Michelle Chrisman Workshops

Contemporary colorist Michelle Chrisman has two upcoming workshops and a free demonstration that will focus on plein air painting in New Mexico, where she moved after studying art in New York City and Denver.

Saturday, June 5, 1:00-3:00pm ~ Everything You Want to Know About Oil Painting at Artisan's Taos store. Admission is free, but space is limited so register today by calling 575-751-0802.

The weekend of July 17-18 ~ Two full days of painting en plein air. Enjoy painting historic, picturesque settings in Taos. All levels welcome. Contact the E.L. Blumenschein Home and Museum in Taos.

October 10-16 ~ Plein Air Painting in Georgia O'Keeffe Country will be based at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu. This course will cover the importance of simplification of shapes, correct color-values and light/shadow patterns to create well-designed compositions. Students will do two paintings per day. All levels & mediums welcome.

"What excites me most about painting is "seeing" the abstract shapes & patterns in the visual world. The medium of oil paint is also very important to me- letting the medium speak, and not being afraid of the calligraphy of impasto painting."
~ Michelle Chrisman
Below, Kitchen Mesa, 24x20, oil on canvas

Rockwater Art Center in Poulsbo, Washington

Across Puget Sound, west of Seattle, a beautiful 100 year old farmhouse has become an art center. The Rockwater Art Center will be offering more than a dozen classes this summer. Three are specifically about painting outdoors, and other classes, such as structural drawing, color mixing, etc. would also be relevant for plein air painters. This page lists all the classes & workshops.

Four of the prominent artists who will be teaching there this summer are Jim Lamb (plein air oils), Ron Stocke (plein air watercolor), Radena Walsh (pastels - plein air to studio) and Aleksandr Kargopoltsev (color mixing in oils).

Painting Retreats

Nothing sounds like quite as much fun as a "painter's retreat." Not a workshop, not a vacation, it's rather a combination of focus and freedom. Here are several that are available this season:

The Omega Institute is offering an Autumn Painter's Retreat focusing on Hudson Valley watercolor landscapes with Fulbright scholar, professional artist and muralist Alan Leon. This is peak fall foliage season.

New Mexico expressionist/plein air painter Louisa McElwain is offering demos, critiques, information and encouragement to artists who visit her property near Santa Fe. Subject matter ranges from spectacular mountain and badlands terrain to churches, villages and her farm with its orchard, pastures, gardens, horses, cattle and poultry. Stay in an historic log house, complete with antique wood burning range, Satellite TV and internet.

In November, Open Air Italy invites you to Tuscany for the olive harvest. Take some new oil home with you. There are only four remaining spaces for this trip.

You've heard of heli-skiing, now you can go heli-hiking with your painting gear in southeastern British Columbia. Canadian Mountain Holidays is making this trip available from August 31 - September 5.

Or you can hike in Italy's Sibillini Mountains, participating in a combination of studio time, walking, sketching, excursions and a visit to the Fabriano Paper Museum. This trip takes place October 9-16.

Karl Eric Leitzel will host "Finding Your Voice - A Painter's Retreat" at the Inn On the Sky in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania this summer.

Decisions, decisions.

William Jameson - Artist & Teacher

William Jameson loves to travel and paint. His land- and seascapes feature the Bahamas, Italy, France, Mexico, Colorado and Montana as well as his beloved home state of South Carolina. Their sizes vary from 8"x10" up to 52"x72" (the one shown here, Apallachian Textures II, is 72"x48").

His workshops are open to all levels from beginner to advanced, and instruction is offered in oil, watercolor, acrylic or pen and ink sketching. His wife Anne is also a painter and participates in the workshops.

“The more I paint, the more I must paint. The need to…is never diminished by having completed a painting, but rather there’s an immediate need to begin another.”

David Slonim - June Oil Painting Workshop

There are still a few spots open for David Slonim's June 16-18 workshop sponsored by Indiana Heritage Arts (there is an application form at their site). All levels of oil painters are welcome.

This workshop will focus on the universal principles of visual communication used by every great painter, regardless of style or time period. It will include plein air and studio time, demos and individual attenion. It will cover not only some of the key principles, but how to continue learning on your own after the workshop ends.

"The goal is not to get you to paint like I do, but to paint like yourself with more beauty and power of expression in your work. It’s not about technique or style, but a mindset."
- David Slonim

Quang Ho - Artist & Teacher

Painter and instructor Quang Ho had his first one-man show at the age of sixteen. He's been painting ever since, and, in addition to a successful career as an artist, he has been teaching for twenty years at the Art Students League of Denver.

