Return to Ojai, A Photo Journal
by Anne Kupillas.
This past week, a group of five talented and curious artists embarked upon an art vacation in glorious Ojai, a creative mecca and area of stunning natural beauty, located in Ventura County, California. From September 18- 20, 2022 Ojai played host to our fourth Eat Paint Live Art Retreat.
The return to Ojai week did not disappoint, filled as it was with creating plein air art and photography, friendship, wellness, excursions and delicious meals! .I hope this photo journal inspires you to do some plain air painting and sketching of your own!
The charming and spacious Lavender Inn, in the heart of downtown, hosted our retreat artists, and provided many vignettes and opportunities for sketching on the grounds. As a bonus, the inn comes with two cats and two dogs, residents of the property and very friendly hosts! We kicked off the retreat with an orientation and thumbnail activity, then strolled a few blocks to Ojai’s newest restaurant — The Duchess Ojai, a bakery by day turned Burmese-Californian restaurant at night. Fine dining with gourmet food in a casually elegant atmosphere. It was perfect for our group - and we highly recommend it, as every dish was a taste sensation!
Monday morning began with a 7:30 plain air sketching activity at the historic Bell Tower. We then spent a few hours in Libbey Park, doing color swatching activities and painting the fountain and other architecture around the lush park. After a delicious lunch at The Nest, we walked back to the Lavender Inn to do some more sketching. Sketching on a busy road has its own particular challenges, but the sky was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and we were able to get a lot of good work done.
Check out our painting in Libbey Park.
The afternoon found our group at a very special location - high above town in the hills overlooking Meiner’s Oaks and the Topa Topa Mountains. We were there for water therapy sessions AND plein air painting - with our hostess, seasoned practitioner Mimi Camarillo of Aquates Ojai!
These views — and the pool!
After an orientation to the lush property, and to the aquatic therapy experience, we took turns with Mimi while the rest of the artists painted. There was plenty of blissful relaxation, healing and art. We even picked some pomegranates for later.
It was a truly memorable experience. We ended the day with a delicious catered meal in our private cottage at the Inn, from Rainbow Bridge, an Ojai mainstay for over 25 years.
We even got a bit of the Pink Moment at sunset from the property.
Day Two - Tuesday - we headed to a private alpaca farm to feed, sketch and photograph the small herd of five incredible alpacas. It was a unique experience, and a sketching challenge. Drawing moving animals can be very tough, but a few tips from our leader, Anne Kupillas, had us off with a head start. Meet our alpacas - Ajax, Sylvio, Coco, Marshall and Relay - and docents Theresa, JC and Mimi (yes, the same Mimi) below, plus farm dogs Ginger and Finn, and Juan Carlos, the award-winning horse who share the farm with the alpacas:
As artists, we were also very appreciative of Theresa’s tour of her fiber arts studio. She shared her extensive knowledge of the process of shearing, cleaning, carding, spinning and dying the alpaca wool. It was a real treat to learn more about this from a local artist.
After we parted with the herd, we spent a relaxing hour making nature our main subjects at Camp Comfort, in the shade of many large oak and chestnut trees, at the foot of the mountains. Our sketches included various watercolor and mixed media techniques, such as pen and ink over wash, wet-in-wet wash and solo linework.
All too soon, it was time to say goodbye. Our retreat came to a lovely close at The Oak, with a healthy and delicious lunch at Ojai Valley Inn & Spa’s outdoor dining room, with more views of the Topa Topas. We reflected on our progress toward our individual art goals, shared takeaways, and viewed each other’s sketchbooks, filled with wonderful memories of a creative getaway with friends, wellness, animals, learning and laughter. The memories we made here together will last a lifetime — from the friends old and new, kindness, talent and generosity of our participants, the food, weather, and of course, the opportunity to create art amongst like-minded creatives. We hope that you feel the same, in following our journey, and it inspires you to create and experiment, grow your practice, and do what makes you feel joy!
Until next time….thank you for following us - we hope it inspires you to be creative!
Thinking of booking an art break?
Check out our 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 we’ve planned, with Charlie and I as leaders at www.eatpaintlive.com We host same-day workshops and art retreats with small groups (no more than 9) in stunning locations.
Our next retreat will be in Catalina in the Spring of 2023! Register your interest now!