Plein Air Painting Retreat
Travel with River Gallery School of Art
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
march 3-9, 2025
UPDATE: Only 2 spots left!
The Plein Air Painting Retreat in San Miguel is designed specifically for the River Gallery School, with 100% of profits going to fund scholarships for those who can’t easily access the arts.
This retreat is open to anyone interested in cultivating a deep connection with their creative force.
Join us and an intimate group of artists and creatives, on a visually stunning journey to San Miguel de Allende that will leave you inspired and rejuvenated!
You’ll have a week away from daily life to devote to your art practice. Our days will include a balanced mix of options including: plein air painting classes, sketching throughout city neighborhoods, as well as workshops offered by local artisans, a trip to the hot springs and more! There will be plenty of time to paint, rest, play and explore this culturally vibrant city.
Kimberly Carmody, an artist, art educator and the Executive Director of the River Gallery, will offer plein air oil painting classes from the rooftop gardens of our private retreat house and sketching tours throughout the streets of San Miguel in local markets and parks.
Desha Peacock, an RGS board member and the founder of Sweet Spot Style and has been leading retreats in San Miguel for over a decade. She will be your onsite guide to San Miguel’s museums, galleries, artisan boutiques and restaurants.
RGS will provide a complimentary sketchbook, perfect for jotting down your impressions and capturing the light and color of this beautiful city. We ask that you bring your own art supplies. Upon registration, you will receive a detailed list of recommendations including an easel set-up, palette, mediums, brushes, surfaces, and tips on how to carry your artwork home safely.
When you put yourself in an inspiring environment, you feel more inspired. When you surround yourself with positive, creative and adventurous people, you start to feel more positive, creative and adventurous!
Inspiration
This retreat is designed to help you step away from all the distractions in life in order to have inspired time to create.
Beauty
This retreat is designed with the creative in mind. From the accommodations to the walks, everything is curated to catch the artist’s eye.
Hands On
Nothing helps you clear your mind like creating something with your own two hands. Through drawing and painting you’ll be creating visual reminders of your time here in San Miguel.
Imagine uninterrupted time to draw, paint & connect with your creative force
Big Hearted Curiosity
I have both been taught by Kimberly and privy to her teaching when she was running Urban River Arts (a 501c3 in Brooklyn). She's unequivocally fabulous! Kimberly has the dual skill of being able to guide a class while also inspiring each student's unique approach to their explorations. She's a talented artist in her own right, from ceramics to painting to baking (the best cakes ever!), and offers big hearted curiosity and compassion to everyone who enters her orbit.
Gretchen Burger, artist +agitator + filmmaker
About San Miguel
San Miguel de Allende is a stunning colonial town in central Mexico that is rated by Conde Nast as the #1 travel destination in the world! Writers, artists and other creatives come here to be inspired by the culture, vibrant colors and spring-like weather.
This retreat is the perfect place to allow your creativity to flow. Meander through the cobblestone streets filled with lush courtyards beyond beautifully adorned doors, allow yourself to melt away watching the sunset on our private rooftop terrace and feel the energy pulsating through one of Mexico’s most charming towns.
The Retreat House
The retreat house. The space in which we hold retreat is a BIG part of your creative journey. This one is chosen for its quiet and calming location, attention to design details, and abundance of both outdoor and indoor private spaces for you to bond with your creative friends, sketch on your own, or simply watch the sunset on the rooftop.
Highly Recommend!
Kimberly is amazing, her classes made it easy for me to pick up the paint brush again and have fun doing it. Her techniques gave me a great entry point into painting with oils and context for how to work with color.
No matter your skill level, Kimberly’s classes give the right balance of instruction and practice. Highly recommend!
Rhonda Shade, Kerhonkson, NY Digital Marketing Consultant
Itinerary Sketch
Day 1: Arrival in San Miguel + Evening Reception With Rooftop View
You’ll be met by your shuttle driver at Queretaro (QRO) or Leon/Guanajuato (BJX) Airport and taken to your private retreat home in the heart of San Miguel de Allende where you will relax for the next six nights. This evening you’ll enjoy a welcome dinner and inaugural cocktail on the retreat house rooftop; and then tuck into your cozy bed for a restful first night.
Day 2: Explore San Miguel + plein air painting
8:30-9:00: Grounding Rooftop Meditation (optional)
9:00-9:30: Breakfast at the retreat house
10:00-1:30: Get your bearings with a guided walk to the heart of centro. Enjoy lunch at one of the local cafes + visit a couple of the art galleries + pop into the shops that catch your eye and grab a bite for lunch.
1:30–4:30: Gather your paints and easels! We’ll meet on the rooftop or courtyard of our retreat house for an introductory lesson on supplies, approaches and how to get started painting.
Evening: You’ll receive a travel guide full of recommendations for dinner so you can enjoy some free time and explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site at your own pace.
Day 3: Plein air painting in parque juarez + sketching in the square
9:00-9:30: Breakfast at the house
10:00-1:00: Gather your paints and join Kimberly in the beautiful Parque Juarez, only a 5 minute walk from our retreat house for a plein air painting session.
1:00-2:30: Lunch on your own.
2:30-4:30: With sketchbooks in hand, we will meander through El Jardin, a tree lined plaza with historic buildings, and draw vignettes from daily life.
Evening: Dinner on your own
Day 4: VISIT THE THERMAL HOT SPRINGS + Natural Dye workshop
8:00-8:30: Quick light breakfast at the house
8:30-10:30: Depart for a visit to San Miguel’s most famous thermal springs. Enjoy the deliciously warm hot springs, one of the many natural thermal baths around San Miguel. Locals and travelers alike come to the warm waters for their healing and rejuvenating properties.
11:00-1:30: Free time + lunch on your own, departing from retreat house.