He recently completed three instructional DVDs: Nuts and Bolts, Painting the Still-Life, and Painting the Figure in an Interior. His teaching focuses not only on the elements of a painting such as light, edges, abstract shapes and the way they fit together, etc. but also on "visual vocabulary," the artist's intention and the qualities that the painting expresses.

He will participate again this year in the Weekend With the Masters, which will be held in Dana Point, California September 23-26.

He is also completing a series of illustrations for a children's book and preparing for an exhibit in London.

He does take time out for dinner with friends sometimes, and he has done several paintings of the kitchen in his favorite restaurant, Mizuna in Denver.

Dominik Modlinski - Adventurous Artist

Canadian artist Dominik Modlinski has traveled (almost) from pole to pole in the Western Hemisphere. He is offering workshops this year on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, in Yukon Territory, Alaska and Todos Santos, Mexico. You can also hire him to lead an expedition/workshop for you and a few friends in the location of your choice.

Since most of his paintings feature wilderness, it's interesting to see his blog posts from Japan, where he is following the cherry blossoms, starting in Hiroshima and traveling north. A much tamer place than his usual domain...(although he did encounter some wild boars!)

M.E. "Mike" Bailey - Artist

Santa Cruz artist, teacher and new president of the National Watercolor Society, M.E. "Mike" Bailey has a degree in engineering and, in spite of an early interest in art, didn't get into painting in a major way until he was 46.

He uses both watercolor and oils, and there is a list of free articles on this page of his website dealing with process, elements, intentions, creativity and other aspects of art and being an artist. There is also a beautifully illustrated page about travel journals. In addition, he posts news and demos regularly on his lively blog.

He will be offering a workshop, "Watercolor Beyond the Obvious" in North Carolina next month.

On the Watercolor Landscape page of his website, this is what he has to say about painting plein air:

"There is nothing better (or worse!) than to paint outdoors! The distractions and confronting challenges are myriad and the conditions often very uncomfortable. It is where lessons of light are learned the hard way! Frankly, few of my plein air attempts come out as ‘nice’ as a studio painting. There is, however, an urgent energy in paintings done outdoors, which is quite charming."

Michael Newberry Tutorials

Painter, gallery owner, art critic and instructor Michael Newberry has posted 49 tutorials on his website, three of which are specifically about painting outdoors.

This one (which is in two segments) demonstrates his dark-to-light plein air technique. This method is helpful in three ways: "It enables the painter to work quickly (an absolute necessity for outdoor, quick painting in under an hour). This approach keeps the highlighted areas clean and bright, which solves the problem of the oils' tendency to become muddy. This technique easily merges, or groups all the shadow's colors--giving them a translucent, natural feeling."

And this one, called "Finishing Off Plein Air Paintings," shows how it's possible to use a retro-active thumbnail sketch to recallibrate the values or other elements in your painting.

He is also offering three plein air workshops in Santa Monica, Mexico and Canada this spring and summer.

Acadia Workshop Center, Mount Desert Island, Maine

Mount Desert Island, Maine, the second largest island on the eastern seaboard (second only to Long Island in size) is home to Acadia National Park and the Acadia Workshop Center which is offering 19 painting workshops this season, most of them working outdoors at least part of the time. There are some big names here.

Classes that involve plein air include Don Getz, Watercolor Journaling, Susan Abbott, Color in the Maine Landscape (all media), Peter Spataro, Painting the Colors of the Wind (all media), Kristy Kutch, Coastal Colored Pencil, Sheila Parsons, Watercolor, Tom Jones, Creating Atmosphere in Watercolor Landscapes, Shelli Ardizonne, Plein Air Boot Camp, Christine La Fuente, oil, Lee Boynton, August Light: Painting the Impressionist Landscape in Oil,
Armand Cabrera, Painting the Maine Landscape (oil & acrylic), Julie Houck, Painting the Dynamic Landscape; Creating Light-Filled Color (oil & pastel), Elin Pendelton, Fall Color Boot Camp (oil & acrylic), Marsha Staiger, Inside the Outside - An in-depth look at abstract from the landscape (acrylic/mixed media), Kay Kandra, Beyond Pretty Pictures (watercolor), Bob Rohm, The Maine Landscape (oil & pastel), Michael Chesley Johnson, The Maine Landscape in Pastel or Oil, and Lois Griffel, Painting the Impressionist Landscape (oil).

They have posted a helpful Student Tips page which includes pragmatic information such as, "Have reasonable expectations. You are here to learn so please come with an open mind. Do not expect to paint "masterpieces". This is a learning experience. Very often students find that what they learn in class actually takes a while to digest."

