In June of 2025 I attended Amy Bogard's travel sketchbook workshop in Taos, New Mexico. I attended the same workshop in 2012 and loved it. That was the very first time I ever used watercolor! It seems like ages ago in some ways, but at the same time also passing in the blink of an eye. Before the first trip, Amy taught me how to make my own watercolor journal. This time I didn't have a chance to make one. But I did apply an old cigar felt to my cover (seen below).
Our class was again held in the Juniper House at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. If you ever visit Taos, you must visit Mabel's! It is a historic property with quite an interesting story which you can read about here. My room was in the Juniper house this year and so each day I made my way downstairs to our light-filled classroom with the beautiful wooden vigas running across the ceiling.
Amy Bogard has now been teaching this class for over a decade, and she is masterful at her craft. I learned watercolor from her and have taken her Guatemala trip two times (first trip, second trip)... and hope to go again this spring! She creates the perfect space... just the right amount of activity, slow time, and fun time. And she meets each person exactly where they are at. Plus, she is hilariously funny and has a wonderful sense of style as you will see in my sketch below.
I drew the first image in my sketchbook before the trip (at the top of this post). I selected a photo of a cholla cactus I had taken in Santa Fe a year ago. I have always loved the plump cholla fruits and wanted to draw them. I made the drawing with the intent to not outline it. But after I finished the painting, it felt like it needed more definition. So I couldn't resist getting out the micron, and as you can see, it definitely made it pop more. But I was still wanting to explore a less "cartoony" look.
Penstemon
With that intent, on the first day I decided to draw the penstemon flowers that I had seen blooming everywhere in New Mexico. I absolutely love the stunning lavender flowers stacked tightly along the central stalk. I began my drawing trying not to outline at all. But in the end, the light lavender flowers needed a little more definition. I grabbed a sepia micron to see if I might like that better than black. Overall this wasn't my favorite sketch; again more cartoony than I wanted. But the good thing is, this is the exact place to experiment with this kind of thing.
Penstemon
With that intent, on the first day I decided to draw the penstemon flowers that I had seen blooming everywhere in New Mexico. I absolutely love the stunning lavender flowers stacked tightly along the central stalk. I began my drawing trying not to outline at all. But in the end, the light lavender flowers needed a little more definition. I grabbed a sepia micron to see if I might like that better than black. Overall this wasn't my favorite sketch; again more cartoony than I wanted. But the good thing is, this is the exact place to experiment with this kind of thing.
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Beauty Way
And so the next day I was determined not to use any outlines. Amy led us outside to sketch in the courtyard of the Juniper house. I was immediately attracted to the berries on the ivy growing up the adobe walls. I did a pencil sketch and took a photo as the sun was burning me up! Inside I added color in the way Amy taught us that day. She encouraged us to first paint any color except the actual color of the plant we were drawing. So I chose to paint orange and purple first. Then I came back in the with green afterward. I loved the effect!
And so the next day I was determined not to use any outlines. Amy led us outside to sketch in the courtyard of the Juniper house. I was immediately attracted to the berries on the ivy growing up the adobe walls. I did a pencil sketch and took a photo as the sun was burning me up! Inside I added color in the way Amy taught us that day. She encouraged us to first paint any color except the actual color of the plant we were drawing. So I chose to paint orange and purple first. Then I came back in the with green afterward. I loved the effect!
"Today my heart will have harmony,
My spirit singing the songs of happiness,
My mind will seek balance,
One with Mother Earth and the Creator,
My eyes will look for good,
And there, I will find it,
My mouth will whisper the words of gratitude,
Today I will walk the Beauty Way."
—Howard T. Rainer, Taos Pueblo Creek Indian
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"It's the most wonderful place you can imagine...
Ristras
My next page was inspired by our walk to dinner in town. On the way I noticed a building that had a ristra (dried chilies) hanging on the wall. The door to the building was so tiny-looking and was painted blue. I just read today that the blue doors in Taos are supposed to keep out evil spirits. I think the doors are beautiful and cheery and can see why unhappy spirits would be deterred. After I sketched the building and the big ristra, I had an empty vertical spot on my page. I filled it with a sketch of the St. Francis statue I had seen at Jackalope in Santa Fe. He is found everywhere in New Mexico, always tending to some animals.
