Ms. Ann Feldman

A prolific painter and inspiring teacher, Dennis Perrin is a transplanted southerner living and working in an idyllic setting in Maine with his wife Aimee. Dennis has been called an American Impressionist in the Boston School tradition, and readily shares his inspiration and techniques with students in workshops, retreats, and through his online courses. More about his art and his instruction can be found at www.theperrinmethod.com.
MY GOAL WITH DENNIS:
As I drive to Carmel, Indiana for a workshop with Dennis Perrin, I think about what I’d like to get out of the next four days with him. His paintings always strike me as reminiscent of a Sargent or a Sorrolla with his solidity of shapes, strength of light and shadow, and a wonderful sense of timelessness. There is a confidence and painterliness in his brushstrokes that I would love to witness in person and bring home to my own paintings.
DAY 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE PERRIN APPROACH
After introductions and settling in, we start out with a demonstration by Dennis of a simple white rose in a vase. As he paints, he introduces us to his approach to painting. I’ve paraphrased it in my own words here:
Begin with a mental plan of the general feeling and intent of your painting. Identify the essential elements of your subject and block in a solid underlying composition of abstract shapes. Unity and simplicity in value massing in this step will result in a powerful statement in the finished painting.

Generally working from dark value to light, allow the painting to evolve from large masses to smaller details, using the underlying value map as your guide. With a painterly approach, carefully observe color, temperature, and edge relationships to bring the painting to completion.
After his demonstration, it was our turn to try our hand at painting a white rose.
My Takeaway:
Painting white roses has always been a challenge for me, but something clicked with me that day:
If you have a solid value guide to begin with, the light, shadow and subtle variances in a white flower become readily identifiable. With this underlying map, I don’t get so lost in all the frilly details of the flower. I’m starting to feel hope, but my efforts at painting today fall short, and I wipe everything off. Tomorrow is a new day!
DAY 2: PAINTING A STILL LIFE (THE BLOCK IN)
Today, Dennis set up a larger still life to show us how he begins the initial block in of his abstract shapes and value masses.
Identify abstract shapes in warm reddish undertones. Find the darkest and lightest values.

Beginning with the darkest values, develop the value areas of the painting. The solidity of the forms and the areas of light and shadow are obvious now. This will guide the final stages of the painting tomorrow.
My Takeaway:
This initial stage is the most important in the successful development of the painting. Without a strong foundation, no amount of fancy brushwork will make the painting hold together and make a powerful statement after completion. I believe that this quality of strength and solidity are hallmarks of Dennis’ painting style, and I will make an effort to bring these elements into my paintings at home.
DAY 3: DETAIL AND REFINEMENT

On the third morning, we watch as Dennis develops the painting into an astonishingly beautiful work of art. He concentrated on one value area at a time, beginning with the background in order to warm up a bit before developing the more detailed areas.
He emphasized that when the details are added in each area, the underlying value is adhered to; that is, dark values remain dark values, light values remain light, and everything in between stays in their value. In this way, the form, light, and shadow of the initial underpainting will remain intact. If you “jump the value lines”, the solidity of the painting will weaken.
I Try My Hand:
Here is the development of my painting in the workshop using Dennis’ approach. I could see early on that the painting had a good sense of form, light, and shadow. I tried not to disturb the value patterns of my underpainting when I developed the details in the final steps.


DAY 4: EXERCISES TO GET OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES
On our last day together, Dennis suggested that we set up a small still life and paint with the largest flat brushes we can. He even suggested that we take the exercise a step further, taking turns painting on each other’s canvases! We set timers and painted in 30 minute increments, switching places several times before our time was up.
You could hear a pin drop as we concentrated on our assignment. All of us had very low expectations for our little paintings, but each of us was surprised at what we were able to accomplish.
My Takeaway:
A large brush can be surprisingly agile, and encourages us to see generalities rather than focusing on the details of the painting. Painting as a team was very eye opening— I saw aspects of the painting through someone else’s point of view that I missed at first, and learned from that.

AND NOW THAT I’M HOME…
After the glow of an exciting workshop has begun to fade, I try to retain what I’ve learned and translate it into my work at home. I’m picking up larger flat brushes now, and sticking with them as long as I can. I focus on the “big picture” of my painting as I develop large forms into smaller details, and pay special attention to the abstract shapes underlying my paintings which will give the final piece solidity.
Most importantly, I’m trying to take my time to build up a solid foundation underneath my paintings, and not get distracted by the little details which are eye catching and fun, but not important in the overall composition of the painting. I’m trying to hold off on putting in the details until the final 5% of my painting time. And I’m enjoying the result of all this restraint!
Thank you, Dennis Perrin, for a very eye opening workshop, and an experience that will stay with me every time I pick up a brush in the future!

