peaceful, spiritual place I have ever been was the most important thing.
Returning to camp and a fresh cooked meal over the campfire in the evening was simply the frosting on the cake! I’ll be back.
Film photographers are welcome as are all levels from beginner to advanced. Those using digital will, of course, have the advantage of seeing and discussing our work at each day’s end.
Canyon de Chelly, Looking In
Photo: John Farnsworth
Photo: John Farnsworth
Canyon Kids / John Farnsworth
Abandoned Hogan Interior / Photo: John Farnsworth
White House Ruin / Photo: John Farnsworth
Our adventure begins at noon on Saturday when we meet with artist and photographer John Farnsworth in the lobby of the hotel, check our gear, and set out on the rim road to photograph the Canyon from above for a thrilling preview of our home for the coming week. We will return to the hotel in time to download the day’s shots, and, following dinner, John will present a slide show and introductory critique, in which he will get acquainted with the abilities and needs of each student.
Navajo Saddle / Photo: John Farnsworth
Meals will be home-cooked for us on site, and will be fresh, hearty and delicious. Our schedule will usually be to awaken to the smell of camp coffee, followed by a hearty home-cooked breakfast. Then, we’ll focus on art in the morning, with afternoons spent either riding, hiking, napping or doing more art! All of your art and camping gear will be brought in separately, by truck, allowing you to ride unencumbered. You supply art equipment and camping gear (detailed lists provided). Students need to arrange their own transportation to Chinle, Arizona, at the mouth of the canyon. Ride-shares can be arranged for those flying in to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Pawn / Photo: John Farnsworth
Back of Spider Rock / Photo: Ursula Beck
HOME • PAINTINGS • PHOTOGRAPHS
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ART YOU CAN LIVE WITH
CANYON DE CHELLY 2004