My next page was inspired by our walk to dinner in town. On the way I noticed a building that had a ristra (dried chilies) hanging on the wall. The door to the building was so tiny-looking and was painted blue. I just read today that the blue doors in Taos are supposed to keep out evil spirits. I think the doors are beautiful and cheery and can see why unhappy spirits would be deterred. After I sketched the building and the big ristra, I had an empty vertical spot on my page. I filled it with a sketch of the St. Francis statue I had seen at Jackalope in Santa Fe. He is found everywhere in New Mexico, always tending to some animals.
"It's the most wonderful place you can imagine...
It's so beautiful there it's ridiculous."
—Georgia O'Keefe
One of the fun exercises Amy had us do was to paint little icons. You can draw anything that tickles your fancy and then edge it in gold. She also asked us to make an extra icon for a card for the staff at Mabel's. I drew two butterflies in the indigo batik style that I love. Below you can see the effect of the gold edging. It doesn't always show up when you photograph it straight down. Adding this gold edge started my obsession with painting a little bling on almost every page. Taos seems like a magic place to me and the hidden metallic element seemed a perfect way to capture that feeling.
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"Stop the flower of your words,
Om Guadalupe
My next pages were inspired by the Virgin of Guadalupe postcard that I bought in town. I pasted it into my sketchbook and copied the motif in the postcard to surround it. It was my first time using gouache. Amy loaned me her paints to try, and I am definitely interested to do more. It has been a goal of mine for a while now to try them, but they are a bit more tricky if you want to keep them in pans as they can dry out. You can always squirt them out of a tube, but I have become accustomed to the ease of the watercolor pans. She had a nice setup with each color in a little vial that was sealed when you shut the lid of the whole container.
The right-hand page was inspired by a few different sources. The rabbit border came from a plate I saw at the Couse historic house that we toured one day. Walking home from that tour I noticed an "Om" windchime hanging on a door and took a quick photo to sketch back at the studio. You can't tell from this scan, but I used the metallic paint on the bells and it creates a really nice effect in the light.
My next pages were inspired by the Virgin of Guadalupe postcard that I bought in town. I pasted it into my sketchbook and copied the motif in the postcard to surround it. It was my first time using gouache. Amy loaned me her paints to try, and I am definitely interested to do more. It has been a goal of mine for a while now to try them, but they are a bit more tricky if you want to keep them in pans as they can dry out. You can always squirt them out of a tube, but I have become accustomed to the ease of the watercolor pans. She had a nice setup with each color in a little vial that was sealed when you shut the lid of the whole container.
The right-hand page was inspired by a few different sources. The rabbit border came from a plate I saw at the Couse historic house that we toured one day. Walking home from that tour I noticed an "Om" windchime hanging on a door and took a quick photo to sketch back at the studio. You can't tell from this scan, but I used the metallic paint on the bells and it creates a really nice effect in the light.
"Stop the flower of your words,
Open the window of your heart,
and let the Spirit speak."
—Rumi
"All forms are the Mother.
The Divine Mother has the whole universe in her."
"All forms are the Mother.
The Divine Mother has the whole universe in her."
—Adilakshmi
The corn painting was the very last image I painted in the whole book. I was going to leave that space empty, but every time I flipped through my book it bothered me. I knew I needed a vertical form that would connect with the quote above it. Corn was the perfect shape and I liked to imagine that whole universes of colorful kernels magically appear when you open the leafy ears of corn. I had also tried posole (nixtamalized corn kernels, aka, hominy) on the trip and found it delicious! Below you can see I tried to photograph the gold edging before I pasted it into the book.
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The bird symbol above was drawn from an incredible carved wood door of a storefront in Taos.
"Think about the drawing, the color, the composition;
don't work without thinking equally about all these things,
because nature, your only real master,
has forgotten nothing."
—E.I. Couse
The right hand image is best explained by the following poem.
Rabbit Paints
Above: Gold detail of San Martin
Below: Rabbit Pants!
