Seeing in Watercolor is the first weekend retreat offered by LDBA and will be a super fun, immersive watercolor retreat weekend for all skill levels. Designed and taught by two of LDBA’s artists/educators Sean Hudson and Deborah Stein, whose current show I Am Just A Visitor opening in our gallery August 15th through November 2025. The workshop is presented in two parts, designed to be taken together, but can also function as single day workshops.

Day One - Saturday October 4th:
Ways of Looking: Gesture, Color, and Light

Day Two, Sunday October 5th:
Ways of Seeing: Imagination, Affinity & the Inner Landscape

Each day of the workshop will illuminate new paths into seeing and picture-making as you practice working with watercolor through the lenses of color and form, light and shadow, observation and imagination, guiding you towards your intuition and creative confidence! 

Each day will be 5.5 hours and includes a delicious lunch and refreshments, an artist talk (unique to each day) and much more. Scroll down to see all the cool things you’ll receive in each workshop!

PLEASE NOTE: Those who apply for the full weekend (both days) do not get two palettes but you will receive: a complete “I Am Just a Visitor” Artists Kit with 8 pans of watercolor in a bright yellow Italian-made tin palette PLUS a travel paintbrush and a beautiful LDBA Sketchbook in a special LDBA gift box.

Limited seating available - sign up now!

One Day Workshop $675

• 5.5 hours of collaborative instruction by Deborah Stein & Sean Hudson

• Limited Edition Palette! An eight color palette chosen by Sean and Deborah in a beautiful yellow Italian metal travel tin inspired by their show I Am Just a Visitor

• Limited Edition signed collaborative giclée print by Deborah Stein and Sean Hudson ( $120 value)

• Lunch catered by La Mama: Please mark your choice at registration (details below) and let us know of any allergies!

Both Days $1250

• Everything from One Day +

• $100 discount

• Complete Kit! The eight color palette Kit + travel brush, LDBA sketchbook in an LDBA Watercolor Box

Lunch - One or Both Days:

• Catered by La Mama: Please mark your choice at registration and let us know of any allergies please!

∞ (Vegetarian choice) Veg sandwich with side of chips 

∞ (Non-vegetrarian) Meat sandwich with side of chips 

∞ (Gluten Free) Tortilla Española with side salad 

 Each comes with:
Drinks 
GF cookie for dessert
Coffee, tea, water

• As a finalé, a celebratory glass of bubbly (with and without alcohol) at the end of the day! 

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DAY ONE, SATURDAY, OCT 4th: 
Ways of Looking: Gesture, Color, and Light
10am - 3:30pm
Limited Seats

Taught by Sean and Deborah together, doors open at 10am for intros and coffee and tea in the gallery with the crew! It's a great time to find your seat at the table, settle in, poke around in the shop and the gallery, and mingle with new friends and your artist-teachers. 
The workshop will begin promptly at 10:30! 

Saturday’s focus is on seeing through close observation and learning fundamental techniques to paint what you see! With beautiful set-ups inside and outside the classroom and using your new palettes designed by Sean and Deb + supplemental colors and supplies, the classroom will be transformed into a delight for the eyes with brand new exercises designed by Sean and Deborah.

We’ll stop around 12 for a delicious catered lunch from Santa Fe’s La Mama, co-owned by Sara Moffat, (our fearless La Mama of LDBA!). We’ll reconvene inside for dessert and a slideshow/artist talk to inspire your afternoon. Sean & Deborah have organized their favorite artists whose work traverses history and speaks of the Saturday’s topic: Ways of Looking and considers how close observation and interpretation of the world gives strength to a work of art. 

In the afternoon we’ll focus on observational drawing and painting in watercolor to interpret what is in front of us in our own unique ways followed by sharing our work and reflecting on the day with a glass of sparkly. 

This is a rare opportunity to take a workshop with both Sean and Deborah together and learn their singular perspectives on ways of using watercolor and art-making.

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DAY TWO, Sunday, October 5th
Ways of Seeing: Imagination, Affinity & the Inner Landscape
10 am-3:30pm
Limited Seats

Taught by both Sean and Deborah, doors open at 10am for intros and coffee/tea in the gallery with the crew! It's a great time to find your seat at the table, look around in the shop and gallery, and mingle with new friends and your artist teachers. 

The workshop will begin promptly at 10:30 and Sunday’s workshop will focus on ways your imagination sees the world and seeks to play and abstract reality. Deborah & Sean will spark your imagination through intriguing objects and alluring language. They’ll inspire you with meditative approaches to using water and color and venture into new picture-making territory with their individual and collective imaginations at the helm! 

At 12 we’ll stop to enjoy a delicious catered lunch from Santa Fe’s La Mama, co-owned by Sara Moffat, (our fearless LDBA leader!) and reconvene for dessert with a slideshow/artist talk to inspire you for the afternoon. In this one, Sean and Deborah will consider how they, and painters throughout history, have allowed imagination to guide their creative decisions, prompting reflection on what we truly love about a work of art.. Is it a sense of wonder, a distant memory, a metaphor, or more simply, a particular color? By discovering your own affinities, you’ll energize your work with personal meaning and a sense of direction, in turn, trusting your intuition to be your guide! 

In the afternoon we’ll consider the complete picture: color and composition, intention and imagination, and watercolor itself to guide the way, and at the end we’ll share our work and revelations from the day (and/or watercolor weekend!) with a glass of something bubbly to celebrate!

This is a rare opportunity to take a workshop with both Sean and Deborah together and learn their singular perspectives on the topic of Seeing in Watercolor.

Deborah Stein lives, paints and writes in the Embudo Valley in New Mexico and sometimes in New York City. She studied the passing on of art traditions with a family of toymakers in Northern India, worked with NYC school kids as a museum educator at the Museum of Arts & Design and has traveled and taught alternative arts education workshops about seeing and translating the world in new ways for adults and children for a lifetime.

Sean Hudson is an Albuquerque based painter and creative coach with a great love and curiosity for art and its ability to transform our perception of the world. He’s a working studio artist and a passionate teacher with a particular aptitude for encouraging and inspiring personal narratives and unique styles at all levels in the artistic path.