Dates: December 7-14, 2025
Location: Alma del Sol Studio and Guest House in Guanajuato, Mexico
Participants: All level of drawing ability including beginners, able to walk up to 2 miles per day. The group size is 7-13 people.

Join us in Pueblo Mágico (Magic Town) of Guanajuato for a week long sketching retreat taught by Rita Sabler. We will be hosted by the owner of Alma del Sol and a fellow Mexican artist Hugo Anaya.

Cost

Early bird (before July 15) $490
Regular price (after July 15) $590

Includes:
25 hours of instruction
Opening reception with drinks and appetizers
Help with logistics (Rita is fluent in Spanish and is a frequent visitor to Mexico)

About Guanajuato

Guanajuato is located in central Mexico. The colorful town is surrounded by the mountains and boasts rich history, beautiful architecture, unique culture, and mild climate. Formally a silver mining town the town of Guanajuato is the Unesco World Heritage site. It is famous for its colonial Baroque and neoclassical architecture, narrow streets, colorful homes scattered on the mountains, cozy plazas, relaxed pace of life, and great food.

About the workshops

The program for the week is intentionally left open until we determine as a group the focus focus and pacing based on the participants’ interests and goals. Scroll down to see the schedule. Rita’s workshops are always well structured, characterized by a step-by-step approach, and centered on students’ goals. Students of all levels report that the instruction is engaging and inspirational. Immersive on-location workshops tend to lead to rapid improvement in technique in the course of one week.

This workshop is ideal for:

• Sketchers of any level of drawing ability, hungry to learn and improve their skills

• Adventurous souls who thrive in beautiful, dynamic and lively places

• Folks who are in good physical shape (Guanajuato is quite hilly and there will be some walking to and from our sketching spots)

• Folks who love good company. Even though we as sketchers tend to be introverted, there is a certain degree of camaraderie that develops in the course of the week as we sketch, share meals, stories, and laughs together.

Getting there

Guanajuato has an airport with daily direct flights from Chicago, Oakland, LA, Dallas, Houston, Fresno and a few others. Ask Hugo for help with arranging airport transfers. The airport code is BJX.

Cancelations

50% refund before July 15
No refunds after July 15

Full refund in the unlikely event that the workshops are canceled by the instructor or the host.

Participants are highly encouraged to purchase travel insurance for protection against any circumstances that might require cancellation or change of travel arrangements.

Accommodations

Reserving a workshop does not reserve accommodations, meals or transportation for your stay. In order to keep the costs down and give you maximum flexibility we are giving you the freedom to make your own arrangements, while we are here to help guide.

Staying at Hugo’s hotels
Alma de Sol is located in the very center of the city with a terrace overlooking the city and the mountains. Your stay includes a delicious daily breakfast and a happy hour margarita prepared by Hugo and served up on the terrace.

The cost of 7 nights of stay in a room shared by 2 people is $350 per person, includes the use of studio and a daily breakfast and is reserved directly with Hugo Anaya. Email info@almadelsol.com to reserve.

Staying at other hotels and/or bringing a non-sketching partner along

There are plenty of other accommodation options nearby to fit your taste and budget. We recommend that you pick something within 10 min walk of Alma del Sol , which will be our main hub.

You are more than welcome to bring a friend/partner along even if they do not sketch or at least, not yet. Guanajuato has plenty of things to keep them busy–from super cool museums to scenic walks and hikes. If you are not staying at Alma del Sol or Hotel del Color we invite you to join us for an amazing breakfast and coffee on the roof of Alma del Sol. It is an awesome opportunity to connect and set the mood for the day of sketching and exploring. The cost of breakfasts is $60 for the entire week for those who are not staying at Hugo’s hotel. You can pay directly to Hugo when you arrive.

Optional Print making workshop

On Wednesday you have an opportunity to take a printmaking workshop in Hugo’s beautiful art studio. Arrangements can be made by emailing info@almadelsol.com.

About Rita Sabler

Rita Sabler is an award winning artist, visual journalist, author, and educator based in Portland, Oregon, USA. In the span of her decade-long career as an educator and visual storyteller Sabler has inspired diverse audiences to cultivate a lifelong passion for urban sketching and reportage illustration. Her work has been featured in solo and group local and international shows. 

Read more

About Hugo Anaya

Hugo Anaya is a professional printmaker based in Guanajuato, Mexico with many years of experience both teaching and exhibiting. While attending Portland State University and Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland OR, he apprenticed under master printmakers which launched his professional path. His teaching style is personal, direct, and always tailored to accommodate the interests and needs of participants.

Questions?

Please contact urbansketcherspdx@gmail.com