Buffalo
One of the things I had been looking forward to on this trip was visiting the pueblo to see the buffalo. Since my last class in 2012, Amy has become friends with a member of Taos Pueblo named Harold. Harold generously offered that we could come and visit him and the buffalo early in the morning when they are still close to his house. Due to the unusually rainy weather, our trip to Harold's was cancelled two days in a row. But luckily, on our last day, Harold said it wasn't too muddy and we could come out for our visit.
Harold warned us to speak softly as the herd would probably leave when they noticed us. Just as he said, as we rounded the corner and saw the herd, they all stood up and started running. It was pure joy to see the handful of little ones darting amongst their families. And it was amazing to see such large creatures galloping through the field, although they were dwarfed by the mountain behind them. I so enjoyed seeing them. A big thank you to Harold for letting us visit.
I bought a notebook in Taos that had a lovely motif on the cover. I thought it was a perfect image to pair with the bison. (Notebook here.)
Above are Penny and Jeannie's sketches in more detail. I have to admit that drawing people is not my favorite thing. But the idea came about one day in the Couse house. Steve Talley, our tour guide, was talking about how Couse had visited Europe and was inspired by the use of dramatic light by the masters, such as Rembrandt. As he was talking, I looked over at Jeannie and my jaw dropped. Jeannie was lit up like the sun in such a dramatic and beautiful way!
"When I looked down at the image I had just drawn of a folk design from an old Mexican blanket, I realized the design was "me." It's hard to put it into words exactly, as the image was not human... but a pixelated embroidery flower. The Mexican blanket had two rows of woven flowers. Due to the nature of weaving, the flowers were squarish in their design... reminding me of the old space invaders Atari figures. Nevertheless, when I saw the shape, something ancient was remembered in me. That shape lived at the core of my being... and I loved it."
—writing from my Mythopoetic Awakening class
"Do not leave your longings unattended." —Austin Kleon
Bighorn Sheep at the Gorge
One evening after dinner someone in our group proposed a spontaneous trip to visit the gorge. Taos is about a ten minute drive to a jaw-dropping gorge where the Rio Grand begins its journey. When we parked the car we could see people in the distance looking at something. Then we realized they were looking at bighorn sheep! We quickly scampered out to have a closer look, and I couldn't believe how close we were able to see them! We were probably about 15 feet from two of them nibbling on vegetation.
One evening after dinner someone in our group proposed a spontaneous trip to visit the gorge. Taos is about a ten minute drive to a jaw-dropping gorge where the Rio Grand begins its journey. When we parked the car we could see people in the distance looking at something. Then we realized they were looking at bighorn sheep! We quickly scampered out to have a closer look, and I couldn't believe how close we were able to see them! We were probably about 15 feet from two of them nibbling on vegetation.
We watched the two for a while and then took a walk out onto the bridge that spans the gorge. When we returned to the parking lot we got to see about nine males rubbing their heads against the bushes. We had pretty much finished watching them when all of a sudden we heard a very loud "CRACK!" Two of them were butting heads and fighting! That got our attention, and we again watched them for another fifteen minutes or so before heading home.
"In some Native American traditions, bighorn sheep are seen as guardian spirits, associated with the sky and connected to cosmic regeneration. They represent a source of spiritual guidance and protection." (LiveScience.com)
The bird symbol above was drawn from an incredible carved wood door of a storefront in Taos.
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Couse Sharp Historic Site
The Couse-Sharp Historic Site was the location of the home and studios of two famous Taos artists, Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp. We took a two-hour tour of this historic property and it was amazing! The original building was a chapel built in 1835 by Juan de Luna. When the Couses bought the property in 1909, it had grown to seven rooms. In 1915, the Taos Society of Artists was formed, with Couse and Sharp as two of the founding members. Both men were incredible painters and built studios on the property. While looking through the website I came across black-and-white photos on them. When I saw the following photo of J.H. Sharp I was moved by the incredibly kind nature that came through the photo... so much so that I decided to sketch them both.
The Couse-Sharp Historic Site was the location of the home and studios of two famous Taos artists, Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp. We took a two-hour tour of this historic property and it was amazing! The original building was a chapel built in 1835 by Juan de Luna. When the Couses bought the property in 1909, it had grown to seven rooms. In 1915, the Taos Society of Artists was formed, with Couse and Sharp as two of the founding members. Both men were incredible painters and built studios on the property. While looking through the website I came across black-and-white photos on them. When I saw the following photo of J.H. Sharp I was moved by the incredibly kind nature that came through the photo... so much so that I decided to sketch them both.
