SAN PATRICIO MELAQUE, MEXICO -- Despite dozens of art workshops in the United States and Canada, more and more artists are packing art supplies with their swim suits and seeking out art workshops in exotic locals. Here, the vitality of unfamiliar surroundings can infuse everyday objects with light, vibrant colours and textures that pique the senses and inspire creativity. And because your eye is attracted to the unusual, your visual system is receiving all these signals of excitement.

Flying south is an enticing option for artists seeking inspirational surroundings at budget prices. This area of Mexico is still inexpensive. "We don't want to just lie in the sun any more. We are looking for inspiration, to share ideas with other artists, and to enjoy ourselves while learning new techniques and sharpening up the ones we have." The artist will always entertain the notion of traveling to other parts of the world.

Painting on location at Tenacatita

At La Paloma, Nancy Lennie makes good use of the beautiful surroundings by instructing students to "draw what you see", resulting in exotic scenes of Technicolor sunsets, palm trees, and even a pig slaughter under a canopy of palms. Lennie offers week-long workshops in watercolour painting, drawing and art journaling, and attracts visiting artists from Canada and the United States who bring their expertise to her home. La Paloma Oceanfront Retreat and Art Centre, is a lush haven of plants and gardens and lovely private studio accommodations in the small town of San Patricio.

The villages of Melaque, San Patricio, Villa Obregon lies at the tip of Bahía de Navidad, a cliff-lined bay an hour north of Manzanillo, on Mexico's Pacific coast. In a half kilometre stretch of beach, are restaurants and hotels that attracts tourists with little interest in throbbing, fully-developed resort towns. At the south end of the bay, just a few kilometres away, is Barra de Navidad, another small scale resort town surrounded by lagoons. The very expensive Grand Bay Hotel at the tip of the bay is a visual experience like a castle with a mote surrounding its entrance.

Indeed, in the tropics everything seems brighter. Blues are infinite, moving subtly from deep sapphire to brilliant aquamarine in the shallows of the ocean. The sky shifts from a cerulean glaze to light purple and an occasional fiery red as the setting sun melts into the horizon. Flowers of every shade burst from bordered walkways. Giant palms sway dark leafy fronds as coconuts nestle in their leaves. Are these experiences what you are looking for? Join us this year.