Art camp for women? Hmmmm…let me see; several days away, a room at a lovely hotel in one of the most beautiful places on the planet, painting classes in the morning, adventures in the afternoon and a little vino on the beach at sunset. What’s not to like about that scenario? Well, there is the one little anxiety producing issue of painting or printmaking, especially if you’ve never done it before.

Not to worry, the people behind Artista Creative Safaris for Women love a challenge. After all they’ve been teaching women to surf at their Las Olas surf camps for years now. Their philosophy, whether it’s surfing or painting, is simple – create the right environment and women will thrive at whatever they are doing. Founder Bev Sanders says she wants women to remember back to their childhoods, when as she says, “they were large and in charge.” She wants women to reclaim that childlike freedom of expression, “We want to make girls out of women.” Having fun is a big part of the equation.

Artista offers three types of art safaris: intuitive abstract, encaustic and printmaking. Abstract instructor Lauryn Taylor insists anyone, regardless of artistic training or background, can paint. It’s a matter of letting go and giving in to your creative side. “No mistakes in here, “she says, “if you don’t like something, wipe it off and start over.” She introduces abstract painting slowly, and encourages experimentation with texture and tools.

Encaustic painting (painting with hot wax) is one of the world’s oldest techniques, and you can rediscover it at Artista. Armed with a mini blowtorch, you actually paint with a blend of paint and molten beeswax. It is also a medium uniquely suitable for collage and embedding objects into the wax – in other words – anything goes! The fun is in the discovery. Encaustic painting encourages the artist to be in the moment and let the creative juices flow. The hardest thing about encaustic painting is the set up and Artista takes care of that for you, and when you become so addicted that you have to set up a home studio, Artista will be there with the best advice on how to do it!

Impresia Creative Printmaking is an introduction to monotype; a creative printmaking process of great versatility whereby a single art print is made with ink, paper, and pressure. Monotype has gained widespread popularity among artists because of its improvisational directness, the pleasure of immediate results and the wide range of possibilities of stylistic approaches suggested by the process – from hard edged shape-making to velvety, painterly abstractions – and even a seamless kind of collage.

To produce a monotype, the artist begins by painting her image on a thin, non-absorbent metal or plastic plate. Special dampened printmaking paper is placed on the image, and then both are passed through the heavy roller of the etching press. The result is a faithful reverse image transferred from plate to paper. The marriage of ink and paper, unique to monotype, produces surprising and magical effects quite different from direct painting or drawing. Monotype is a wonderful medium for both new and experienced artists seeking a fresh avenue to creative expression.

Whatever medium you choose, Artista will help make the adventure happen, and now Artista is offering weekend sessions as well. It’s basically the same program, just shorter, less expensive and does not include accommodations and meals. With its famous beaches, world-class restaurants and award winning wines, California’s Central Coast is the perfect place to get away and find or rediscover your creative side.