Awakening Artistic Senses in Nature with Marjorie Taylor
Week of September 5, 2026
While enjoying picturesque surroundings, beginners and experienced artists alike will make observations, sketches, and notes to create a memory journal.
Nature is our muse: An Introduction to Plein Air Painting and Journaling.
Turn off the inner critic and tune into nature. No previous art experience is required to enjoy time observing the beauty of Rancho La Puerta. The goal is to not to create paintings for the Louvre, rather to create a small journal of sensory memories.
Session One: Awaken your artistic senses with a sketch walk
Awaken your artistic senses with a sketch walk. Picturesque Rancho La Puerta offers a peaceful setting to enjoy nature while learning to sketch. Every child loves to draw while adults often internalize a belief that they “can’t draw a straight line.” Making art has nothing to do with straight lines and everything to do with allowing yourself to experience the joy of creating art. With sketchbooks in hand, we’ll tune into nature, relax and have fun. Jot down a few words while listening to birds sing and smelling the sage and you’ll have the beginnings of a journal.
Session Two: Nature is our muse. Using your artist’s eyes to make observations
Nature is our muse. We’ll observe light and shadow while making simple color sketches and add word clouds to our journals. When we look with our artist’s eyes, we begin to spot abstract patterns in nature and notice gestures in the landscape. A stout and sturdy oak tree hugs mother earth differently than a palm tree waving in blue skies. As much meditating as painting, we’ll use all of our senses to capture the essence, movement, and emotion of a subject rather than precise detail. In this joyful process, we’ll appreciate the beauty of nature, without expectations of artistic outcomes.
Session Three: Letting go of expectations of what you think your art should be
We’ll to make observations that inform and inspire, with a focus on color. People don’t often pay attention to how different the greens in oak trees are from grass green or how the blue in the sky changes from horizon to overhead. We’ll take the time to reflect upon nature’s variety of colors, then learn some simple techniques for color-mixing. When we make art in nature, our senses enliven and the experience seems to flow through the brush. Letting go of expectations allows us to become more fully immersed in the moment. We’ll add written observations to journals.
Session Four: Putting together a memory journal to take home
This session we will be back in the studio to put some finishing touches on our sketches and journals. Looking at the art we’ve created in nature, we’re reminded of the warmth of the sun we felt while painting, or the cry of the hawk that flew overhead while observing the clouds. Guests may want to collage with some collected items, such as fallen leaves, postcards, and other items participants will be encouraged to collect. Combining memorabilia along with the words and art elements created throughout the week, participants can put together a unique memory journal to take home.
After a successful career as a graphic designer and illustrator, Marjorie Taylor returned to her first love—painting—and embarked on a fine art career in oils. Her plein air painting adventures and exhibition opportunities have taken her throughout North America, Central America, Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa. Her work has been exhibited and collected both nationally and internationally. An experienced educator, she has taught painting, drawing, and a variety of art classes for children and adults in San Diego and Mexico. In recent years, she has expanded her artistic practice beyond oil painting to include watercolor, acrylic, and printmaking, while continuing her work as a writer.
https://www.taylorpaintings.com
@taylorpaintings