Plein Air Workshop

Description - This workshop will be held on August 29th, 30th, and 31st. Time 9am -4pm each day. We will meet at my studio on day one, where I will give a lecture and give demos/examples to help students direct their development and keep important concepts and principles in mind for our afternoon outing. On the following days we will mostly be painting in the Snoqualmie Valley area, about 40 minutes east of Seattle. It is a beautiful valley, surrounded by mountains and wooded hillsides. Rivers and streams flow through it. Mostly open farmland with a rich variety of ground cover and farm buildings. Another option is Gold Creek on Snoqualmie Pass. Final decision on locations will be decided closer to the time and by weather. We will mostly be working in smaller works...8"x10" to 11"x14", doing a quick little preliminary study in a sketchbook and focusing on the "process" of creating a work of "Art", knowing and thinking about the principles of Design, simply put... if we apply them, our paintings will be better! We will talk about concept, and thinking about what we are going to do ahead of time. After teaching for over 60 years, I am convinced most paintings are ruined at the start..as we don't take the time to think ahead and using a quick sketch to get some ideas down in simple value arrangements. We will talk a lot about design and color harmony, capturing that special time and place that we have chosen to paint. I will be giving a demo each morning for about an hour or so and students will have the rest of the day to work as I go around with praise and advice on what one might do to make your painting better. Hopefully, you will leave the workshop, inspired and motivated to incorporate what you have learned about moving your work to a higher level!