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| Eanger Irving Couse (Left) and Joseph Henry Sharp (right) Photos from Couse-Sharp.org. |
"Think about the drawing, the color, the composition;
don't work without thinking equally about all these things,
because nature, your only real master,
has forgotten nothing."
—E.I. Couse
The house still has much of the original furniture and art that the family lived with throughout their years. I was particularly struck by the painting below that Couse did of his wife Virginia. She had wanted to be an illustrator, but due to eye trouble "she relinquished her pen and brush for shovel and hoe; the soil became her canvas and flowers her colorful palette" (WomenOfTaos.org). Below are the two paintings I sketched from the house.
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| Peonies (left) by J.H. Sharp, Virginia Couse (right) by E.I. Couse |
I also want to mention our tour guide, Steve Talley. He gave us a really informative and lovely tour. At some point in the tour he mentioned he was also a painter. I looked up his Instagram and WOW! His skill and love of painting came through the tour, and I had to include a small sketch of him in my book (above spread, bottom right).
On the next page I drew a few of the flowers from the garden at the Couse property. "Over 100 years ago Virginia Couse planted the first seeds in the 'Mother Garden of Taos.' It was one of the earliest flower gardens in the area and was generously shared with the town. She would give seeds and seedlings to newcomers to town, so they could start their own gardens." (WomenOfTaos.org). I also added a sketch of my classmate Sandy. Sandy was from New Hampshire and was a joy to sit next to the first couple days of class. I am hoping she comes to visit me soon.
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On the next page I drew a few of the flowers from the garden at the Couse property. "Over 100 years ago Virginia Couse planted the first seeds in the 'Mother Garden of Taos.' It was one of the earliest flower gardens in the area and was generously shared with the town. She would give seeds and seedlings to newcomers to town, so they could start their own gardens." (WomenOfTaos.org). I also added a sketch of my classmate Sandy. Sandy was from New Hampshire and was a joy to sit next to the first couple days of class. I am hoping she comes to visit me soon.
The plate on the following page was also from the Couse house. It was my favorite plate from the whole trip (and I LOVE plates... and there were a lot of good ones!). No one understands my Rumi quote because I only put half of the line. The complete line reads, "You should wish to have a hundred thousand sets of mothwings, so you could burn them away, one set a night." It is a quote about longing, and every time I read it, it strikes a chord in my heart. If you want to read the whole passage in its entirety, click here.
The motif above (lower right) is from a leather bag I bought in Sante Fe a couple years ago. I needed a horizontal band of something and I happened to see the details of the bag one day while stretching on the floor with the cats. You never know when inspiration will strike!
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My next sketch from the Couse house was the image below on the left. It was a motif from the marble fireplace. I liked the simplicity of the design made with just holes.
Whenever I travel to New Mexico, the stores are full of wooden saints or painted icons of saints. And I am always on the lookout for a particular one that is hard to find. My Grandma's favorite saint was San Martin De Porres. He was a Peruvian friar noted for his kindness, his nursing of the sick, and his charity. He was an animal whisperer and the patron saint of mixed race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony (Wikipedia). I knew I had to create a drawing of him in honor of my Grandma and Dad.
The right hand image is best explained by the following poem.
Rabbit Paints
In the land of Taos where the desert dreams,
Our sketchbooks filled with adobe scenes—
With ink and wash and dusty boots,
We painted bison (and their... attributes).
Then Amy B. appeared one day
In pants that took our breath away—
Not silk or cashmere from Fifth on Sax
But adorable hares on cotton slacks!
“Rabbit pants!” we cried as one,
And knew our sketching day was done.
Forget the brush, forget the tree—
We had a fashion emergency.
So down the road we marched in glee,
Led by our bunny muse, Amy B.
We found the store, we struck gold twice—
Cathy and Amy P. paid the price.
Now three stood proud, in pants of bunny,
The furry joy that can be bought with money!
Those rabbits gave each other the eye,
I daresay they did multiply!
