Plein Air Art Retreat in the Eastern Sierra, A Photo Journal
by Anne Kupillas.
Last weekend, a group of nine talented and curious artists embarked upon an art vacation in the scenic Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. An area of stunning natural beauty, located in Inyo County California, it’s vistas and colors just beg to be captured by artists and photographers alike year-round. From October 13-16, Independence, Lone Pine and Mammoth Lakes played host to our sixth Eat Paint Live Art Retreat.
The retreat did not disappoint, filled as it was with creating plein air art, friendship, excursions and delicious local meals! I hope this photo journal inspires you to do some plain air painting and sketching of your own - possibly up in the mountains!
The charming and comfortable Mt. Williamson Motel, at the Independence town line off 395, was our “base camp” for the weekend and the owners & proprietors hosted our retreat artists, provided us with delicious full breakfasts, and provided many vignettes and opportunities for sketching on the grounds of the property. We kicked off the retreat with a casual orientation and sunset sketching activity focused on contours at the base of the Eastern Sierra mountain range. As the sun went full down, the group convened at the picnic tables under the trees for a “cowboy crockpot dinner” of lasagna, salad and freshly made local bread. We chatted and got to know each other, and celebrated Vicki’s birthday with a huge chocolate cake and S’mores melted over the fire of the chiminea. Everyone tired from a day of driving and more, the artists retired to their cabins for an early bedtime, where there were welcome chocolates and a welcome gift awaiting them - a piece of local Halite from Owens Lake .
Our Saturday morning began with Monday a 7am plein air sketching activity on the property. Anne Kupillas, the retreat leader, led the artists in a rapid sketching activity and did a demo for the group. We then carpooled 15 minutes south to the Museum of Western Film History, affectionately known to many as the Lone Pine Movie Museum. Here we watched a brief movie of the history of filming in the area, and met our guest guide, Chris Langely, the town’s former film commissioner and one of the museum’s founders. Chris generously shared a lot of anecdotes and background about the area to which we were headed next to paint: “Movie Rocks,” in the Alabama Hills.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Movie Rocks and the Alabama Hills, The Alabama Hills are only a few minutes’ drive from the museum in Lone Pine and provide many opportunities to explore, hike and capture in painting and photography the incredible scenery. Since 1920, these “Movie Rocks” have played locations all over the world and outer space, in movies from Gunga Din, Maverick, and Gladiator, to the recent blockbusters Iron Man, Django Unchained and more! Movie stars, sets and cameras, equipment and even elephants and camels (not to mention more than a few horses and cowboys) have rolled in and out of Lone Pine and its famous Alabama Hills.
For the retreat artists, the Movie Rocks were fantastic subjects to sketch and paint, full of shapes, shadows and colors on a perfect day — not even a puff of wind! Anne did a watercolor demo on how to scrape realistic looking rocks using a credit card (you can also use a fingernail) and then the artists set up to do some painting of their own. Many of the artists tried this technique with great success.
Note: If you plan to sketch as a group in the Hills, then a permit is required from the Bureau of Land Management, who looks after the land. But if you are a solo plein air artist, then you can sketch on your own - just make sure to check the road and weather conditions, make sure not to use any toxic paints, and clean up your area (leave it better than when you arrived). Right now, the start of Whitney Portal Road is closed from 395 to the Movie Rocks Road, but you can take the detour on Tuttle Creek Road which is extremely scenic, if a bit twisty-turny. You’ll pass filming locations such as the Gunga Din temple and Tremors.
20-minute demo painting by Anne Kupillas, using Arches cold-pressed block and a credit card to scrape pigment.
After a stunning drive down from the Hills to the Interstate 395, with views to Owens Lake & the expanse of Owens Valley, the group cooled off and fueled up at the Alabama Hills Cafe in town, with really delicious salads, burritos and sandwiches, and the cafe’s signature strawberry lemonade.
Our next stop was hitting up the Eastern Sierra Visitor’s Center to meet a local artist-in-residence and explore the center’s other offerings. Western artist Kristen Freeborn was showcasing recent works done with her BLM residency in the Alabama Hills. After meeting and speaking with Kristen about her artwork, we viewed her exhibition and recognized many of the places we had visited, earlier in the day! Staffed by a combination of US Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association employees, the center provides visitor information for wilderness, campground, highway and weather conditions for the Eastern Sierra. Also on display at the visitor’s center: maps of the county, a 3-D model of the water system which supplies water all the way down to Los Angeles, and tons of books, maps, and souvenirs in the gift shop!
Fun fact: When you stand outside and look straight past the flagpole, you’re eyes are pointing directly at Mount Whitney, which at 14,505 feet is the highest elevation in the contiguous 48 United States!
Another fun fact: the center is a lovely place to do some solo sketching, whether seated at their shaded picnic tables, or set up at a standing easel in the back, towards the small rock and botanical garden, looking South and East towards the long mountains of the Inyo range.
Plein Air watercolor, Inyo Mountains Looking South, by leader Anne Kupillas.
Our afternoon painting activity took us just five minutes down the highway to the spectacular Diaz Lake.
Diaz Lake is a county park right off 395 at the south part of Lone Pine. It’s a favorite local spot for fishing, canoeing and other water sports, and has campsites on the far side of the lake. We artists set up on the near side, under a permanent canopy, to capture the views of the Easter Sierras, the lake and the beautiful turning fall foliage. We had a relaxing afternoon working on our paintings and had some snacks; a yellow-headed blackbird even came to visit one of the artists at her easel, and appraise our artwork (or possibly our snack situation).