There are art materials available at the Workshop Center, and they have easels, chairs and umbrellas for rent (reservations required).

Zionsville, Indiana Paint Out and Workshop

The Sullivan Munce Cultural Center in Zionsville, Indiana will be hosting its annual Plein Air Paint Out on June 19 and Workshop June 21-24. Always a sell-out, this event will offer an opportunity to study with three nationally known artists: Charles Warren Mundy, Todd Reifers and David Slonim, whose painting is shown here.

Artists will meet at the SullivanMunce Cultural Center on the first day for demonstrations and question & answer sessions. Days 2 and 3 will consist of outdoor painting with instruction. On Day 4, participants will display their work, engage in a critique with the instructors and have another question & answer session.

The registration fee of $600 members/$650 non-members includes three and a half days of instruction; lunch each day; admission to the Art in the Garden Patron Party; participation in the Zionsville Paint Out on Saturday, June 19, and entry in the Zionsville Paint Out Exhibition June 25 through July 24 at the Cultural Center.

Lorenzo Chavez - Advanced Indoor Landscape Concepts

In addition to graduating with honors from the Colorado Institute of Art and studying at the Art Students League of Denver, Lorenzo Chavez has taken professional workshops with some of the best: Ned Jacob, Richard Schmid, Clyde Aspevig, Michael Lynch and Skip Whitcomb.

He has been teaching plein air pastel and oil painting for fifteen years now, and next month, April 2-4, he will be offering an advanced workshop in studio concepts. These include designing from plein air studies and photos, discussions of values, edges, simplification, color and drawing as well as professional presentations and getting your work seen. This workshop is for intermediate to advanced students with previous plein air experience. It will be held at Terry Ludwig's studio just south of Denver.

Lorenzo Chavez will be offering eight other workshops between now and November in Arizona, New York, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas City, Washington and Hawaii (see the list here).

Marc Hanson Workshops

Marc Hanson is an award-winning Minnesota plein air painter who works outdoors year round and has been teaching for twenty years. He is offering four workshops this year, in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Florida. They are open to artists working in oil and pastel. All levels are welcome, from beginner through advanced.

The basic elements of painting will be emphasized, from concept and mood to value relationships (including black & white exercises), blocking in the masses, color studies and finishing details that effectively communicate your intention to the viewer.

"My purpose is not to replicate the specific or dwell on the spectacular, as much as it is to observe the specific and to discover the beauty in the seemingly unspectacular."

Hudson River Valley Art Workshops

In the Catskill Mountain region of the Hudson River Valley, the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn is offering a diverse selection of painting workshops this season. Twelve of them involve plein air, including two "retreats" with no set program (for self-motivated people).

This page lists all the instructors. Plein air classes will be taught by Lorenzo Chavez, Alvaro Castagnet, David Dunlop, Lewis Barrett Lehrman, Betty Carr, Mel Stabin, Stanley Maltzman, Anatoly Dverin and Kenn Backhaus. Beginners are welcome, except in the Alvaro Castagnet and Kenn Backhaus workshops, which are intended for intermediate to advanced students.

Classes are limited to 20 students. The Greenville Arms has been hosting art workshops since 1982, providing comfortable lodging, delicious food, beautiful scenery, professional instructors and 24-hour studio access.

Walter Bartman - Artist and Teacher

Plein air painter Walter Bartman, an artist and teacher for close to forty years, is the founder of The Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery at Glen Echo Park, Maryland. Since 1994, it has offered classes, workshops, speakers and residencies. They also offer a free art class for high school students and bus trips to some of the best museums on the east coast.

This month, Gallery 322 in Frederick, Maryland is hosting an exhibit of Bartman's paintings. The opening reception will be tomorrow, March 6th, from 4-8 p.m.

An interview with Walter Bartman has been posted on the blog Art and Perception. In it, he talks about his methods and why they have been successful:

"Community has always been something I feel has made great movements in the arts, science or math. It was my intention from the very beginning to build a community of young artists as the future generation. I have always felt that human thought is collective. We build ideas on the thoughts of others. If you can bring a group of very creative people together in a sharing environment, they will support each other and challenge each other to go beyond the instructor’s expectations.

"The work I assigned was based on contemporary movements. I felt my students were a part of that movement and had something to add. It is funny, but looking back on the work in my classes, some of it was very profound for anyone at any age. I guess that is why my program was nationally recognized."

