Plein Air Workshop – Urban Watercolor with Irina Yushmanova

As part of the FASMA 2026 program, internationally acclaimed artist Irina Yushmanova presents an immersive Plein Air Urban Watercolor Workshop, inviting participants to experience San Miguel de Allende through direct observation and painting on location. Working outdoors, artists will learn how changing light, architecture, and everyday life become essential elements of expressive watercolor painting.

Plein Air painting offers an experience that photographs cannot replicate. By working directly in front of the subject, artists respond to shifting light, atmosphere, and movement, creating paintings filled with freshness, spontaneity, and visual energy. Under Irina Yushmanova's guidance, participants will discover how watercolor becomes a living dialogue between observation, technique, and creative intuition.

About the Workshop

During this five-hour intensive workshop, participants will learn how to create vibrant urban watercolor paintings from start to finish. Beginning with composition and scene selection, the course explores perspective, architectural drawing, atmospheric depth, transparent washes, and expressive watercolor techniques that bring cityscapes to life.

Irina will demonstrate her professional approach to painting directly from life, showing participants how to simplify complex scenes, capture changing light before it disappears, and use watercolor's fluid nature to create lively, dynamic compositions. The workshop takes place throughout the inspiring surroundings of Fábrica La Aurora, one of San Miguel de Allende's most iconic artistic landmarks.

Open to students, hobbyists, and experienced painters alike, the workshop provides an outstanding opportunity to strengthen technical skills while developing greater confidence in painting outdoors and responding creatively to the ever-changing urban environment.

About the Artist

Irina Yushmanova is a Russian-born visual artist and naturalized Mexican citizen trained at the Moscow Academy of Fine Arts and the Moscow Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. Combining the discipline of the Russian academic tradition with the expressive qualities of Impressionism, her work has been exhibited internationally and recognized through numerous awards. She is the founder and director of Endorphine Art School, represents the International Watercolor Society (IWS), and leads one of Mexico's official groups participating in the renowned FabrianoInAcquarello festival in Italy.

What You Will Discover

• How to paint directly from life using Plein Air techniques.
• Methods for capturing architecture, perspective, and urban atmosphere.
• Professional watercolor techniques for light, transparency, and movement.
• Strategies for creating dynamic cityscape compositions.
• Personal guidance from an internationally recognized watercolor artist.

The Plein Air Urban Watercolor Workshop offers an inspiring opportunity to experience the city as an open-air studio where every street, reflection, and changing ray of light becomes a source of artistic inspiration. Combining observation, creativity, and technical excellence, this workshop celebrates the unique experience of painting directly from the world around us.

Date: Sunday, August 9, 2026.
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (check-in at 9:30 a.m.).
Venue: Fábrica La Aurora.
Capacity: 10–15 participants.
Fee: MXN $800 per person.