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Water Media Painting South of the Clouds
At the Linden Centre in Yunnan Province
March 30 - April 9, 2010, $2,995 per person for 11 day tour
Optional March 30 - April 14, 2010, $3,990 per person for 16 day tour

Trip Information

Painting in the Land South of the Clouds takes place at The Linden Centre in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. The nationally protected villa, former home to one of the Southwest Silk Road's leading merchants, has been restored to its dynastic elegance and forms a perfect base for creative exploration.

Ratindra Das (TWSA, AWS, NWS), who holds Master status in the Transparent Watercolor Society of America, is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society and five other national watercolor societies, will lead our water media workshop with a focus on plein air painting.

Das attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and studied with nationally-renowned artists Robert E. Wood, Frank Webb, Cheng Khee Chee and Serge Hollerbach. His work has appeared in numerous competitive exhibitions and travel shows and can be found in many corporate and private collections.

Ratindra will demonstrate and discuss the methods and techniques that have contributed to his world class status as a watercolor artist. He emphasizes following your own muse and distilling your personal aesthetic. More information on Ratindra can be found on his website http://ratindradas.net.

by Ratindra Das TWSA, AWS, NWS

Please note that painters of all media are welcome. All painters study value, composition, shape, edges and transition, and color. Ratindra, although a water media Master, is well versed in these basics of painting and can provide guidance and knowledge to all painters. In addition, all of our themed programs are open to all who are interested in a variety of cultural experiences.

Proposed Itinerary: March 31 - April 9, 2010

Tuesday, March 30: Leave Los Angles International

Wednesday, March 31: Arrive in Kunming- the City of Eternal Spring
We will meet you at the airport and transport you to the centrally located New Era Hotel. After you have had a chance to check in and wash up, we will tour the local Bird and Flower market- Kunming's original central market- which sells a variety of items ranging from exotic fruits and snacks, books (one whole floor dedicated to art books), antiques, artwork and ethnic crafts and textiles. We will help you negotiate for any treasures that catch your eye. We will dine in a restored courtyard mansion and learn more about Yunnan and the upcoming adventures over dinner and tea.

Thursday, April 1: Art Studios and Villages- Travel to Xizhou
Following a large American/Chinese breakfast buffet (including bottomless cups of delicious Yunnan coffee and teas) in the hotel’s penthouse restaurant overlooking downtown Kunming, we will make a morning visit to meet some of the region’s leading watercolorists and observe several classrooms/studios at the University Art School in Kunming. We will learn about the rigorous training that the university students go through before graduation. We will stop in the region’s best art bookstore to purchase never-before-seen fine art books. (Prices for the books are much cheaper than in the States, and thus many of our artists/guests go home with an extra suitcase filled with books!)

You can skip the morning tour and sleep in if you wish. We will leave the hotel for Dali after lunch and travel four hours by bus through the mountainous Yi villages (on a newly completed four-lane divided highway) to arrive at the Linden Centre in Xizhou for check-in and dinner. After dinner we will review the many painting options for the coming week.

Friday, April 2: The Ancient Town
Our first full day of Linden Centre activities will include Western and/or Chinese breakfast followed by a walking tour of Xizhou and a visit to its morning market. Throughout your stay, you can join Jeanee and our chefs as they choose the foods for each day’s meals. (Our chefs also welcome you to participate with them in the preparation of the food, if interested. Who wouldn’t want to learn Chinese culinary art?).
After lunch at the Centre, Ratindra will present a demonstration based on our initial experiences and some guidelines of plein aire painting in the Western world. Many of you will be overwhelmed by the morning’s glimpses of the textures of the local villagers- their colorful clothing, sun-etched skin, and gregarious nature that seduce all visitors. Some artists will want to focus their attention during the following days on portraits. The Lindens will help arrange additional sittings throughout the stay for individual artists (average cost per hour is $8). Dinner will be at the Centre and include an introduction to the history and traditions of the region.

Saturday, April 3: Learning from the Masters-Architecture and Music
Two leading traditional Chinese painters will lead a morning workshop. You will have a chance to study calligraphy as well with these artists in the courtyard later in the afternoon.

Time permitting, Ratindra will take you into Xizhou after lunch to focus on painting the timeless grand architecture of the Bai ethnic group. Over 100 courtyard complexes are protected in our small village, many of which have been home to the same families for generations.