Workshops with SCAPE - Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment

Based out of Santa Barbara, Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment was begun in 2002 and has grown to over 200 members, including plein air artists, students, patrons and even gallery owners. Their goal is not only to paint outdoors, exhibit and teach, but also to raise money and awareness for the preservation of open spaces. Their workshop calendar this year includes four prominent artists. Space is limited, so sign up right away.

Impressionist Lynn Gertenbach, whose painting is shown here, was a student of Sergei Bongart. Her workshop will be April 22-24 and will focus on wildflowers.

May 10-12, award-winning painter and published author Anita Hampton will run a workshop from 8a.m.-4p.m. in locations around Santa Barbara.

July 14-18, David Gallup, vice-president of the California Art Club, will teach a plein air to studio process. Students will be taught at their own level, based on their own goals.

September 19-21 (just a few days before the full moon) Thomas Van Stein will offer a workshop on Catalina Island that will include seascapes and painting by moonlight.

Plein Air Painters of the Southeast

The Plein Air Painters of the Southeast is an organization of twenty professional artists that was started in 2001 by Dee Beard Dean and a few fellow painters. A jurying process has gradually added more artists over the years, and there are now twenty members.

This page of their website has a collection of sixteen archived articles written by the member artists, "chock-full of painterly advice and weathered wisdom from many years spent painting on location."

From April (azalea and dogwood season) through October, they are offering a series of workshops in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Italy.

"The southeastern United States has a wealth of natural beauty from coastal salt marshes and barrier islands, to bucolic farmlands and deep deciduous forests. Our towns and cities are steeped in history and architectural elegance: the antebellum homes, colonial churches, courthouses and lighthouses. Throughout every state, one can see colorful reminders of a grand heritage in Southern landscapes and cityscapes."

Master Artist Workshops

Saks Galleries in Denver is offering a series of Master Artist Workshops this spring and summer for the intermediate to advanced student. Participating artists include Quang Ho (April 22-24), Clive Tyler (May 18-22), Ron Hicks (June 10-12), Karen Vance (July 20-22), whose painting is shown here, and Jay Moore (August 12-14), who will also welcome beginning students in his workshop.

These will be intense, concentrated learning experiences with outstanding artists. The only workshops that specifically focus on landscape are Clive Tyler, Karen Vance and Jay Moore, but all of them teach relevant skills and techniques. Students in the Jay Moore and Clive Tyler classes will visit the Denver Art Museum and Botanical Gardens (tickets included in the workshop fee).

Peninsula School of Art, Wisconsin

Among the many different art classes offered at the Peninsula School of Art in Door County, Wisconsin, there will be eleven plein air workshops this year from May through October. Registration for the general public begins on February 15th.

Door County, Wisconsin is a 75-mile peninsula between Green Bay on the west and Lake Michigan on the east.

Located in the town of Fish Creek on the shore of Green Bay, the school's roots go back to the years after World War I when faculty from The Art Institute of Chicago began spending summers in Door County to paint and teach. By 1995, the success of the growing school signaled a need for more classroom space and year-round availability of arts instruction. Through hard work, generous donors and dedicated volunteers, the year-round school and the 2-story Guenzel Gallery (shown here) became a reality.

There will also be a Door County Plein Air Festival from July 19-24 which is the largest event of this type in the Midwest. The festival ends on July 24th with a "Dockside Quick-Paint" and a live auction. The works will be on display and for sale through August 7th.

Chuck Ceraso

Chuck Ceraso was a student of the American Impressionist Henry Hensche, who had studied at Charles Webster Hawthorne's Cape Cod School of Art. Like them, he focuses on the effects of light on color and how these effects can describe shapes and perspective.

Ceraso has been teaching drawing and painting for twenty years in various places, including the Denver Art Museum and at his studio in Lafayette, Colorado. He is also using his studio as a music venue, hosting a concert by Art Lande and Paul McCandless on Friday, March 12th.

He will be offering two workshops at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, September 12-18 and 19-25, which can be taken singly or in succession. He has recently completed the booklet, The Art of Color Seeing, which is available either as a hard copy or as an e-book.

"I’ve learned that to really see I have to let go of all of my ideas about what I’m looking at. A full presence of awareness is required for this seeing without thought, without ideas. This presence then seems to facilitate a more spontaneous process of painting, one unencumbered by a plan for a specific outcome. The painting has a life of its own and goes where the process itself takes it. In this, painting has become more an experience of revelation than as something I make happen."

Here is a time-lapse video of a painting he did on the iPod Touch with the app, Brushes. Didn't David Hockney do something like this as well?