I knew that this, I had to draw—
six legs, twelve bunnies, I was in awe!
This does conclude our cotton tales
Hasta luego mijitas, and happy Trails!
—my 1st poem written with AI collaboration
—my 1st poem written with AI collaboration
Below: Rabbit Pants!
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Buffalo
One of the things I had been looking forward to on this trip was visiting the pueblo to see the buffalo. Since my last class in 2012, Amy has become friends with a member of Taos Pueblo named Harold. Harold generously offered that we could come and visit him and the buffalo early in the morning when they are still close to his house. Due to the unusually rainy weather, our trip to Harold's was cancelled two days in a row. But luckily, on our last day, Harold said it wasn't too muddy and we could come out for our visit.
Harold warned us to speak softly as the herd would probably leave when they noticed us. Just as he said, as we rounded the corner and saw the herd, they all stood up and started running. It was pure joy to see the handful of little ones darting amongst their families. And it was amazing to see such large creatures galloping through the field, although they were dwarfed by the mountain behind them. I so enjoyed seeing them. A big thank you to Harold for letting us visit.
"What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.
It is the little shadow that runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset. "
—Crowfoot
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.
It is the little shadow that runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset. "
—Crowfoot
I bought a notebook in Taos that had a lovely motif on the cover. I thought it was a perfect image to pair with the bison. (Notebook here.)
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One of my goals for the sketchbook was to draw everyone in our class. Penny was the last person I illustrated, and she was the only one where I didn't use a pen... and I thought it was the best one! Penny also gave me Mabel Dodge Luhan's book, "Winter in Taos." She purchased it and read it before we left for home. I am now almost finished with the book and have loved her description of life in Taos in "the early days."
"up here under the sky,
winter and summer,
one can lie in the sunshine
and bathe in it until
untied are the knots in the heart,
for there is nothing like the sun
for smoothing out all difficulties."
—Mabel Dodge Luhan
Above are Penny and Jeannie's sketches in more detail. I have to admit that drawing people is not my favorite thing. But the idea came about one day in the Couse house. Steve Talley, our tour guide, was talking about how Couse had visited Europe and was inspired by the use of dramatic light by the masters, such as Rembrandt. As he was talking, I looked over at Jeannie and my jaw dropped. Jeannie was lit up like the sun in such a dramatic and beautiful way!
"Beauty encodes the structure of the cosmos." —J.M. White
On the way to the workshop, I drove the High Road to Taos. I stopped in Las Trampas at this gorgeous adobe church. The name of the church is San Jose de Gracia Catholic Church, and it was built between 1760 and 1776. The sign next to it said the parishioners periodically re-mud the adobe walls which are as much as six feet thick. It is considered one of the best preserved examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in New Mexico.
I also had to include a sketch of the blanket I bought in Taos. The very first day I was too early to check in at Mabel's so I walked around the square. I happened to notice a gorgeous blanket in one of the windows. I assumed it would be too much and thought I'd put it out of my mind. That is until the final day of our trip. A group of us decided to do some last minute shopping and somehow I found myself at the Six Hand Hat Store. Of course I had to ask the owner if the blanket was indeed for sale. And it was! And at a price I could afford! It seemed too good to be true. I still wasn't sure I should do it and all the girls found me at the store and convinced me I should purchase it as friends are wont to do. I am now the proud owner of a vintage wool Saltillo blanket. Every time I look at the blanket it brings me joy. And as I worked on drawing the motif, I found the motif was working on me.
"When I looked down at the image I had just drawn of a folk design from an old Mexican blanket, I realized the design was "me." It's hard to put it into words exactly, as the image was not human... but a pixelated embroidery flower. The Mexican blanket had two rows of woven flowers. Due to the nature of weaving, the flowers were squarish in their design... reminding me of the old space invaders Atari figures. Nevertheless, when I saw the shape, something ancient was remembered in me. That shape lived at the core of my being... and I loved it."
—writing from my Mythopoetic Awakening class
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Mabel's
When I got home from the trip I made a list of things I still wanted to draw. The list was long... maybe twenty items or so. I knew I wouldn't be able to sketch all of them, but thought I would give myself two weeks or so to finish up. I put stars next to my favorite items on the list.
