About the Workshop

Skill level: All levels accepted.

Materials used: All mediums.

Light and atmospheric forces act upon the landscape to create a story, and it’s up to you as the artist to decide how to tell it. Join award-winning artist Kathleen Hudson as she reveals how she infuses her landscapes with atmosphere. You will learn how to see subtle color and value shifts that give your paintings depth. You will also learn tools for effective self-critique so you can strengthen your own work at each stage of progress. Hudson will bring example of her preparatory sketches and color studies so you can thumb through those in person.

Each morning will feature a presentation and demonstration, and then exercises for students focusing on value and composition. Afternoons will be devoted to one-on-one instruction and will take place outside if weather permits. Points of study will include:

• Seeing as an artist: painting light rather than objects

• Planning your painting: envisioning your painting, using varied reference material, honing value and design, doing color studies

• Stages of painting: drawing, block-in, color mixing, approaches to working a larger painting, refining texture & edges, tools for self-critique

• Experimentation: exercises you can do at home to continue your growth as an artist

One-on-one instruction will be individually tailored. Students are encouraged to email several landscape painting examples beforehand and list some specific things they would like to work on. Tuition includes 40-page full-color workshop handbook.

Kathleen B. Hudson (b. 1986) emphasizes dynamic light and atmosphere in her paintings. She is a Signature Member of Plein Air Painters of America and the second youngest artist ever to be elected a Fellow in the American Society of Marine Artists. In 2017, Hudson received the Grand Prize in the 6th Annual PleinAir Salon for her painting Bright Morning, Timberline Falls, which was featured on the July 2017 cover of PleinAir Magazine.

Hudson moved from her native Kentucky to Boston in the fall of 2005 to begin an undergraduate degree at Harvard University. During her years in Boston, Hudson came to love the beautiful New England landscape as she painted, studied mountain travel narratives, and led backpacking trips for fellow students. After graduating with a History & Literature degree, she was selected to join Boston’s Copley Society of Art, the oldest non-profit art association in America.

Hudson now resides in Colorado Springs, CO with her husband and four children.

GALLERIES

• McLarry Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM

• FoR Fine Art, Whitefish, MT | Bigfork, MT

• Broadmoor Galleries, Colorado Springs, CO

• Edward Montgomery Fine Art, Carmel-By-the-Sea, CA

• Huse Skelly Gallery, Newport Beach, CA

• Cole Gallery, Edmonds, WA

MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS

• Signature Member, Plein Air Painters of America

• Fellow, American Society of Marine Artists

• Ambassador, Michael Harding Oil Paints

• Signature Member, California Art Club

• Signature Member, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association

• Oil Painters of America

• American Impressionist Society

PRESS

• Art of the West Magazine. May/June 2025. Cover: Muir Woods. Feature: “Plein Air Ambassador,” by Clover Cameron.

• Harvard Magazine. July/August 2024. Feature: “A Leading Plein Air Painter: Kathleen B Hudson ’09 captures the essence of the outdoors, from the Rocky Mountains to the beaches of Maui,” by Brandon Rosas.

• Artist’s Magazine. May/June 2024. Cover: Wetlands Near Savannah. Feature: “Harnessing the Drama: Capturing dynamic changes in the landscape is Kathleen B. Hudson’s joy,” by Kristin Hoerth.

• Southwest Art. December 2022/January 2023. Feature Article: “Moments of Rare Beauty,” by Bonnie Ganglehoff.

• PleinAir Magazine, June/July 2017. Cover: Bright Morning, Timberline Falls

• PleinAir Magazine, June/July 2018. Feature Article: "Presence of Place," by John Parks.

• Southwest Art. Feature Article, July 2017: "Otherworldly beauty."

• Keeneland Magazine, June 2018. Cover: Early Morning in the Bluegrass

• Lexington Herald-Leader. "Lexington painter creates award-winning work the hard way." (July 28, 2017)

What’s Included

This workshop includes a mix of complimentary food and beverages. Included are the following:

• Complimentary continental breakfast: Yogurt, fruit, coffee, teas, juices, hard-boiled eggs, and pastries

• Coffee, hot and/or iced tea, lemonade, soft drinks, sparkling waters, and fruit-infused still water are available all day

• Catered lunch brought into the studio or painting location for $20 (optional)

Supplies

The supply list for this class can be opened via the button below and printed at your convenience.

NOTE: You will need your own portable plein air easel for this workshop