Workshops - Leslie Fehling - Everyday Artist

One thing I enjoy almost as much as painting is sharing my love of watercolors and sketchbook journaling with others. My classes are packed with information and inspiration, and I hope my enthusiasm and organized approach to teaching helps all of my students to move ahead on their creative journey. Check the listings below for scheduled classes and workshops. If you’d like to schedule a class in your area, I’d love to talk with you. Just drop me a note via email.

US Workshops

Watercolor for Sketchers

February 10-11, 2025 (FULL - wait list)

2-day workshop at Villa Serena in Sarasota, FL

Do you love to draw but feel challenged when it comes time to add paint to your sketches? Do you want to build your skills with watercolor and learn to paint with confidence? In this two-day workshop at the lovely Villa Serena Inn, I’ll share the techniques I use to create colorful watercolor sketches in my sketchbooks and travel journals, and I’ll show you how to paint many of the subjects that we sketchers encounter most often.

My organized approach breaks the process down into manageable steps which build on each other, one step at a time, and result in finished sketches you will be proud to share. Subject matter will include flowers and foliage, trees, food, buildings, skies, water, tea cups, and more. Each student will receive a full-color spiral-bound instruction book which includes all of the step-by-step lessons from the workshop, so you can refer to it during the class and later on at home.

With my helpful instruction, encouragement, and one-on-one guidance, your skills and confidence will grow, and you will leave the class feeling excited about capturing your world on the pages of your sketchbook.

Registration: Read more and register on the Villa Serena website. Questions about the class? Email Leslie.

Sketch It Now:
Capturing the moment in your sketchbook journal

February 14-15, 2025 (FULL - wait list)

2-day workshop at Villa Serena in Sarasota, FL

If you loved my introductory “Sketch Your Life!” class but need some fresh inspiration, then this two-day workshop is for you! I’ve dreamed up more fun projects, page layouts, border designs, and lettering styles for you that will inject new life into your sketchbook pages. You’ll learn some great ideas for incorporating sketching into your everyday life, and I’ll show you how to create exciting sketchbook pages that are filled with colorful images, beautiful hand-lettering, and interesting page designs. Fun guided projects will give you a framework in which to create, but you’ll be encouraged to add your personal style to every page, making it entirely your own.

The illustrated class handbook will even include my famous “Boo-Boo Bible” which offers strategies for dealing with the inevitable surprises that crop up when we’re sketching.

Join me in beautiful Sarasota next winter and get excited about your sketching practice again!

Registration: Read more and register on the Villa Serena website. Questions about the class? Email Leslie.

Creative Travel Journaling

March 23-28, 2025

5-day workshop at Montreat, NC

Capturing travel memories has never been easier, now that I’ve compiled my best travel sketching tips and ideas into one exciting class! An illustrated travel journal is the best souvenir you can bring back from a trip, and I’ll help you plan yours from start to finish.

We’ll begin by talking about the three stages of travel sketching, and I’ll give you concrete ideas for subject matter for each one. I’ll share my onsite sketching process and discuss realistic vs. optimistic expectations. You’ll learn how to tell your story through images and words, with options for journaling ideas and creative page layouts.

All the extras will be included, too, like title pages, lettering styles, borders, banners, and inventive sketching approaches, with examples pulled from my own travel journals. We’ll even venture outside for some plein air sketching, weather permitting.

Material covered in class will include:

How to begin a travel journal long before a trip
Ideas for page layouts for your travel journal
How to plan a composite sketch for pleasing results
How to draw a selection of border designs and fit them to your sketchbook page
Simple lettering styles for labeling sketches + lettering options for titles
Easy ways to transfer lettering to your sketch
How to draw banners
How to test color choices for page elements
How to unify a page using color
How to paint your sketches with watercolor

Registration: Complete information about the 2025 Kanuga Watermedia Workshops will be available soon.

Sketching & Journaling in Santa Fe

May 4-9, 2025 (full - wait list)

5-day workshop with French Escapade in Santa Fe, NM

Santa Fe has a rich cultural history that dates back centuries. It has long been a center for the arts and is even recognized as a “UNESCO Creative City”. Could there be any more perfect place for an art workshop?

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains make a beautiful backdrop for this town filled with historic adobe buildings, colorful markets, and world-class restaurants. There’s so much to sketch in the city itself: bright blue doors, red hot chili peppers drying against adobe walls, and the distinctive regional architecture.

We’ll have a spacious studio at our hotel where I will teach lessons each day on drawing, watercolor, page design, and lettering. I’ll even show you some lettering styles that will fit well with a southwestern-themed travel journal. During our five days together, we’ll enjoy the amazing food that Santa Fe is famous for, and have a chance to browse shops selling local art and handicrafts. We’ll have an opportunity to visit the Georgia O’Keefe Museum and gain insight into the life and work of this reknowned artist. We’ll also visit historic sites in the city itself.

Small group workshops like this one offer a chance to get to know each other on a personal level. I get the nicest people on my workshop trips, so don’t worry about coming by yourself. I promise you will make new friends and have the time of your life! It’s the very best way to travel. My friends at French Escapade will take care of all the details – all you need to do is relax and enjoy all that Santa Fe has to offer.

Registration: Read more and register on the French Escapade website. Questions? Email Jackie at French Escapade or Leslie.

European Workshops

An art workshop tour offers a fun, safe, and easy way to see Europe. All the logistics are taken care of for you on my European sketching trips, and the itineraries include the perfect balance of time spent painting, touring, shopping, and just plain relaxing. The destinations I have chosen for my workshops are places with incredible scenic beauty, a rich cultural and historical heritage, wonderful food and wine, phenomenal shopping, and friendly people who love American visitors. I hope you’ll join me on a European sketching adventure soon!

Watercolor Sketching in Giverny

August 30 - September 6, 2025 (1 spot left!)

7 nights near Giverny, France

Read all about this painting tour here. For workshop information and to register, click here.

Watercolor Sketching in Alsace

October 1-8, 2025 (4 spots open)

7 nights in northeastern France

Read about this painting tour and register here.

Rhine River Cruise for Sketchers

Coming in 2027

8 days & 7 nights of luxury cruising on the River Rhine

Dates and details will be announced in mid 2025.
To see a sample itinerary, visit the French Escapade website.

I’m Leslie. A painter, teacher, and lover of all things creative. A sketchbook artist who captures everyday life on the pages of my illustrated journals. I love sharing, connecting, and encouraging people to find their creative voice through sketchbook journaling. Read more about me, my art, and my life HERE.