Albert Lea watercolor artist Barb Butler is taking her watercolor workshop on the road in the form of a three-day retreat.

Butler will lead “Favorite Things of Nature,” a three-day watercolor workshop at Good Earth Village Outdoor Ministry Retreat Center’s log lodge Aug. 18 to 20. The center is located five miles northwest of Spring Valley.

Butler said the idea for the retreat came from a couple people who had taken one- or two-day workshops from her in the past. “Six of us drove over one day and saw the retreat center,” she said. “It was too good to pass up.”

Butler just returned from a five-day workshop with a University of Minnesota professor. “I will go to school as long as I am able,” she said. “I just love to keep learning.”

She offers workshops to share the knowledge she has learned with others who wish to be challenged and improve their paintings through composition, patterns, shape, value and colors.

“I learn more by teaching,” she said. “It reinforces the class I’ve just taken or the book I’ve just read.

“I try not to teach techniques,” the artist said. “We say, ‘Here’s a way to paint, now put your personality to it.’ The longer you paint, the more capable you are of doing that.”

Butler said anyone with an interest in watercolor painting is welcome at the retreat. She said in workshops, everyone tends to learn from each other. “Some take less guidance, some a little more. It all seems to work out.”

Artists can always find excuses not to paint, Butler said, but a retreat offers a break from those interruptions that always seem to come up.

“This is the kind of dedication that will help your painting grow,” she said.

“I want them to enjoy being the best they can be. That’s when they get their greatest pleasure.”

Butler began taking watercolor workshops soon after retiring from Riverland Community College. The first one was in Wisconsin. Then, she took some workshops from Frank Zeller, who became her mentor.

She’s now known for her landscapes and florals, although she dabbles in landscapes and abstracts.

Over the years, Butler has exhibited in Ames, Iowa, at the Albert Lea Art Center, in the local hospital gallery and more. Her paintings are now all over the United States.

She has taught watercolor classes in Minnesota, Iowa and Arizona, presented programs and demonstrations to various organizations and has judged area art shows. She is affiliated with the Minnesota Watercolor Society, the North Star Watercolor Society and the Palo Verde Watercolor Society.

To register for the workshop and for a supply list, contact Butler at 373-8135. Cost for the workshop is $300, which includes lunch and supper on Monday, breakfast, lunch and supper on Tuesday and breakfast and lunch on Wednesday, as well as accommodations. Workshop hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Spots must be reserved by Aug. 1.