Bai architecture is renowned for its “San Fang Yi Zhao Bi” style (three sides committed to living and one decorative ‘picture’ wall). Xizhou has the greatest concentration of these complexes in all of China. The Linden Centre is the largest such building.

A work-sharing and critique session will be held before dinner, followed by an evening performance of classical Bai music in our first courtyard. The musicians will be dressed in ethnic clothing and will be playing traditional instruments- a perfect setting for a quick sketch and/or painting, and of course once-in-a-lifetime photos.

Sunday, April 4: Landscapes from the Path of Clouds
We will travel twelve miles south to the old walled city of Dali. The former base for the powerful Nan Chao Kingdom is renowned for its unique galleries, shops, and cafes. The Lindens will help guests shop for beautiful locally-designed garments, artworks and antiquities before having lunch in Dali's finest local restaurant (with delicious Western and Chinese cuisine).

In the afternoon, we will take a ski lift up the Azure Mountain to 8,500 feet to paint the pristine Dali Valley and thirty mile long Er Hai Lake. We will be able to set up our easels on a large terrace below a famous mountainside temple. For those who would like to hike, Brian or Jeanee will accompany you on a walk along the flat, paved trail, known as the Path of the Clouds, for breathtaking views of the mountains and valleys. Dinner will be at the Centre and will be followed by a sunset wine-tasting on the Centre’s rooftop terrace.

Monday, April 5: Markets and Children
After breakfast, we will travel eight miles north to the region’s largest weekly market in Shaping. Bai and Yi villagers travel hours to get to this lively outdoor market full of exotic foods, textiles and crafts. We will be able to set up our easels and paint away the morning. After lunch in a Bai restaurant, we will visit a rural kindergarten- a chance for all of us to spontaneously sing and dance with the village children.

Ratindra will lead a workshop based on our experience in the late afternoon, followed by dinner and Movie Night.

Tuesday, April 6: Textures and Colors- Zhoucheng Village
This morning we will explore the historic village of Zhoucheng to observe its renowned tie-dye/cloth-making tradition. We will trace the process from the picking of the indigo leaves to the designing and tying of these works of art. Zhoucheng’s picturesque town square has a Qing Dynasty performance stage and is shaded by a massive canopied Banyan tree. We will have ample time to capture the colors of the lively marketplace that unfold in this timeless setting. In the afternoon, there will be a paint along portrait/figure painting session with Ratindra in the Centre’s courtyard. He will work with all of the artists.

Wednesday, April 7: Temples and Heroes
Horse-drawn carriages will pick us up today and take us to the area’s most interesting temples. The Bai religion has synthesized Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist beliefs, while injecting a unique quality of hero worship. Most temple altars include a Buddha, Guanyin, God of Wealth, Confucian scholars and a hero or elder from the respective village. Many of the pristine fields we will pass through have mini temples dedicated to the Tu Di Gong (God of Earth). The Lindens will explain the unique religion and iconography throughout today’s visits.

We will see 4-5 temples today, and you will have a chance to stop to paint in whichever one most captures your interest. The horse carriage, Ratindra and the Centre’s staff will make a constant circle to allow artists to move onto another site.

Dinner will include students from Dali University’s art department. You will have a chance to paint with many of them during the afternoon. Ratindra will offer a critique of the works in the evening.

Thursday, April 8: Sharing with the Villagers- An Exhibition of our Works
The morning hours will be spent finishing some of the paintings that will hang in the afternoon show in the Centre. Ratindra will work with each of you to refine a group of selected pieces that you would like to show to the public.

Later in the afternoon, we will open a one-day exhibition of the works completed during the visit. The local villagers, students and media will all be invited to attend this show. We will share stories over food and wine until late in the evening. We all can sleep in tomorrow morning!

Friday, April 9: Farewell to Xizhou
After breakfast at the Centre you will be taken to the Dali airport to start your trip home. If you are going on the extension, you will have a free day in Xizhou to paint, plan a side excursion or to relax before we start our journey north tomorrow.

Optional Lijiang and Shangri-La Tour (5 days-4 nights) $995

Saturday, April 10: Following the Footsteps of Tibetan Traders
Our adventure will begin with a three hour, private coach ride north to Old Town Lijiang, home of the fabled Naxi ethnic minority. We will follow the old Tea Horse Road passing through Bai ethnic villages renowned for their textile and silver-making traditions. We will stop to hunt for antiques and treasures alongside the Ming Dynasty drum tower in the village of He Qin.

