Observe, Experiment and Express

Description - "The world doesn't need another pretty picture, what it sorely needs is a creative concept" ...one of Patrick's favorite quotes and his inspiration for teaching this class. Each day Patrick will start with a lecture and demonstration, drawing from his deep knowledge of all styles of painting. In his demos he draws heavily on intuition and imagination while using concepts like Notan to build a strong foundation. As he weaves along through the painting using color and spatial relationships to create a mood and express a feeling about the subject, students are amazed by his both his technique and style. Patrick will teach you how to use Notan, a Japanese term meaning light and dark, harmony and balance. He'll show you the various ways you can use it to build a strong composition and create harmony between light and dark to build the structure of your painting. Then he will demonstrate how to alter color and spatial relationships to create a mood or or feeling with your painting. No matter what your level or style, Patrick will help you improve your creative process from start to finish with a new set of skills. In this workshop Patrick will teach you a process clarifying the vision and purpose for your work, and how to ask yourself questions during the process such as: What is it about this subject matter that makes me want to paint it? What qualities do I want the painting to have? What feelings do I want the final piece to convey? Can I use Notan to describe structural elements? How can I use light and shadow to define shape and depth? Can I simplify my subject matter and use subjective colors to improve it? Learning to ask yourself these questions as you paint will guide you to a unique and personal take on your subject matter. Along with defining your purpose, you'll also learn to edit, simplify, exaggerate, manipulate the paint and refine your edge work. After watching Patrick do a painting from start to finish every morning, students will paint individually with his assistance in the afternoon. Students can bring their own photo reference or use Patrick's photos.