Funny you should ask, because if you'd submitted this question a couple of months back, the answer would've been no. But we've recently become aware of a new company offering just such a service and it sounds kind of fun.
Plein Air -- or outdoor -- painting is all about painting from life and has its roots in mid-19th-century Europe with artists like John Constable in England and François Millet, Camille Corot, and Gustave Courbet in France. These painters believed the artist should forsake the straightjacket of tradition -- painting formulaic scenes based on long-established classical conventions and clichés -- and trust his own vision for finding truth in nature. This was the birth of realism and went on to spawn modern art as we know it, from the Impressionists to Cubism and beyond. It all sounds pretty common sense, but at the time it was deemed revolutionary -- anarchic, even -- and the chocolate-box favorites of today, like Monet and Renoir, were actually considered dangerous radicals in the late 1800s.
Today, of course, landscape painting is accepted as a relaxing leisure pursuit, rather than some kind of deviant social behavior, and the terrain surrounding Las Vegas provides some stunning artistic opportunities, from the natural mountains, canyons, and skyscapes to the man-made water features of Lake Mead and Lake Las Vegas.
If you fancy escaping the bustle of the casinos for a while and exploring your creative side, check out Successful Scenic Painting Tours. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only company in Las Vegas offering Plein Air painting tours. The courses cost $200 per person, which includes a Continental breakfast or a traditional English-style picnic with a glass of wine. Typical locations visited include Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Charleston, Lake Las Vegas, and Lake Mead, which for an additional $50 also offers the "paddle and paint" tour, where you canoe out to an island and paint and picnic there until sunset. All equipment and materials are supplied, as is instruction from professional artists who are able to rescue your effort if it doesn't turn out quite as planned. Your painting is yours to keep as a souvenir of the day.
Customized outings are also available, including helicopter trips into the Grand Canyon (standard additional helicopter fees apply) and wheelchair-friendly trips to Spring Mountain Ranch. Groups of any size, from one person to 200, can be accommodated, whether strictly for pleasure or for corporate team-building exercises.
For further information, call 702/256-8882 or 888/802-8882 or visit www.scenicpaintingtours.com.
And, if you're an LVA member and are interested in this, check out our 2-for-1 coupon, valid through the end of the year, by clicking here. You can also log on to the current online version of LVA and click the Daily Deals e-Coupons link. Note: You need to have your own transportation to get to your chosen scenic spot, but all other costs are included.