2:00-4:00: For our natural dye class, we will meet at the Oasis offered by the colorful terrace of La Cabaña Azul, in the center of San Miguel de Allende. A space full of magic, outdoors, surrounded by many trees. Using dyes made with fruits, fruits, flowers, and other natural items you will create your own hand dyed textile pieces with using the natural colors of México.
5:00-8:00: This evening, we’ll join Kimberly on the rooftop retreat house for your painting session. Enjoy light tapas as you capture the beauty of San Miguel at sunset.
Day 5: A Day of Art + Design
9:00-9:30: Breakfast at the house
10:00-12:00: Today we'll explore the galleries, art studios and antique stores at Fabrica Aurora. La Fabrica Aurora is one of San Miguel's most unique destinations, a beautiful art and design center housed in a former textile factory from the turn-of-the century. Here you'll find working artist studios, contemporary art galleries, ageless antiques, unique furniture, textiles, home goods, handmade jewelry/clothing, and gourmet restaurants. We'll spend a couple of hours together exploring the studios, then you are free to have a cappuccino or glass of wine in the cafe.
12:00-4:00: Lunch out + a walk with sketch books through Guadalupe neighborhood which is full of art murals and wonderful little coffee shops, with plenty of places to draw.
Evening: Free time for dinner and to rest on your own.
Day 6: Full Day at Leisure + Farewell Dinner
9:00-9:30 Breakfast at the house
Today is a free day for you to continue drawing + painting or take a day trip to explore this marvelous town. Visit neighboring Guanajuato, get a hot stone massage or perhaps take a private cooking class with Desha’s friend Kris at La Cocina Cooking School. For those who might like to go to a local market, a must is a stroll through the Mercado Ignacio Ramirez with fresh-from-the-farm produce, eggs, and cheese, plus tortilla presses, juicers, and plaid handbags of all sizes.
Stroll through the Mercado Ignacio Ramirez with fresh-from-the-farm produce plus tortilla presses, juicers, & those cool plaid handbags of all sizes. As you continue walking downhill through the market you’ll reach the Mercado de Artesanias, a collection of stands displaying tin mirrors, hand-woven shawls, embroidered linens, hand-painted pottery & the latest folk-art trends. Look for the shop with oilcloth bags as you exit the market at Calle Loreto―inside you’ll find placemats, cosmetic cases, and more.
You might also want to visit Botanical Gardens.
Lunch is on your own. You’ll find recommendations in your Retreat Guide.
6:00pm: We will gather to enjoy a farewell dinner at one of Desha’s favorite restaurants in town.
Day 7: Departure Day
8:30-10:30am: Breakfast included. Transfers arranged for your return trip to the airport.
*Please note this is an itinerary sketch. Small changes may be made due to unexpected opportunities & group desires. Meals that are included are the welcome and farewell dinner, light tapas on day 4 and breakfast daily. All other meals are on your own expense.
The Art Retreat Includes:
6 nights accommodation at our private retreat house
Limited to 10 guests
Delicious fresh breakfast (daily) at the casa
Welcome reception and dinner + light tapas on the evening of day 4 (all other meals at your own expense)
Round trip transportation from the airport in Leon or Queretaro to the retreat house
Transportation and entrance fee to the thermal hot springs
3 plein air painting workshops with your art teacher, Kimberly Carmody
1 creative workshop with a local artisan
Walk through the Mercado de Artesanias to shop local crafts
Visit to the Cultural Center of Art and Design, La Fabrica Aurora
Magical
I love San Miguel de Allende and jump at every opportunity to visit. During the retreat we hung out with like-minded creatives, did lots of shopping, eating and enjoying the sights and people of San Miguel.
Robyn McClendon of @rarebirds, Artist + Creativity Coach
ABOUT YOUR ART TEACHER
As a child Kimberly Carmody studied at The River Gallery School with artists Ric & Barbara Campman. She attended The Evergreen State College & in 1994 Kimberly moved to NYC where she studied at The New York Studio School.
She earned a Masters in Art Education from Teachers College at Columbia University & taught art in both public & independent schools, hospitals & homeless shelters. Kimberly founded Urban River Arts, a community based non-profit, in Crown Heights Brooklyn in 2009. She relocated to upstate NY in 2019 & worked as an art educator and administrator at The High Meadow School.
In September of 2023 Kimberly moved back to Vermont to become the executive director of River Gallery School of Art.
About your on site leader
Desha Peacock resides in Brattleboro, VT & heads to Mexico in the winters, where she’s led 13 retreats to San Miguel de Allende.
Desha is a LifeSTYLE Design & Small Biz Coach, & Founder of Sweet Spot Style. She’s also the author of Create the Style You Crave and Your Creative Work Space, as well as the co-host of the She DESIGNS Podcast.
Desha holds a master’s degree from The School for International Training and is a certified Global Career Development Facilitator.
Wanting her daughter to experience life abroad, she pulled her out of school twice to live in SM. She knows this place & can’t wait to show you around!
Register Here
Make sure to note the cancellation policy under the FAQ’s and that travel insurance is required. Then click the register button below.
There are five private king size bedrooms each with an ensuite bathroom at the retreat house, along with one queen double. First come, first serve on these rooms.
UPDATE: We currently only have 2 kings rooms left, register now to hold your spot!
AVAILABLE ROOMS
Private King: (Your own private king size bed)
Pay in full $3700
Payment plan (3 payments of $1266 if booked by Oct 1,2024)
Shared King: (Sharing the size bed with a partner or friend)
Pay in full $2700 per person
Payment plan (3 payments of $933 if booked by Oct 1,2024)
Double Queen:
Pay in full $3000
Payment plan (3 payments of $1033 if booked by Oct 1, 2024)
For further questions you may contact desha@sweetspotstyle.com