2026 Palm Springs California Sketching on Location Workshop
Palm Springs, California • March 20–22, 2026
Join master draftsman Glenn Vilppu for an immersive three-day sketching on location workshop set in the striking landscape of Palm Springs, California.
The Coachella Valley offers a rare and inspiring blend of desert vistas, iconic Mid-Century Modern architecture, vibrant downtown scenes, and endlessly compelling people to draw. March is the perfect time to be here—warm, sun-filled days paired with cool desert evenings create ideal conditions for working outdoors.
Throughout the workshop, Glenn will guide participants in developing strong observational drawing skills, emphasizing gesture, structure, rhythm, and personal expression while working directly from life. Locations may include desert environments, downtown areas, and residential neighborhoods, providing a wide range of subjects and visual challenges.
Whether you are new to sketching on location or looking to deepen your practice, this workshop offers a rare opportunity to learn from one of the most respected educators in figurative art—drawing on site, in real time, from the world around you.
Customer Reviews
It was wonderful to work with an actual person, not an image. Glenn is not only the greatest artist but is also the greatest teacher I have known. I felt completely free to ask questions and to Glenn there are no silly questions. He takes the time to explain things to you in a clear way; that makes learning much easier for someone who’s sometimes nervous (like me). Thank you Glenn and Eleanor for a great experience!
I have been studying art on and off since I was a child and Glenn is the teacher, who finally helped me to stay on. I have been his student online for over 5 years and have had the possibility to attend his live workshops (sketching on location, figure drawing, drawing facial expressions…etc). Beyond the immense knowledge he has and can convey so effortlessly, Glenn has created a community of supportive, like-minded people - and these workshops provide an excellent opportunity to meet up in real life. Glenn’s instructions are amazingly to the point all the time, whenever I struggle with something, somehow the flow of the class will touch upon my problems and provide me with a solution. At the live workshops, this experience is intensified and I am happy to be able to just sit next to Glenn and follow his suggestions - and it always works out! Thank you!
Glenn has a way of being polite, kind, and straight to the point all at the same time. I've seen so much improvement in my drawing practice after spending time in person with him. I've lost exact count of how many workshops I've attended - I've been to Belgium, Vienna, Italy and New Mexico with Glenn, and loved every second. Eleanor (Glenn's wife) and Glenn are such wonderful and kind souls to be around, and have helped immensely when it comes to my anxiety around drawing. I cant recommend his workshops enough!
As a regular student at Glenn’s on-site classes I can highly recommend his workshops. It is great to learning from him in person and being able to ask questions right away. Glenn teaches in a way that doesn’t interfere with the students style of drawing. He teaches tools that you can use to draw whatever subject you want to approach. Whether the subject or scene I want to draw is from life or imagination - the skills that I’ve learned at Glenn’s lessons took me to a level that I wouldn’t have reached without his workshops. Take the opportunity to learn from him at the Palm Springs Workshop! You will not regret it and most probably, as I do, be looking forward to learning more from Glenn at his next workshops. I am a student of Glenn since 2013 and I am trying to attend at least one on-site workshop per year to take my skills to the next level. Vilppu Academy is awesome!
I had the privilege of studying with Glenn in Belgium in 2024. This was a life changing experience for many reasons, and one that I will always treasure in my heart.
If you go on a trip with Glenn, you will learn a lot about drawing, but you will also have the opportunity to meet many incredible people who are at different stages of their artistic education. Glenn’s classes attract very special people who are worth getting to know and I would place the caliber of these relationships on a similar level of significance to me as great friendships from college. These trips are in part special because many adults at different stages of their life have set aside time to make a serious effort to improve with a wonderful teacher. The experience of drawing with this small community and getting to know each other is precious.
Glenn is very good at working with each student individually and quickly realizing a clear, concrete step the student can take to improve. When Glenn observes your work, he will quickly discern a path and show you the way with a demo. There have been times when I didn’t understand what he meant to teach me, and months and years later I figured it out. One useful thing about working in person with a class is you get to see how he works with other students. If you pay attention to those interactions and observe carefully, you will find that those lessons can be applied equally to your own work.
The students in my trip were at varying skill levels. This is very positive because you are exposed to a wide range of critique and instruction. Seeing how Glenn worked with more advanced students was as helpful as seeing Glenn approach fundamental problems. Whenever you see Glenn work with a student, you should always assume that this lesson can benefit you.
One things that never ceases to amaze me about studying with Glenn is how his lessons tend to imprint on the mind. I think that Glenn teaches as much with passion and joy as he does with word and demos. Sometimes I am surprised by how vividly I remember an image he drew and how his hand moved on the page.
If you are at all hesitant, don’t be. You will have a great time with wonderful people, make wonderful memories, and learn how to draw!