I am not a quick illustrator. As one week turned into two, and then four, I was starting to feel like I needed to finish this project up! Sometimes I'm not sure how long to let myself go... because the ideas are endless. But there is only so much time.
The very last starred item on my list was Mabel's. However, I knew that I didn't just want to do a small, quick sketch like I did last time. I wanted to do a whole two-page spread! I knew if I thought about it too long I wouldn't do it. Sometimes you have to push all thoughts away and just proceed. And so I printed my photo out to size and did a light tracing of the basic outlines. It is a simple step that usually gets me going. The thing that took the most time was the trees and vegetation. I altered them a fair amount from my photo to make the house more visible. I also like to give them a little character.
When I got home from the trip I made a list of things I still wanted to draw. The list was long... maybe twenty items or so. I knew I wouldn't be able to sketch all of them, but thought I would give myself two weeks or so to finish up. I put stars next to my favorite items on the list.
I am not a quick illustrator. As one week turned into two, and then four, I was starting to feel like I needed to finish this project up! Sometimes I'm not sure how long to let myself go... because the ideas are endless. But there is only so much time.
The very last starred item on my list was Mabel's. However, I knew that I didn't just want to do a small, quick sketch like I did last time. I wanted to do a whole two-page spread! I knew if I thought about it too long I wouldn't do it. Sometimes you have to push all thoughts away and just proceed. And so I printed my photo out to size and did a light tracing of the basic outlines. It is a simple step that usually gets me going. The thing that took the most time was the trees and vegetation. I altered them a fair amount from my photo to make the house more visible. I also like to give them a little character.
I wish you could see it in person because the photos don't really do it justice. In fact, the whole post seems that way to me. I especially liked the metallic watercolor elements that don't easily show up in a photo. Below I tried to show the way the light reflects the paint. Hopefully you get a sense of it, although you can't see it on the chicken weather vane which IMHO was the perfect use of metallic paint.
I truly can't put into words how much I love staying here. On my first trip here, my friend Christina stayed in Tony's room. His room is the one on the second floor with the incredible covered patio shown in the image below. I have also stayed in Mabel's room and hope to one day stay in the solarium, the very top room with all the glass windows.
So much time and energy went into this sketchbook. At the end I scanned all the pages, and thought I would make a video. I spent hours one night listening to A LOT of music. I wanted to find the perfect song. I didn't want it to be Mexican music, but New Mexican music. In the end I narrowed it down to three songs, all of which were perfect. I literally had to call my friend Tiffany to ask her to help me narrow it down (Thank you Tiffany... you always tell it like it is!). All this said to encourage you to turn on your volume while you watch the video!
Conclusion
Sometimes I question my sanity. Why spend so much time on something very few people will ever see or read? I do it because it is my work to do... and it brings me great joy. And because I have been blessed with the time and means to do so. I absolutely love walking around with the intent to find beauty... to see what catches my eye. No one but me can make those decisions. No one but me knows what I love. This work helps me to know myself. I imagine it is my assignment to go out into the world and feel what tugs at my heart.
Sometimes I question my sanity. Why spend so much time on something very few people will ever see or read? I do it because it is my work to do... and it brings me great joy. And because I have been blessed with the time and means to do so. I absolutely love walking around with the intent to find beauty... to see what catches my eye. No one but me can make those decisions. No one but me knows what I love. This work helps me to know myself. I imagine it is my assignment to go out into the world and feel what tugs at my heart.
I know for sure that the biggest tugs on my heart this trip were the women who took this journey with me. There is nothing like the magic that happens when a group of women comes together with the sole purpose of creating. The bonds that are formed and the stories that are shared create an intimate atmosphere of safety, joy, and love. It was a precious gift to spend time with these beings and I hope to see them again in Guatemala!
A deep heartfelt thank you to Amy for creating this space for us.
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| Photo taken by Steve Worley |
"Do not leave your longings unattended." —Austin Kleon
I would also like to thank our dear friends Bruce and Nancy who hosted me before and after the workshop (and loaned me some wheels to get there!). In addition, a big thank you to my husband George for putting up with my sketching obsession the past month, and for always supporting my artistic endeavors in a thousand ways.
I love it there. One day I will go back!
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