FRACTALS OF MEMORY: WORLD BUILDING THROUGH LANDSCAPE PAINTING with Alonsa Guevara

OVERVIEW

• Arrival: Sunday, September 28th, 2025 with Orientation and Welcome Dinner in the evening.

• Studio days: Monday, September 29th - Friday, October 3rd, with Farewell Dinner on Friday evening.

• Checkout/Departure: morning of Saturday, October 4th.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (except on Wednesdays; the hotel's restaurant is closed)

• How to Reach Us: Pickup from Palermo (PMO) airport See our pickup policy

• Materials needed for the workshop: Oil paint, brushes, primed surfaces.   

• What we provide: solvent, medium, rags, brush soap, studio easels, support boards, sandpaper, pencil sharpener, kneaded eraser, chalk, palette knives, and jars at no additional cost.  Please see these provided items.

• Rentals: Sicily Artist Retreats provides Paint Pass and Plein Air Kit rentals.  You are welcome to bring your own materials or rent ours. Paint Pass gives you unlimited use of paint for a flat fee.  Plein Air Kits provide equipment for the field.  

• Purchases: In addition, painting surfaces (like paper and linen) are available onsite to purchase.

• Rental Car: Car rental is not necessary but recommended if you'd like to explore the area after class.

A typical intensive studio workshop day can look like:

8:00 – 9:00 AM Breakfast 

9:15 AM Transfer to Studio 

9:30 AM Model is posed, class begins 

1:00 – 2:00 PM Lunch break  

2:00 – 4:30 PM Class resumes 

4:30– 5:00 PM Clean up

5:00 PM             Transfer to hotel*

8:00 PM             Dinner at hotel

*Some evenings (after clean up) may also include a transfer to a local site visit before dinner.

ABOUT ALONOSA GUEVARA

Born 1986, Rancagua, Chile

Lives and works in Los Angeles, California

Alonsa Guevara holds an MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art (2014), and a BFA from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (2009).

Guevara works primarily with painting, and her multidisciplinary practice extends to sculptures, installations, sound pieces, and video performance. Her works blur the lines between fantasy and reality while celebrating the connection between humankind and nature. As a Latin-American woman whose life has unfolded across three distinct countries—Chile, Ecuador, and the USA—Guevara's art serves as an exploration of questions surrounding identity, belonging, and womanhood, offering her personal understanding and appreciation of beauty.

She has been awarded numerous grants and residencies including the Muralist Award, for LAMI & San Pedro Waterfront Arts District in San Pedro, CA, the Tashkeel Art Residency in Dubai, the Eric Fischl ’66 Artist-in-Residence Teaching Program at WNA, USA, the NYAA Fellowship Award, and the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant.

Alonsa's work has been published in Forbes Magazine, Time Out NYC, VICE, and The National News UAE, among others and has exhibited internationally, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, Southampton Arts Center, New York, Cheng Xi Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China and Museum of Visual Arts, Santiago, Chile. Her most recent solo show Counting Leaves was in 2023 at Tashkeel Gallery Alserkal, in Dubai. 

WORKSHOP DETAILS

This workshop focuses on world-building through painting, blending landscape and imagination to create rich, layered compositions. Using both acrylic and oil, we’ll explore techniques for seamlessly combining these mediums while incorporating classical oil painting methods. Students will paint from life in plein air sessions and work from photographs, using nature as a foundation for personal storytelling. Through guided exercises, we’ll unlock creativity and connect with internal narratives while exploring oil painting techniques such as wipe-out drawing, Alla Prima methods, and glazing. The workshop emphasizes the process of image-making, capturing the textures of nature through varied techniques. Students will develop a strong understanding of color theory, value structure, and composition. With live demonstrations and personalized instruction, each participant will receive the guidance needed to strengthen their skills and bring their artistic vision to life.

Day 1 (Sept 29):

• Welcome and introduction.

• Discussion on personal artistic journeys and storytelling through painting.

• Surface preparation: applying gesso and acrylic.

• Small Painting Exercise (Acrylic and Oil): Monochromatic painting. Transparent vs.

opaque, warm-up exercise to connect with others and oneself.

• Basic color theory and mixing exercises.

• Introduction to Alla Prima (direct painting) techniques.

• Small Painting Exercise (Acrylic and Oil): Grass painting, wipe-out technique:

temperature and value structures.

• Group reflection.

Day 2 (Sept 30):

• Group reflection on artistic identity and creative blocks.