Carolyn Anderson is a nationally recognized artist. Her work hangs in the collections of many well-known artists as well as private collectors across the globe. Her interpretive style of painting has made her a highly sought after workshop instructor.

Here’s why I needed to see Carolyn: Stat!

Earlier in the summer, I was excited to join a new group of artists who paint portraits from models every week. Since we met so often, I thought that all this great practice would lead to a freer, more interpretive style in my paintings. Sadly, I was mistaken.
 
 

 
 
 
 
Instead of evolving into a looser style, my portrait studies became more academic, with lots of attention paid to the form of the head and the likeness of my model. But I wanted to evolve! I wanted my portraits to stand alone as pieces of art, rather than something only the model’s family would love.
I knew that I needed to see Carolyn Anderson, and fast. I had gone to one of her workshops a few years ago, and I wanted “Michelle” painted by Ann Feldman before Carolyn’s workshop to reinforce the concepts she taught me about “how to see” and how to integrate the model into a dynamic composition.
Fechin Art Workshops in Taos, New Mexico had an opening in Carolyn’s next workshop. Little did I know how lucky I was to land this spot! The workshop included a room at the beautiful and rustic Hotel St Bernard, nestled in the Taos ski valley, and every day for five days, we painted well into the evenings, with breaks for yoga and meals provided by Jean Mayer, who has hosted visitors to his hotel for over 50 years. Our workshop organizer, Elise Waters Olonia made sure that we could focus all of our attention on our art. I was in heaven!

Here’s what I learned from Carolyn:

The following is a description of a series of demonstrations done by Carolyn for our workshop, condensed into one example. In addition to these demonstrations, Carolyn presented very comprehensive lectures on color theory, edges, temperature, and the art of interpretation, among other topics. To cover all of this information, this article would become the size of a book, so I will focus on what I learned from her demonstrations.

Approach the Composition as a Whole

Carolyn doesn’t paint a model’s head as a separate entity. She looks for the extreme values in the entire setup and makes marks for the darkest darks and the lightest lights and uses these marks to guide the more nuanced values in the rest of the painting.

Find Direction, Movement, and Shapes in the Composition

From her initial value marks, she finds interesting shapes and pathways through the composition to make the painting dynamic. This is not the time to define shapes, but to make visual connections that are interesting. She explained that since our eyes pick up value and movement first, we need to use this information throughout the painting process, but most importantly in the very beginning.

Look for Color and Nuance

As she makes her value notes and begins to find directional movement, she also notices color nuance beginning to emerge, and makes color notes throughout the composition. She loads her brush with a color that she sees, then uses it all over the composition wherever it appears to create color harmony in her painting. She tells us that this also keeps her from painting “things”, and dwelling too long on small parts of the composition. She continually builds the painting as a whole.

Build the Painting

She abbreviates steps instead of overdeveloping any areas of the painting and lets areas with similar value intermingle. She avoids solid outlines, especially around the head. She suggests shapes and allows them to meld into the background or other shapes whenever possible. She looks for visual connections everywhere, and tells us that in paintings, objects are not separate from space; everything is connected. As she paints, her eyes continually jump from one area to the next, making marks of whatever catches her eye. This allows the painting to work as a whole. She reminds us that if we look at any one thing too long, it will lose its context. She tells us that “A successful painting happens when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.

My Turn to Try: Applying the Lessons Learned

During the workshop, I began to understand that I needed to paint the entire composition rather than focusing on just the model and adding in the background as an afterthought. I tried to find my values and movement from the beginning of my process.
I also tried my hand at finding color harmony and bouncing it around the painting. I made a conscious effort not to paint the model as a separate entity from the background, but to make her part of the whole of the painting and allow values and edges to meld together.

Push Your Boundaries

 

“If you want to create a painting which exceeds your previous expectations, you have to be willing to fail. Make mistakes and experiment; it’s the only way to push past your boundaries.”
-Carolyn Anderson
For me, this last point is the most important of all. I’ll go back to my portrait group armed with a new attitude instead of playing it safe and painting as I’ve always done, I’ll push my limits and be comfortable with some failures. This is the only way I’ll make new discoveries.