LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – For its 19th year, Tahoe Art League’s (TAL) Artist Studio Tour will be held all weekend long starting Friday, July 31 through Sunday, August 2, bringing opportunities to meet regional and Lake Tahoe artists in their own studios as they discuss their processes, inspirations and origin stories.
First founded in 1964, TAL is the oldest nonprofit arts organization in El Dorado County. Through decades of expansion, the league now offers classes, workshops, monthly art demonstrations, scholarships to students, and hosts exhibits while operating an art gallery in the heart of South Lake Tahoe. Those beautiful murals you see around town? TAL coordinates and funds them, transforming the city into its own gallery.
“We’re always offering art opportunities to the community,” said Kathy Dewey, TAL board member, art educator and Studio Tour committee member. “Our mission is to support visual arts in South Lake Tahoe, and the Studio Tour is an opportunity for artists to showcase their work on their own, without having to go through a gallery, museum or other entity.”
This year’s Studio Tour will offer 38 unique artists at 22 studios in Lake Tahoe, spanning from Zephyr Cove to Meyers. Photography, watercolor, oil paintings, wire work, woodturning – the variety of art is boundless and the setting in which the art is displayed is as intimate as it gets, allowing folks a first-hand look at what techniques are used and how it’s all created.
“This is a free event that’s put on for the community, and you could spend all three days going to visit these studios because that’s how many artists there are to see,” Dewey said.
Folks can also participate in TAL’s passport program, which allows visitors to track which studios they’ve visited on the tour. Pick up your passport at the TAL Gallery, collect your stamps, and submit your passport, either at the last studio you visit or the gallery, for a chance to win some amazing raffle prizes in the form of original works of art donated from Studio Tour artists.
In addition to entering the raffle via your passport, visitors can also acquire a raffle ticket for every $100 they spend on the Studio Tour.
Ellen Nunes is an artist and member of the TAL for over 16 years. She has participated in the Studio Tour for 10 years this year.
Her abstract Lake Tahoe art can be seen in several places around the lake, including Clearly Tahoe and Tahoe Trunk Show.
She and two other artists, Darlynn Sharpe and Francis Rider, will be displaying their work at Nunes’ home studio (Studio 12) in the Tahoe Keys.
“I really love opening my studio to the community. They can come in and see how I make the art. They’re going to see my process, what I’m passionate about and how things get from start to finish,” said Nunes. “I think this is a very valuable thing for folks to see who are interested in art. I think people really enjoy meeting the artists. You don’t usually get that experience when you’re shopping at a gallery.”
Nunes plans to continue participating in the tour for years to come, saying that as long as people are interested in her work, she’ll continue making it.
The TAL Artist Studio Tour will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 31, August 1 and 2. Get started by picking up a Studio Tour passport and brochure with the list of artists and where they’re located at the TAL Art Center Gallery located at 3062 Lake Tahoe Blvd in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
You can view an interactive map of the Studio Tour and additional information by visiting https://www.talart.org/events/studio-tour-2026.
“You’re really supporting the artists by attending this event, appreciating their art, bringing it home and making it a part of your life,” Dewey added.