Lijiang is known as the ‘Venice of the Orient’- crystal clear streams flowing alongside golden willows and centuries old homes. We will stay in an elegant and comfortable hotel nestled among gardens and with wonderful views of the 18,000 foot tall Jade Dragon Snow Mountain located just to the west of the old city.

Dinner will be held inside Shu He’s village square, followed by dancing and singing with the Naxi alongside a glowing fire pit.

Sunday, April 11: Lost in Paradise
Today will include two options: 1. an exploration of Lijiang, including the village of Bai Sha and its renowned Ming Dynasty frescoes, and 2. free time to dedicate to plein air work throughout the village. In each case, the Lindens and/or their staff will accompany you.

Lunch and dinner will be in the old city with an introduction to the Naxi’s unique Dong Ba religion and fabled music tradition.

Monday, April 12: Steps of Marco Polo
After a hearty Western and Chinese breakfast, we will board our private coach for the spectacular ride over the Jade Dragon pass to the Yangtze River. The Yangtze, known as the Golden Sands River at this point, rushes down the 12,000 foot Tibetan plateau and forms some of the world’s deepest gorges. We will follow the river into the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge, over 10,000 feet deep and nestled between two 18,000 foot mountains. We will have a few hours to hike and paint before continuing our journey on up to the Tibetan plateau and the paradise that is Tibetan Shangri-La. Dinner will be in a restored Tibetan log home and will include a lecture on the storied history of the region.

Tuesday, April 13: Lost Horizons
Zhongdian, renamed Shangri-La, is an imaginary paradise on earth named after James Hilton's book. The old city and the surrounding area offer endless painting opportunities. Tibetan models will be made available later in the day. (Note- all models are non- professional, wonderful locals with whom we share mutual curiosity. They love to sit for you.) The Lindens will escort you to one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world- the Songzanlin complex located two miles from Shangri-La. We will visit with the monks and view its many treasures. Dinner will be held at the home of one of the region’s leading conservationists- an Indian woman who has helped spearhead a sustainable tourism model for Shangri-La.

Wednesday, April14: Flight to Kunming

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Summary:

What — 11 or 16 day cultural excursion and water media workshop in Yunnan, China.

When — March 30-April 9, 2010 or if extended trip is chosen, March 30-April14, 2010.

Who — Anyone who wishes to experience the romanticism and spirituality of the true China. The traveler who hopes to experience many different facets, customs and culture of Yunnan. The avid painter wishing to capture a historic and picturesque part of China.

Cost — $2,995 or $3,990 Includes round-trip, international airfare to Kunming from LAX, all domestic travel after arrival in Kunming, all accommodations, most meals unless specified, medical travel insurance, and all activities and cultural services. The Centre hosts 14 double occupancy rooms. Single supplement is an extra $500.

Costs not included — Airfare to Los Angeles and return. Customs user fees; passport and visa fees. (Guests are responsible for getting their own Chinese visa. Visa information and most of your questions can be found at the following link: http://linden-centre.com/faqs/faqs.php.) Deviations from the group program; sightseeing, other than specifically mentioned in itinerary; tips to guides and drivers during the tour; meals other than those specifically mentioned; beverages (alcoholic or others) not included during meals; anything of a personal nature (souvenirs, laundry, drinks from mini-bar, and long distance telephone calls).

Group Size — Our tour groups are limited to fewer than 28 people due to the size of the Centre and to ensure that all participants receive more personal attention from the staff. Our minimum group size is 10 people; we reserve the right to cancel tour if the minimum size is not met. All rooms are non-smoking.

Reservations — Call 920-388-4391 or email info@barnsitegallery.com. Non-refundable $1,000 deposit per person for 11 day tour or $1,335 per person for 16 day tour . Pay your deposit online here.

The Lindens have been living in China since 1984. Their twenty-plus years of contacts will ensure that all participants see and experience aspects of China unknown to other visitors. For most of their previous guests, the experiences throughout these regions of China have been among the most memorable in their lives. Please come and enjoy an indigenous travel experience to one of the world's most storied cultures.

How to reserve space for the tour:

Call 920-388-4391 and/or email us - info@barnsitegallery.com - to reserve space and mail your forms and a check or credit card information to
Barnsite-China Access
109 Duvall Street,
Kewaunee, WI 54216

Download your registration packet.

Pay your deposit online.