We capped off the evening with a Szechuan dinner at a local favorite: The Merry Go Round, where they make their own soy sauce!
Day Two, Sunday, began with more sunup sketching at the foot of the sierras, with views to Mount Williamson. Anne demonstrated for the group how to layer colors wet-in-wet and use a “3-pass” method to capture different values and ensure atmospheric perspective (more detail in the foreground, less in the middle and even less in the background, which is how our eyes see distance, as opposed to how cameras capture it as all the same level of detail).
Our next activity was a visit to historic Manzanar, just ten minutes to the South. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where the US government incarcerated 110,000 Japanese immigrants ineligible for citizenship and Japanese American citizens during World War II. Manzanar, now a National Historic Site with a very good interpretive center and refurbished outbuildings, memorializes this part of our national history for current and future generations. It was quite an experience to walk through and learn about the history of the camp, and as artists, to learn that many of the Japanese interred here created art, both to pass the time and to document their daily lives in the camp. The artwork from the time period is varied and beautiful, and includes murals, carved wooden pins and toys, watercolors, and woodblock prints. The artists could request supplies that they needed, such as ink and silk. Contemporary local artists also paint scenes of Manzanar both in the past and present, and a plein air group returns yearly to paint at the site and remember.
Speaking of artists, there was a beautiful portrait exhibit by Steve Cavallo, in watercolor: Portraits of the People of Payahuunadü, honoring indigenous people in the Owens Valley. This stunning exhibit features large-scale portraits of indigenous women of all ages, unique individuals in vivid color and dramatic realism. It was a great inspiration to us all.
Our next activity took us back to the center of Independence, to the Eastern California Museum & its surrounding outbuildings, Mary DeDecker botanical garden and newly dedicated rock garden with local rocks and minerals. After a brief browse through the very extensive collections, which include local basketry, beading, more Manzanar artifacts, artwork and natural collections, the artists explored the outbuildings and wagons and the scenery behind the museum. Artists spread out to paint the creek, the garden’s beautiful greenery and of course, the expansive unobstructed views of the mountains. Anne walked around, giving helpful advice to anyone in need, however the artists were already very adept and applying the lessons imparted earlier.
After a few hours of painting, we convened at the picnic area to have our farewell lunch: a barbecue spread from Coppertop BBQ, in neighboring Big Pine, voted one of the best restaurants in the US - and the only one I know of that has a BBQ vending machine!
The group had a lovely time, sharing learnings, artwork and ribs, and making plans to meet up again! While we said our farewells to most of the group, who left for their drive home, the rest of the artists continued up to Mammoth Lakes for the optional additional day of painting.
Minarets - a recognizable site on the way up to Mammoth Mountain from Route 395.
Cattle in Big Pine
The artists headed up to Mammoth via carpool and along the way, we stopped at Crowley Lake to enjoy the panoramic view - and to try on our new logo ski caps!
The autumn colors were already starting to make themselves known, with yellow rabbitbrush and golden aspens everywhere. The elevation change from Independence to Mammoth Lakes doubled, going from almost 4,000 feet above sea level to an ear-popping 7,800 feet. The vegetation also changed, with a lot more coniferous trees and crystal lakes all around us. After checking into our hotel, the group met for dinner in The Village and chatted excitedly about what was on the agenda for the next day.
Our first stop on June Lake Loop was Twin Lakes, very early in the morning, which has absolutely breathtaking views, but was way too windy to accomplish anything but a few deep breaths of fresh mountain air and some snaps to paint later.
We continued on to Lake Mary, where we stopped to paint the views from the Pokonobe Marina, right on the shore of the Lake, looking out at Crystal Crag. The folks who run the marina were kind enough to let us paint on the deck (normally private but since it was off season, they allowed us to paint there after we had checked with them ahead of time). After Anne did a demo on different ways to paint pine trees, the group espent a glorious few hours painting with the place to ourselves - with brief visits from the marina’s dog, Huck.
10,364 feet, Crystal Crag is a dramatic and rugged mass of rock that is a recognizable landmark on the Mammoth Crest. Very easy to find using a viewfinder tool like this.
Our next (and last) stop was Horseshoe Lake, which is at the end of the loop at over 9,000 feet in elevation. It has some very interesting features, including a loop trail which is a terrific hike. The landscape is strange and beautiful, consisting of many fallen, dead trees, the result of a 1989 earthquake which released high amounts of carbon dioxide gases in the ground that killed the trees.
Anne’s sketches of Horseshoe Lake
We spent a delightful couple of hours sketching there and then ended the retreat with lunch at Puerto Vallarta Restaurant in Mammoth. On the drive back down, we stopped to watch some elk grazing near the highway. Always be on the lookout for surprises, was the message I was left with. What a magical end to a creative and fun weekend!
Until next time….thank you for following - I hope it inspires you to be creative!
Thinking of booking an art break?
Check out the blog about how to make the most of your art retreat here.
Eat Paint Live
If you’re interested in drawing and sketching on location, with a group of great artists, then I hope you’ll check out the art retreats & workshops I’ve planned, at www.eatpaintlive.com I host same-day workshops and art retreats with small groups (no more than 9) in stunning locations.
Our next retreat will be in a plein air intensive at Two Harbors, on Catalina in the Spring of 2024! Register now!