Level of Ability
These painting workshops are generally geared toward beginner/intermediate, and intermediate painters working in oil, unless otherwise specified. Acrylic and watercolor painters are welcome to attend, though I cannot offer any technical instruction with these materials. Students should have painted in oils enough to be comfortable working with the medium. They should have painted on their own with their outdoor easel and be comfortable with the set up. As a general guideline, if you have painted 20 – 30 paintings, you should be ready for one of these workshops.
For workshops geared toward intermediate and advanced students, you may be asked to submit a few images for review, or provide a link to your website.
I suggest that beginning painters who feel they may not quite be ready for one of these workshops, complete exercises from any number of ‘how-to’ books on the subject of plein air landscape painting. Kevin MacPherson’s “Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light and Color” is a good one, but there are many. You could also take less expensive local classes, geared specifically toward beginners, or just paint on your own until your are comfortable with the process. Taking one of my workshops will not teach you how to paint in 3 or 4 days, but will help you improve your painting ability once you have begun down the road of becoming a painter.
What We Will Do in the Workshops
The primary focus will be on how to convey the sense of strong sunlight in your paintings by identifying, clarifying and establishing proper value relationships. Exercises will be used to help simplify these concepts. We will also work on achieving clean color in our paintings, and utilize value patterns to aid in developing successful compositions. There will be discussions on materials, scene selection and brushwork. During the workshop, I will do a demonstration painting each day, and work with students individually on their paintings throughout the rest of the day. Usually students will spread out in a given area and work on two paintings each day, as I circulate among the group.
In certain cases, at some point there will be time for me to present a slide show and discuss some of my recent work. If the workshop is held in Marin, I will try to arrange for a studio visit at the end of one of our painting days. Wherever the workshop is, we try to arrange for one or more casual group dinners, so that students have the opportunity to get to know one another. There is always useful information being shared between students.
Cancellation Policy
For workshops that are hosted by a school or gallery as listed in the workshop description, the sign-up procedure, payment schedule and cancellation policies are specific to each host.
For the workshops that I manage myself, a $100 deposit is required to hold your spot. The full class fee is due 60 days prior to the start of the workshop. If you decide not to take the class more than 60 days prior to the start of the class, your deposit will be refunded. If you wish to cancel with fewer than 60 days before the start of the class, you will forfeit your deposit. If we are able to fill your spot from the waiting list, the remainder of your class fee will be refunded.
It is not uncommon to have one or two cancellations before the workshop begins, so we keep a waiting list of interested students to try and fill any vacancies that open up. For this reason, if you are interested in getting into a workshop that is already full, I strongly encourage you to sign onto the waiting list.
Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions you may have.