• Guided meditation to connect with subconscious imagery.

• Drawing Exercise: Drawing from memory.

• Introduction to using photographs as references and integrating memory into painting.

• Small Painting Exercise (Acrylic and Oil): Sky, ground and something else.

• Introduction to oil glazing techniques on top of acrylic, for depth and luminosity.

• Group discussion.

Day 3 (Oct 1):

• Drawing Exercise: Plein air sketching through thumbnail drawings.

• Creating dynamic compositions with movement and balance.

• Final Painting Exercise: Acrylic composition.

• Optical blacks and their use to create depth.

• Final Painting Exercise: Plein air oil painting, value structure to create form.

• Group discussion.

Day 4 (Oct 2):

• Final Painting Exercise Continues: Incorporating symbolism and narrative elements.

• Searching for elements in nature.

• Soft vs. sharp edges: guiding the viewer’s eye through the composition.

• Revisiting warm vs. cool color and reflecting lights to enhance volume.

Day 5 (Oct 3):

• Final Painting Exercise Continues: Highlights, contrast and final details.

• Group critique and discussion.

• Reflection about how personal experiences manifest in the work. Sharing artistic

discoveries and future directions.

Alonsa Guevara www.alonsaguevara.com alonsa@gmail.com 

ALONSA'S MATERIALS LIST 

For Small Painting Exercise: Mix Media Paper Pad, 9 x 12 inches (160 gsm or more). We will

use at least 3 sheets of paper.

For Final Painting Exercise: Canvas or panel, 16 x 20 inches.

Brushes: this is a suggested list, you can bring the brushes that you feel comfortable with.

- Bristle brushes (Filbert or Brights) number 10, 16

- Synthetic soft brushes (Filbert or Brights) number 2, 4, 6, 8,12, 20

- Two Small Synthetic soft brush (Round) number 2 or smaller.

- One Flat Wash brush around 2 inches (to prepare the canvas).

Oil Paints (Gamblin recommended)

- Titanium White

- Cadmium Yellow Medium

- Hansa Yellow Light

- Cadmium Red Light

- Quinacridone red

- Permanet Alizarin Crimson

- Ultramarine Blue

- Phthalo Blue

- Sap Green

- Transparent Earth Orange

- Burnt Umber

Acrylic Paints

- Acrylic White Gesso (I recommend Golden or Liquitex acrylic gesso)

- Ultramarine Blue

- Primary Yellow or Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue

- Quinacridone Red

- Burnt Umber

- Titanium White

Other Supplies

- Palette (wooden, paper or plexiglass)

- Palette knife small

- Linseed Oil

- Medium holder (small cup)

- Rags (available at hardware store) or old cotton shirts to use to wipe out.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

For your convenience, essential materials for the workshop are available for rental or purchase to facilitate your travel. In addition, you'll enjoy several excursions to gorgeous local sites during the week.

Refreshments are available during studio breaks.  Delicious home-cooked Italian lunches are provided on studio days.  Box lunches are provided on most excursions.  Dinners are provided at the hotel except on Wednesdays (when the hotel's restaurant is closed). You will have the option to eat at a local restaurant or pizzeria with Alonsa and other participants on this day.  This dinner is not included.

ACCOMMODATION

You will be staying at Baitan, a boutique hotel along the water in the historic Contrada Spagnola, just down the road from our studio.

Baitan is one of the newest boutique resorts in Marsala. Family-owned, it prides itself on its warm, attentive service, as well as its spa, cocktail bar, wine cellar, and restaurant. (No Sicilian hotel worth its salt has anything less than an exquisite restaurant!)

We also like Baitan’s respect for tradition: the architecture is Sicilian vernacular, like the centuries-old building around it, and the name itself comes from Marsala’s ancient Greek name, Lilybaitan. If you have free time during your workshop, and crave something more active than an Aperol spritz by the water, Baitan’s staff will be happy to arrange a kitesurf lesson or a guided horseback ride for you.

You’ll be right on Marsala’s new scenic bikepath, which takes you past the salt flats and vineyards of the Stagnone lagoon to the Bay of the Phoenicians, where cactus grows half in the water and half on the rocks, and violets and pine needles line the asphalt. Take a sketchpad in your backpack!

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From start to finish you will enjoy the extraordinary cuisine of the region influenced by the unique flavors of the Mediterranean including garden-fresh vegetables, ancient grains, and seafood. All meals, accommodation, and daily ground transport are Included in your package, including a celebratory welcome dinner with Alonsa.