Stuhr Demo Recap

Greetings All-

Last week I promised you an extended version of the pastel demonstration I did as part of a workshop at Stuhr Museum recently.  Huge thanks to Linda Welsch for providing the photos.

Let's pull back the curtain of mystery, shall we?

Right off the bat you'll notice I'm using a photo for reference. I'm not interested in copying the photo, but in using it for reminders of interesting shapes and values.  In a workshop this helps participants see what I'm using for inspiration and gives us all the same point of reference. (This particular image is actually of an algae covered back water created from heavy spring rains. Most people around here drive right on by not giving it a second thought. Taken out of it's normal context though, it's actually an attractive view.)

While I don't worry about details at this point, I do spend some time getting the basic shapes where I want them. Giving this step some attention helps avoid problems like head banging and gnashing of teeth later on.

A quick thin layer of a dark cool color to develop shadows and tie the shapes together ...

... some local color to further develop the shapes and values, a dash of red in the foreground just for fun ...

  ... seeing what things look like from several feet away - or better yet, from across the room ...

adding sky color in several blues not only gives the painting a logical  element but gives the trees their shape ...

An hour into the painting it's time for me to put my feet up and let the workshop participants start in.

I don't work this quickly in my studio practice but I know these folks are anxious to dive in and get their paper dirty. The rest of the day will be spent advising and helping the students with their projects.

Since it's not a bad start for a painting, my plan is to finish it at home...

... which I do.

After a couple of days spent ignoring it, I came back with a fresh perspective (pun intended).  Several thoughtful hours were spent refining the shapes, colors and values. I've tweaked, untweaked and re-tweaked multiple times.    I've stepped back, stepped back even farther, and farther yet again to make certain it 'reads' properly. I've peaked at it from around the doorway and checked it in a mirror. Even now, seeing it a new context, (online and smaller) I see some things that need re-re-tweaking. Or is that un-re-tweaking?

So it'll be one more trip to my easel to deal with a couple of things and voila! Sign it and celebrate with a glass of lemonade.

There you have it. Your own private workshop from the comfort of your easy chair. All my secrets revealed. 

Class dismissed.

Stuhr Workshop

Greetings Friends-

I love teaching workshops, especially for those folks who are just getting started. Yesterday's class was immensely enjoyable, filled with artists who were willing to stretch outside their comfort zones and experiment with pastels. Kari, curator at Stuhr Museum, provided us with everything we could hope for to have a really comfortable day. (Read muffins, chocolates, coffee...life's little necessities.)

I'm having a bit of post-workshop hangover, which means the handfull of brain cells I have left are very weary. I leave you with some scenes of the class, courtesy of my very kind artist-friend Linda Welsch. 

I'm very much a 'learn by doing' person, so starting the class with a demo makes sense to me. Next week I will post the demo in its entirety, along with the final painting. It's not too bad for a demo if I do say so myself.

I have no idea what I was trying to say here. Probably something like, "Dibs on the M&M's!"

This group of artists had no fear, jumping right in to get started.  It wasn't so much me guiding as it was me getting out of the way so they could  chart their own course.

Styles from each easel were vastly different. I was immensely pleased to see participants honor their own style and vision while stretching their skills.

That's my goal as a workshop instructor to give participants an understanding of the medium, its limitations and advantages, as well as a basic framework of procedure in developing a painting.  After that it's my job to get out of the way and honor each artist's unique way of interpreting the world.

Huge thanks to Stuhr Museum and the Nebraska Arts Council for sponsoring this workshop.  I'll post the entire demo, as well as the finished painting next week.  You'll get a free workshop from the comfort of your own home. Byob.

If you're out near Grand Island, Nebraska, next Sunday, March 18th, plan to stop by Stuhr Museum and say hello. I'll be there from 1:30 to 4:30 with my paint box one more time.

Will I see you there?

Santa's List for You

Santa's been asking about you. A bit confused over just what to put under your tree, I gave him a few ideas. I hope you don't mind.

My "Gifts Any Artist Can Use and Appreciate" list: 

A hand painted color chart from every tube of paint you own.

A case of frames that are always the right size

Determination to start - again

A kind and patient mentor

Wonderful patrons

Galleries that want to show your work

Distant horizons to reach toward

@2010 Patricia Scarborough, Distant Horizon, 9x12 oil

A stack of materials all ready to go

Free shipping

Willingness to go it alone

photo courtesy Linda Welsch

Full paint tubes

Unstick-able lids

Just the right color

Never ending blog post ideas

Friends that love you no matter what

Classes

Self cleaning palette

Stain resistant flooring. (sorry honey!)

Organized storage closet. Maybe even two. 

A full receipt book

Space

The courage to try something new. If that's too much, maybe the courage to just try.

@2010 Patricia Scarborough Couch Series panel

Blue skies for every outdoor festival

A sense of humor

@2010 Patricia Scarborough Clover 36x48 oil

Confidence

A support group

I've got the only Handsome Husband made, so you'll have to be satisfied with a poor substitute.

Goodness, I hope I didn't miss anything.  Feel free to add to the list if you'd like. Santa could use all the help he can get!

Lessons from a Workshop

Last weekend I had the distinct priviledge of spending 3 days in St. Paul Nebraska at a workshop set up by the amazingly talented painter Linda Welsch, hosted by Miletta Vista Winery, and taught by Hal Haloun. All at the same time.  It was a heady brew, and I'm not just talking about the wine.

Hal has been one of my favorite artists for a very long time.  To be able to study with him, even for a short time was a real honor.  As you can see, we're all hanging on his every word, each of us hoping to discover for ourselves some tidbit of information that will answer all our questions.

The view from Hal's easel

In a conversation with friends after I returned home, one asked a simple question, "So, what did you learn?"  There are the obvious answers, of course.  I learned how to mix a fabulous green from Prussian Blue, Indian Red and Cadmium Yellow.  I learned several recipes for mediums for various phases of a painting.  I learned that Miletta Vista's Work Horse is a delicious red wine, and that owner Mick is a heck of a photographer. I even learned a few ghost stories.

Loup River at dusk

But what else? 

There are deeper things, more subtle ideas working around in my head.  It's not about recipes or lists of items to be ticked off as they get wiped off a brush. There were recipes and guidelines, of course, but it goes beyond that. It's the using of the information, making it one's own, developing those recipes in ways that make them personal. 

Highway 281 heading north of St. Paul and  Miletta Vista Winery

What I learned is that I will always be learning.  Regardless of what color mixes I understand today, there will always be others to be learned tomorrow as I learn to see more clearly, more deeply. Even though I paint successfully today, tomorrow presents its own challenges and with them a new set of questions to be asked and answered.  

Oh sure, you were hoping for the answers, weren't you?  If I could give them to you, I would. 

Hal's 2010 Miletta Vista Winery class

My best answer for you is to ask your own questions and see what you find out. What is it you want to know?

That's me, looking for the answers at my easel. Photo courtesy Linda Welsch.